May 10, 1998 -- I have to warn you I've been so busy this week I missed the first 20 minutes of this movie, but since I know the formula so well I didn't miss out on much.

As I was getting my popcorn and pop, I said to the theater manager, "Let me guess. They introduce all the characters in the first part of the movie. We learn all about their personal problems, then the disaster happens and everyone becomes noble and heroic." The manager said, "You don't need to see the movie." He was wrong. I did need to see this movie. I liked it. I'll tell you why.

First of all, the two-sentence description above outlines every disaster film. It is no secret. Irwin Allen made a good living with films like "The Poseidon Adventure," "The Towering Inferno," etc. Unfortunately, many disaster movies tend to be rather poor, like "Volcano." Some, like "Titanic" and "A Night to Remember," can be outstanding.

What makes a good disaster film? The special effects? Not really. It's the characters and the extent to which the plot is character-driven, rather than disaster driven. "Titanic" is a good example. It was the love story between the two main characters that made the movie. In "Independence Day," the film revolved around fine performances by Wil Smith and Jeff Goldblum, who created memorable characters. They were supported by a very solid cast with interesting characters throughout.

"Deep Impact" has some good characters and some very fine actors such as Morgan Freeman as a very believable US president, Robert Duvall as a savvy old astronaut on a mission to save humanity, and Vanessa Redgrave, Maximillian Schell and James Cromwell to name a few others.

The space mission to stop a giant comet aimed at the earth is a nice touch. It adds interesting action to the story. In most disaster films, there is a lot of emphasis on the disaster itself and the aftermath of it. This story is primarily about the events leading up to the disaster.

There is, of course a love story of a young astronomer and his girlfriend set against a backdrop of the tough choices made by the government on who to save in the case the comet hits. Less effective is Jenny Lerner (Téa Leoni) the weepy TV anchorwoman with the bad parental relationships.

The science in the movie is more than shaky. For one thing, you can't keep it a secret that there's a comet the size of Mt. Everest on a collision course with earth. There are too many amateur astronomers who will know it. In fact, most comets are discovered by amateurs, and long before they become naked eye objects, as this one was when it was discovered by a high school student in the movie.

Yes, it is a formula movie, but it did get to me. The effective speeches by Freeman, the heroism, the self-sacrifice and the love story did get to me and I got a lump in my throat. There will be a lot of people who won't like this movie. First of all, its an environmentalists nightmare. You've got nuclear power and nuclear weapons and advanced technology as the only things that can save the earth's ecosystem from destruction. On top of that, you've got patriotism, you've got good old Russian and American space know-how. This is just horrible! Cynics will hate the old-fashioned patriotism, nobility and the can-do attitude. Let 'em gripe. This film rates a B.

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