Menace sur la Terre

Dr. Madison Taylor (Rae Dawn Chong) at Near Earth Asteroid Tracking Society has discovered a hidden asteroid on course to destroy the world in a day's time. General Dutton (Michael Moriarty) at the US government's Project Safe Skies dismisses her. Her only hope is former air force Major Richard Donovan (Antonio Sabato Jr.) and an asteroid-destroying laser which might be no more than a government boondoggle.

This is Deep Impact without the explosive CGI or the reasonable characters. I like the idea of a government boondoggle and secret weapon. Everything else is less compelling and less well-written. The miniature budget does limit the production. I got bored with Chong and Sabato in a long back and forth. This is cheap TV with one interesting idea among a sea of weak writing and production.

Who can tell why this film was made? FORCE OF IMPACT (aka DEADLY SKIES) was apparently made for TV though it seems highly unlikely that it was ever screened. Not that the story itself is a problem: giant asteroid is sailing toward the earth with the potential of destroying the planet unless someone is smart enough to out guess the logistics. In this film the smart one is Rae Dawn Chong in a role she can sleep walk through. The government is not eager for her company to employ its 'better than government issue' strategies: Rob LaBelle and Michael Moriarty have a great time being mean. But it is Rea dawn Chong who remembers a terrific mind in the form of Antonio Sabato, Jr. who can save the planet....

And that is where the difference lies - Chong encounters Sabato and his lover Michael Boisvert en flagrante in a completely nude sex scene that is as sensual as any found in the movies. Nothing much is made of the reason for Sabato to be gay and that is good: he just happens to be a gay man in a healthy relationship, and the chemistry with Boisvert is definitely there. But that is about all we get, other than an opening scene when two beautiful young au naturel women make it in a swimming pool while a mini-asteroid collides in the water.

So it is another routine space age flick, but add to the salad the eye candy offered, and it is almost worth sitting through the movie! Pretty people help keep this one afloat.

The high point --perhaps the only point-- of this TV flick is the leisurely and soft-core lovemaking scene between Antonio Sabato and Michael Boisvert and their subsequent beefcake shots. (Sabato plays a similar scene in "Testosterone"; maybe he's carving out a little niche for himself!) As for the rest...it's the usual anti-military paranoia combined with pacifist self-righteousness of too many movies like this. I checked and found that the writer is Canadian, so that explains that! Rae Dawn Chong's character is beyond annoying. The Evil General is such a tired cartoon cliché. The pacing is bizarre. It's like an octopus on land. I got quickly to the point where I didn't really care if the "Deadly Skies" turned out to be deadly or not...

I must have seen the tame version of this film under the title Force of Impact. No gay sex, not that it would have enhanced the film for me. Not my cup of tea. I didn't have any problem with the acting, it was good from seasoned professionals. The dialog seemed average. The storyline was average. The camera work was good. But the editing left way too many dramatic pauses and too much dead air. It was not unusual for the dialog to end and then the film just hangs there while the actor stares at something or shuffles some papers. Not much in the special effects area. There was nothing really bad nor good about the film. It was just kind of there as a pay day for the people involved.

This is a B movie. I like B movies. My review will reflect that attitude.

I've read that this movie has been released with both gay scenes and without them. The version I saw had no gay scenes so I can't comment on them.

I enjoyed the movie. The actors were mostly believable.

It contains the usual handsome, brave, smart leading man and an appealing female costar. Although I think Rae Dawn Chong should have been younger but you work with what you're given. Most of the supporting actors do a fine job. Especially the General, Michael Moriarty.

I give this movie an enthusiastic thumbs up and I recommend it to all fans of the B movie genre.