action is good but don't look for much in the way of realism

Rating: Null/10 (13 February 2002)

Energetic but far-fetched, occasionally dumb story of a NASA executive (Thornton) who has the misfortune to learn of a massive, Texas-sized asteroid that's eighteen days away from obliterating Earth. The race is on as he recruits an expert oil driller (Willis) and his rogue team of undisciplined subordinates to fly out into space, board the asteroid while it's still in orbit, and destroy it before it has any chance of wiping out all life as we know it. An at times exciting, but only marginally effective action movie; the story, though highly unlikely, pulls you in with its suspenseful setup and exciting, destructive action scenes, but they're unfortunately weakened by shaky direction and a sloppy script with heavy lapses in credibility, too many coincidences, and an overabundance of wisecracks. Had potential, but it doesn't take itself very seriously and throws out kinetic action whenever it can to cover its many flaws. **