Deep Impact meets Nostradamus meets Close Encounters - sadly

Rating: 4/10 (24 July 2009)

There should be a law against directors who take a great idea and destroy it.
The whole "predicting the future" thing has been done before, but it's an endlessly intriguing idea because of its resonance for every person on the planet.
But to take something so ominous as the end of the world, then trivialise it with an incongruous throw away ending is little short of scandalous.
This movie plays out like a novel that someone got bored with - they got a few great ideas to get them started, but then the inspiration disappeared and never returned. Rather than taking the time to craft an ending, they simply plagiarised the worst of pulp sci fi, and came up with the sort of ending that will have viewers throwing things at the screen in disgust.
It's not even that the ending concept is so bad - it could have worked, if delivered more artfully - but as it is, what was a half decent film has been utterly ruined by the most schmaltzy, feeble, derivative conclusion ever.
I can only shake my head in disgust and wonder if this was given one single test viewing, because I can't imagine the howls from the audience would have left the director in much doubt that the end needed work.
Nicholas Cage needs to take care - this is two consecutive junkers that he's lead. I'm beginning to think he can't spot a decent script...