On M List of Movie Reviews
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Meteor (1979)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
7/24
7/24:
The tension throughout Meteor is curiously lacking.
A five-mile-long meteor is coming to hit Earth, and everybody is calm about it? Also, they've taken the time to
make a board showing its movement? Sean Connery's character is immediately ordered to help out, but all he can
do is woo a Russian female translator.
If a bunch of small meteors have hit several cities, does that alter life on Earth? In the meantime, I'm pretty
sure anyone with a powerful telescope can see a satellite up there that's equipped with nuclear warheads.
The cast is very strong which includes four Oscar winners (three wouldn't know this until years later): Sean
Connery, Karl Malden, Martin Landau, and Henry Fonda. Unfortunately, the style of editing has drowned them out
as it prefers to show the slow-moving rockets and the five-mile-long meteor many times.
The special effects are a mix of okay and terrible, ultimately dating the film to the 50's. Everybody getting
drenched in mud is the only good part. Now, that's what I call "action." I wondered if Natalie Wood and Brian
Keith spoke Russian, and they actually did.
All in all, Meteor is roughly on the same level as Armageddon, but
Deep Impact is the best of the genre.