‘Asteroid’ Wreaks Effects-Laden Havoc

Mass hysteria . . . a major U.S. city demolished in a sudden and fiery wave of destruction . . . the chilling sense that civilization may be coming to an abrupt, violent end.

No, this isn’t a description of last summer’s blockbuster film “Independence Day.” Instead, it’s the doomsday scenario buttressing NBC’s “Asteroid,” the latest movie to feed our fear of cataclysmic disaster.

By taking its viewers on an over-the-top thrill ride, “Independence Day” actually ended up being good, cartoon-like fun. You just couldn’t help but surrender to a movie where even the president of the United States hops into a fighter plane to save humankind from being destroyed by irredeemably evil space aliens.

Unfortunately, the two-part “Asteroid” is neither very frightening nor very entertaining. Massive asteroids hurtling toward Earth simply aren’t very compelling villains compared to super-advanced, multi-tentacled space monsters. After all, where do you pin the blame for the lethal damage caused by inanimate space rocks?

There are plenty of splashy special effects in “Asteroid,” particularly in Part 2. The destruction of Dallas seems all too real. But the many scenes featuring dazed citizens wandering around the flattened city or the injured being cared for in a makeshift shelter quickly grow stale in the absence of more specific and involving dramatic tension.

The early stages of the four-hour drama are more watchable than the segments that follow the asteroid strikes. As astronomer Lily McKee (Annabella Sciorra) begins to track the plummeting asteroids and the U.S. military tries to destroy them with laser weapons, the film manages to explain the kinds of enormous harm such objects can inflict on the planet.

But when “Asteroid” isn’t educating you, it’s more likely to be putting you to sleep.

* “Asteroid” airs 9-11 p.m. Sunday and Monday on NBC (Channel 4).