10 Most Gratuitous Citywide Destructions In Movie History
9. New York City - Deep Impact
Manhattan has never had it easy in the movies - indeed, the island across the Hudson from New Jersey is a favourite wrecking ground of just about every filmmaker in the business, with Cloverfield and The Avengers just a few of the recent films to set it in its sights - but its extinction at the hands of Mimi Leder is up their for its most comprehensive beatings.
Arriving the same summer as Michael Bay's Armageddon and covering similar ground - with marginally better reviews and scientific accuracy but without the presence of Bruce Willis - the film absolutely obliterates New York with a climactic megatsunami, wiping out several key cast members in the process.
The creeping wave that rises and then falls across the city is a powerfully effective visual offering more than anything else, swamping skyscrapers and burying them under its towering surf.