

ARMAGEDDON
RATING:  7.5 / 10 --> Re-watchable
					
Review Date: 	July 5, 1998
Director:		Michael Bay
Writers: 		Jonathan Hensleigh and J.J. Abrams
Producers: 	Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay and Gale Anne Hurd
Actors:		Bruce Willis as Harry Stamper
		Ben Affleck as A.J. Frost
		Liv Tyler as Grace Stamper
		Billy Bob Thornton as Dan Truman 
Genre: 		Action / Science-Fiction
Year of Release: 	1998

The second asteroid movie of the summer (see DEEP IMPACT (6.5/10))
finds Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer teaming up for yet another one
of their infamous summer blockbuster entries. This is their latest
collaboration after THE ROCK (7/10) and BAD BOYS (7.5/10). Bay used to
direct television commercials and music videos (Among many others, he
did "Falling in Love is Hard on the Knees" for Aerosmith in 1997, and
"I Touch Myself" by Divinyls.)

PLOT:
The end of the world is near. An asteroid that's the size of Texas is
going to crash into Earth in about 18 days, and obliterate all of
humanity. The only way to veer its course from our planet is to send up
a crew of professional drillers, who will attempt to insert a nuclear
bomb deep inside the monstrous rock. Time is limited, the best people
for the job appear to be misfits in every other dimension of life, and
the world awaits its fate.

CRITIQUE:
Two words: "fun stuff". This movie is exciting, packed with action,
humour, some tender moments, and doesn't pretend to be anything more or
less than it's supposed to be: a nacho-munching, popcorn-eating
cheese-fest of special effects, fun and 144 minutes of brainless
entertainment. And within those guidelines, it comes through like
gangbusters! Unlike DEEP IMPACT, this film flies along without too many
slow moments, and slaps you in the face every time things appear to be
slowing down. It's also packed with a little more special effect fun
than a mere tidal wave sequence (As slick as that sequence was in the
earlier asteroid movie, it doesn't compare to all of the festivities in
this one.)

Obviously, character development has never been the strong suit of any
Bruckheimer film, but even with that tidbit of knowledge in tow, I'm
not afraid to admit that I didn't suffer a touch of the ol' wet-eye
nearing the end of this well-rounded movie. The characters were
obviously interesting enough for me to care about them, and the style
of the film was fun enough for me to pay attention throughout its
entire whacked-out ride. The acting was passable, with Willis pulling
off a "regular guy" without too many wise cracks this time, Affleck
doing his shtick to perfection, and Tyler, well, being there. Steve
Buscemi of RESERVOI R DOGS (9/10) fame also deserves a nod for being
the perfect wise-cracker in this one (And boy, are his teeth ever
crooked or what??) 

On the negative side, I guess the film could've been trimmed by about
half an hour, as the training sequences at the beginning of the film
did seem to drag at times, as did the drilling scenes near the end. The
Aerosmith tunes were also a bit too obvious and a bore. I suppose one
could also complain about the implausibilities of some of the film's
events, but fortunately for me, I know not to go into a film of this
sort with expectations of a documentary. The superiority of the
wonderful land of America was also a bit of an eyebrow-raiser in this
flag-waving piece, but I suppose we can't expect more for the weekend
of Independence Day, right?

Overall, this film tied me to my seat, peppered me some great special
effects, plenty of rock 'n roll, a bunch o' fun, action, a decent plot
line, and an ending that tugged at most heart-strings (Mrs. JoBlo had
to let loose on this puppy as well, but not as much tearage was shed as
was in DEEP IMPACT.) I had a great time in this film, and I would
suggest it to all those people who like to go a film because of its
sheer entertainment value, and not necessarily because of a higher
meaning or intrinsic value to society. This flick was a blast! Get your
tickets, warm up the nachos, bring in some tissues, turn your brain off
at the door, and get ready to be genuinely socked around a
rollercoaster of fun and excitement for the first time of the summer of
1998!

Little Known Facts: 
Watch for at least three references to other films in this one. The
first takes a jab at GODZILLA (6/10), the other makes an obvious nod to
DR. STRANGELOVE (7.5/10), and then of course, the entire "slow-motion
astronauts walking to the shuttle" sequence with tips its hat to THE
RIGHT STUFF.
Some re-writes on this film were done by Scott Rosenberg, Robert Towne,
Paul Attanasio and Ann Biderman.
Liv Tyler stands 5"10, is the daughter of Steven Tyler (lead singer of
Aerosmith) and had a cameo role in Woody Allen's EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE
YOU (6.5/10), which was cut. Having said that, Allen was impressed
enough by her performance to write a personal letter explaining that
her part was cut in editing.
In 1995, director Michael Bay was honored by the Directors Guild of
America as Commercial Director of the Year. At Cannes, he also won the
Gold Lion for the best Beer Campaign for Miller Lite, and a Silver Lion
for his "Got Milk?" campaign.
Before taking up acting, Steve Buscemi tried to become a NYC Fireman.
Ellen Cleghorn of Saturday Night Live fame makes a cameo appearance in
this film as the doctor who performs the undesirable act of protruding
the crew's bottom-sides for clinical purposes.
Charlton Heston is the narrator of this film.
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(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian