

Armageddon 

Chad'z rating: **1/2 (out of 4 = okay/average)

1998, PG-13, 150 minutes [2 hours, 30 minutes]

[thriller/action]

starring: Bruce Willis (Harry Stamper), Ben Affleck (A.J. Frost), Billy Bob
Thorton (Dan Truman), Liv Tyler (Grace Stamper); written by Jonathan
Hensleigh, Robert Roy Pool, Tony Gilroy, Shane Salerno, J.J. Abrams; produced
by Michael Bay, Jerry Bruckheimer, Gale Anne Hurd; directed by Michael Bay.

Seen July 4, 1998 at 8:15 p.m. at Crossgates Cinema 18 (Albany, NY), theater
#1, by myself using Hoyt's cinema cash. [Theater rating: ****: excellent,
sound, picture, and seats]

	The "event movie" industry is quickly becoming one of the most ruthless forms
of competition in the world, rivaling even the Cold War at its peak. Every
major Hollywood studio is out to one-up the other by spending as much money as
possible with as little effort at intelligence as possible. It's practically a
mathematical formula and "Armageddon" culminates this philosophy in nearly
every frame of film. It's everything a mega blockbuster should be - full of
action, adventure, cliffhangers, romance, comedy, and outstanding special
effects, as to cram in everything possible and yet still turns out to be
hollow.

	Getting an audience's attention right from the beginning plays a major role
in how today's films work. We want to have something exciting to watch, not a
slow build-up of a story (God forbid!), and this film plays right into the
mainstream's hands. The opening sequence uses mystery, comedy, and action
simultaneously to give a sneak preview of the level of the in-your-face energy
the film has. Technically, it serves no purpose other than to showcase the
special effects and lay the basic structure for the film's simple plot, but
it's also symbolic of the way in which the film works. We're introduced to
some generic characters who are quickly thrown into a fantastic situation that
could only happen in a movie, and somehow comedy and suspense come into play.
Sure it's fun to watch at the time, but in retrospect, it's almost insulting
to realize how little thought was put into something so extraordinary.

	After a sensational teaser, the film switches gears a bit to concentrate on
an attempt at backstory. The entire first act flies by as all the major
characters and plot devices are unfolded. An asteroid the size of Texas is
headed for Earth, and its fragments alone have done more damage than most wars
might. This is a simple  conflict and surprisingly enough, allows for many
sub-plots to push and pull the characters and the story in general. Lots of
scientific and military jargon is spat out at a lightning-fast pace to create
for a shroud of plausibility. Hollywood doesn't know the meaning of "science
fiction" and the way in which the fantastic is justified is more interesting
than the justification itself. For example, the imagery of the government's
space and military programs is captivating because it's so advanced in a
modern way (the barrage of TV screens, the Internet, cellular phones, and
every other form of hip, instant communication).

	In fact, the film deserves credit for its initial sense of realism, had it
stuck with it throughout, it might have worked as a believable account of
man's greatest victory over nature. But this isn't a philosophical picture by
any means, it's supposed to be a thrill ride and it does deliver on that
promise. The film's hook is truly its biggest flaw, but if the Armageddon is
truly impending, we're going to have to make sure it's countered by the most
fun-to-watch characters, not ones that might actually be qualified. 

	Dan Truman (Thorton), one of the execs at NASA and advisor to the president
realizes in order to stop the asteroid it must be blown up from within, which
would require the best drillers in the world. Of course those people would
also have to be the most interesting, diverse group of characters in the
world, whom we meet early on. Bruce Willis stars as Harry Stamper, a third
generation oil driller with just the right amount of muscle, charm, and wit a
character like this would have. He's just fired his right-hand man A.J.
(Affleck) for sleeping with his daughter Grace (Tyler), and is approached by
the Pentagon to lead a team to the asteroid to drill it and blow it up. Of
course, with as much money, power, and intellect the government has, they've
stolen Stamper's idea for a revolutionary drill and can't figure out how to
make it work. Long story short, Stamper agrees to help them out, but only if
his crew come along to help. Guess what kind of people make up Stamper's crew?

	This movie comes to us by some of the people behind "Aliens," "The Rock," and
"Con Air," and considering those films, it's no surprise the characters are of
the intelligence-light, brawn and rowdiness-heavy sort. They're the last
people that should be in charge of saving the world, but that makes them
perfect characters for a film like this. They exist for comic relief and an
attempt at humanism, and for the most part it works, but the reasoning behind
it is still clear as day. They're cardboard cut-outs, which most films like
this use, but why there's not enough satire and sense of lightheartedness to
not take them seriously. The romantic sub-plot between A.J. and Grace is
milked for all its worth and serves mostly as an excuse to photograph Tyler's
face at every dramatic angle (and situation) possible, while the dialogue
between her and Affleck is quite melodramatic. I'm not even going to get into
the supporting characters' personal lives.

	The first hour of the film has a breezy, but shifty tone to it. One minute
the impending doom is played for intensity, the next minute the interaction
between Stamper and his crew is played for laughs, and then the romance
between A.J. and Grace is played for sap. All of it is watchable and the
intense aspects succeed for the most part, but the pacing a bit slow. Once the
crew begins training and finally embarks upon their mission is when things
really begin to heat up, which is the primary reason the film exists.

	Action done correctly can be one of the most sensational experiences, and the
filmmakers know how to manipulate the audience in this respect. The direction
balances the special effects with the events taking place, making for genuine
suspense and excitement. The art and production design give the settings a
real sense of depth, space, and detail which helps counter some of the wacky
plotlines. The hyper editing works with the direction to give the film a raw
intensity, but often induces vertigo and seems like a cop-out for lack of
script ideas. 

	There's no lack of action at all here, but what prevents the film from taking
advantage of its energy is the screenplay itself. Cliffhangers and other major
conflicts  constantly crop up and compound upon each other, but once they
start happening back-to-back (about every two minutes), the level of
predictably skyrockets. At nine screenwriters (five credited, four
uncredited), the film is clearly over-written which might have been saved had
20 or 30 minutes of the middle and last acts been cut. There's just too much
action without reaction here. As the film nears its end it's easy to forgot
what the point of the original mission was.

	Still, "Armageddon" is not without its accolades. The non-stop action is
never boring and the effects are mind-blowing, which makes it work at least as
eye candy, but as tasty as candy is, it's not very good for you.

******************************************************************
Please visit Chad'z Movie Page at:
 http://members.aol.com/ChadPolenz - over 200 new and old films 
reviewed in depth, not just blind ratings and quick capsules.

e-mail: [email-masked]
(C) 1998 Chad Polenz

Member of:
The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS)
The Internet Movie Critics Association (IMCA)
The Online Movie-Goers Academy (OMGA)