Armageddon | Ben Affleck, Clark Heathcliffe Brolly

Armageddon | Ben Affleck, Clark Heathcliffe Brolly | A celebration of excitement and excess

DVDs:

Armageddon

	Armageddon Ben Affleck, Clark Heathcliffe Brolly Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone, 1999 average customer review:based on 1239 reviews view larger image
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When an asteroid the size of Texas is headed for Earth, a ragtag team of roughneck oil drillers are sent to drop a nuclear warhead into its core.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 25-JAN-2005
Media Type: DVD

Great Movie!

All I can say is if you're in doubt as to whether you wanna buy this or not--buy it. You will not be disappointed. And I say that as far as the movie goes. You may be disappointed, however, if you get stuck with a douche bag seller that mailes your product at the last minute. But don't worry, the wait is worth it.

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A celebration of excitement and excess

Michael Bay's films are an odd addition to the Criterion collection, until you recall the Criterion Collection's mission statement reads "All we ask is that each film in the collection be an exemplary film of its kind."

Armageddon is ultimate distillation of Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer's commercial action movie formula, a formula that they introduced in Bad Boys (Special Edition), improved upon in The Rock - Criterion Collectionand finally, post-Armageddon, ran into the ground in Pearl Harbor. Later Bay films like The Island and Transformers (Two-Disc Special Edition)are informed by this formula, but none of them come close to this masterpiece of 1990s action.

As you almost certainly know, the plot of Armageddon involves a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with the Earth. The only ones who can stop it are a rag-tag crew of oil drillers, who hitch a ride with some astronauts on a pair of fighter-jet space shuttles to blow the rock to bits with a well-placed nuke. Sounds silly? It is, and the film has a couple of winking acknowledgements of its own silliness. Mostly though, the film believes in itself, and it is easy to become caught up in the (false) grandeur of the undertaking.

Lots of people will bad-mouth this film, but those people are movie snobs. Armageddon was one of the most popular movies of 1998, and it was a defining element of the popular culture of the time. Ignoring it just because you dislike its style or story is to put on cultural blinders.

Personally, I felt that Armageddon's most interesting cinematic characteristic is Bay's use of a kind of cinematic short-hand. Much of Bruce Willis' character is defined by previous Bruce Willis movies, creating a kind of ready-made character who already feels familiar when he first appears. Likewise, the sequences involving the military are largely understandable only because you know how the military acts in this sort of movie.

But the best example of this shorthand is the character of Billy Bob Thorton. At one point he mentions that he was formerly in the astronaut program, but dropped out. There is a very short, perhaps less than 1 second, shot of a pair of leg braces. With just this flash of visual information, Bay has established an entire history for the character. Anyone who says that Bay is lacking in cinematic skills is ignoring his great gift at conveying information in a fast, visual way. A great example of showing, not telling.

This Criterion DVD has all the usual extra features you might expect, and they are as good as you might expect. The DVD commentary is entertaining and informative, and Bay is quite open about his commercial and pragmatic sensibilities, such as the story he relates that a certain beauty shot of a car was included so that the car-maker would give him money to build a bizarre set that was not included in the budget. Many of the cast members also contribute to the commentary; Ben Affleck is the highlight, obviously well trained from doing Kevin Smith commentary tracks. Bruce Willis is as laconic as his reputation would suggest, but his few comments are sometimes hilarious. This version of the movie is also slightly extended, with some scenes involving Willis' character's father, and a few slight extensions that add character beats to some of the minor scenes. Nothing major.

The second disc has lots of interesting features on the making of the movie, a collection of deleted scenes and a few bloopers. Most of the deleted scenes are comedy bits with the actors riffing in character, and all of them are entertaining but it is easy to see why they were cut out. The best blooper is an appearance by Michael Eisner (Disney's Touchstone division produced the film), who tells Willis that his casting isn't working out and the studio is replacing him with Kevin Costner.

All in all, this is a fantastic DVD of a highly entertaining movie. Don't let the movie snobs shame you into not getting it. If you enjoyed this movie back in the late 90s, you'll find plenty to still enjoy here. It has aged very well, and, from a film history standpoint, this DVD set is almost a time capsule of the bloated studio action pictures of the time.

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This movie has great entertainment value

I have to admit that this is one of my favorite movies of all time. There are very few movies that even try to touch on almost every emotion and this one does it well in my opinion. For those who didn't like it, I am guessing that they were trying to relate it to reality. Movies like this aren't meant for that. They are meant for their entertainment value and this is full of it. There is action, comedy, drama, suspense, and a little horror. Awesome!

A Leave Your Brain At The Door Movie

Armageddon when first released and viewed by the mass media was slated for it's unrealistic setting but was praised for its entertainment value. It's one of those movies that if you're going into it looking for scientific inconsistencies then you could genuinely write a novel on them, but if you're going into the movie looking to be entertained for over 2 hours then it will certainly deliver what you want. Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis, Steve Buscemi, Owen Wilson, the list goes on and on for really big name actors that helped generate the high box office takings and give us one hell of a reason to come out of the movie theatres smiling from ear to ear. The chemistry between Bruce Willis and Liv Tyler who played his daughter in the film was something to enjoy in itself but the alternate chemistry between Affleck and Willis was also something to really enjoy as Willis would constantly insult and chase Affleck away from his daughter.

The plot outline is simple, an Asteroid is heading towards Earth and if it hits it will destroy mankind as we know it, so a team of oil drillers must be sent up to the Asteroid to drill a hole in the Asteroid and plant a Nuclear device in the middle to destroy the Asteroid. The sub-plot is also simple, Harry Stamper (Willis) is the worlds best oil driller and while working on an oil rig his daughter Grace (Tyler) is in a secret relationship with A.J. Tyler (Affleck) but even with the dangerous risk of Harry finding out the love is destined to survive whether Harry likes it or not. When being requested by the NASA Administrator Dan Truman Harry would only agree to take part in the mission if the only people in the world he trusted could come with him, they only happen to be some of Americas biggest misfits.

The side characters including Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan & Owen Wilson really give us the comic relief of this movie and along with come of the more saddening scenes they have the ability to lift us up with their antics. Billy Bob Thornton plays his role as Dan Truman, the tortured soul with a broken dream well and puts the stamp of this character in our minds.

The CGI and other huge settings are great and make it at times over the top and yet they come across as realistic and cool. This is a genuinely fun movie but is something that in order for you to enjoy it you need to leave your brain at the door and just enjoy the swearing and destruction.

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