THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
I guess if you look hard enough, heroes really can come from anywhere.
PLOT
Armageddon follows a giant asteroid is going to hit Earth in 18 days. This inspires NASA executive Dan Truman to recruit the worlds best oil driller to train astronauts to drill a hole into the asteroid, to insert and detonate a nuclear bomb that’ll split the asteroid in half, which will prevent the worlds end. Third generation driller Harry Stamper is recruited, who agrees to help under the condition that he has his own team to do the actual mission. With NASA approving, he chooses to recruit his best employees from his company: Chick Chapel, Rockhound, Bear Curlene, Max Lennert, Oscar Choice (Owen Wilson), Freddie Noonan (Clark Brolly) and AJ Soles. The latter of which is dating Harry’s daughter Gale. This upsets Harry significantly because he took him under his wing after his father passed, loves him like a son and wants what is best for his daughter. For the next 12 days, he and his team get trained by professional astronaut Willie Sharp, who’ll have his own team alongside the drillers. The day before launch, Harry accepts her daughter’s growth and gives his blessing for her to marry AJ, only after his team convince him that she’s grown. On the day of launch, both NASA ships Freedom and Independence take off and dock with Russian Space Station Mir, to have enough fuel for the journey. But during fueling, a spark gets ignited and a fire is born. AJ retreats to the Independence with Russian cosmonaut Lev Andropov. They end up crash landing on the asteroid and apart from Bear surviving with them, the casualties include Freddie, Oscar and multiple teammates of Sharp’s. As for the Freedom, the remaining teammates are: Harry, Chick, Rockhound, Max, Sharp, Gruber (Grayson McCouch) and co pilot Jennifer Watts (Jessica Steen). Because the Independence is 26 miles apart from the Freedom, the remaining survivors board their Armadillo to reunite with them. When drilling goes slower than expected for the Freedom crew, Sharp reports to Mission Control that they haven't reached the necessary depth to split the asteroid. This leads to the decision of him being ordered by General Kimsey (Keith David) to remote detonate it immediately. However, Truman is able to briefly override the device on Earth to pause the timer, which gives Harry time to successfully convince Sharp to deactivate the bomb. Luckily, they are able to do so before Kimsey regained control. After this, they continue drilling but when they hit a hydrogen pocket, Their Armadillo is destroyed and Max gets killed as well. Luckily, AJ, Lev and Bear arrive with their spare Armadillo and reached the required depth. But by the time that happens, a rock storm kills Gruber and damages the remote detonator, which means someone will have to stay behind to manually detonate the bomb. Against AJ's wishes, Harry volunteers to stay behind, using the remaining Armadillo to say goodbye to his daughter. By the time everyone else boards the Freedom and takes off, Harry detonates the bomb, which destroys the asteroid, saves the planet and sacrifices his life in the process. As the remaining crew returns to Earth safely, the world rejoices being saved. AJ reunites with Grace and Chick reconciles with his ex wife and estranged son. The film ends with AJ marrying Grace, showing Harry's team in attendance.
THOUGHTS
As a kid, I liked the kind of movies that were downright fun and this film was no exception, which is partially why I ended up enjoying it when I first saw it. While it ain't as smart as Deep Impact, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Director Michael Bay make something that is still somehow worth the while because you're just caught up in an adrenaline rush of wild yet still somewhat contained action scenes. Looking at the mixed practical and visual effects, you totally believe you're traveling in space, which is a cool experience. When you get the feeling that you're part of the movie, that only proves how it always was worth the time. The top reason I believe this movie pays off is because it is a clever way to explore the moral of responsibility, the kind where you have think ahead for a better future, the one that defines you. This theme is uniquely explored through one of the most stellar ensembles you’re ever gonna get in the 90s. Bruce Willis was a force to be reckoned with in the role of Harry Stamper. He is a great leader at work, but struggled to be the great dad he wanted to be. With his thoughtful mindset, you know his decisions are always with best intentions. Since he raised Grace around his own workplace, it was hard for him to realize before departure that parenting is never perfect, that being there until the end is all that matters. He did just that for her, yet still wished he could do more. Anyone would be shocked if your protege is dating your child, but he chose to come around with approving AJ because he knew he'd take great care of his daughter when he's not around. My heart skipped a beat when he dies because as he saw his life flash before his eyes, he knew that every decision he made was all worth it because he knew Grace'll be safe in the long run. Ben Affleck shines as AJ for making him as one who can be a bit rebellious, but is just as thoughtful as Harry raised him to be. Grace loves him madly because she sees that in him aside from his charm. If you somehow don't think he is selfless, I'd like to make clear that he did want to stay behind before Harry intervened, which says a lot. He was willing to leave his life/future behind because he saw the bigger picture, which says so much about him. Speaking of Grace, I did enjoy Liv Tyler as well because she is someone who is breaking out of her shell, as she finally has her dad's attention that she is all grown up. She comes on too strong because that's how much she wants to be taken seriously, considering that she grew up around his workplace. AJ fell for her because he saw her maturity, like the rest of the crew did. Hearing 'I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith gives me goosebumps because you can feel how deep the love is between the young couple. I'm not sure if Billy Bob Thornton is talked about enough, but I dug him as well because when he plays Dan Truman, you admire how dedicated he is to protect the world. When you take notice of the leg brace he has, you get that he is someone who is left out of the glory. So he does everything he can to ensure others can do what he is unable to do alone. And seeing AJ give him Harry's patch symbolizes that he is as much of a hero as the rest that went to space, an astronaut in spirit. I also enjoyed Will Patton as Chick because this is a guy who stumbled with his gambling addiction and wasn't sure if he deserved redemption or not as his issues cost him his family. He joined Harry's team because he felt like he had nothing to lose. Which is why he chose to see his son before departure because he doubted he was gonna come back. Knowing that he became part of such a great accomplishment, he had a reason to live and seeing his son down the runway made him want to be better than before. William Fichtner is good here as well because as Willie Sharp, he is someone who has good intentions, but makes the mistake of overthinking and allowing others to decide for her. Harry impacted his life positively because he taught him to make his own decisions. It was his pitch to draw straws because he knew that a sacrifice had to be made to save the world. He couldn't do it because he had pilot the Freedom with Watts, but if he didn't have to, I believe he would've drew a straw as well. Peter Stormare was a highlight as well because when playing Lev, he was a guy who doesn't waste time doing whatever has to be done. He wants to go home just like everyone else and with that motive, he is not gonna let personal dispute disrupt his focus. I thought it was adorable for him and Sharp to attend AJ's wedding, as briefly shown during the credits, because that is how much they respect him for what they did together. Last but not least, the big piece that made the characters feel more colorful were the additions of Max, Rockhound and Bear. Ken Hudson Campbell, Steve Buscemi and Michael Clarke Duncan made each of them memorable because they all brought their own flair that made them relatable. Duncan showed Bear as the gentle giant who is wiling to hear out everybody's perspective. Campbell shows Max as the man child who was willing to be as helpful. And Buscemi portrayed Rockhound as one who has more than met the eye: Seeing him share his knowledge in geology proved that he was more than just a party animal. It is a shame that he got 'space dementia' during the mission because he could've been more helpful with his knowledge and spare set of hands. It was even a bummer when Max died because we knew that he was doing his absolute best to do right by the crew. It was neat that he and other deceased members of Harry's team had frames of them at the wedding, as a reminder that saving the world was not done by one. Even though I give this movie more credit than it deserves, I ain't gonna act like I didn't catch on with its issues that hold it back from being great. Like for instance, you really think I'm gonna believe that Eddie Griffin's character were to survive the first meteor shower without injuries? I know he got ashes all over him and he is probably concussed, but come on, its a meteor shower. If anything else, he should've got some cuts to furthermore prove this is serious. Yes the shower hits NY badly, but Griffin looks like he got off fine, which shouldn't be the case when you're in the middle of a disaster. Also, how come there weren't headlines of the world panicking when NY got hit? It's not like that shit got ignored until other locations got hit. If so, then that's just crazy. And is Harry really missing on purpose when he's shooting at AJ? Yeah he grazes him at the leg, but it really could've been worse whether or not they're just warning shots because it looks like his shots can ricochet anywhere. I admit that it's funny to find Rockhound at a bar, but what if he wasn't at one? He could've been at home. So Grace should've shared his address before going straight to the bar. And why does Harry go to AJ personally instead of letting the cops pick him up like they did with the others? I mean time is of the essence man, you could give your pep talks during the training sequences. I then wonder why does AJ get picked to check the fuel gate? I know he and Harry's team got trained to be an astronaut, but I feel like that should've been a task for one of Sharp's teammates who understand it better. Also, did Sharp get concussed after Harry smacked him with that giant ass tool? He looks fine off of adrenaline when he deactivates the bomb, so I'm surprised he didn't pass out after all of that chaos. I want to be scared when Chick shouts 'Earthquake' but really, on an asteroid? I wouldn't say 'Asteroid-quake', but I would've said tremor because they're not on Earth and only on Earth it would be logically called an earthquake. I want to laugh that Rockhound's stripper girlfriend got to be at the runway, but how does she qualify? She just met the guy before he went to space and I doubt she was able to get clearance like Chick's ex probably did. Other than that, this is still a blast. To wrap up, Armageddon is a gem to the sci fi genre for not trying too hard to be fun and paying off being so, while also having a bigger heart than anticipated. If you dig disaster films, this is the creme of the crop to check out.
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