Customer Reviews

Armageddon

5 star:		(535)
4 star:		(212)
3 star:		(111)
2 star:		(90)
1 star:		(356)

 

 

The Criterion Collection release of Armageddon is a treat. It offers 2 commentary tracks, one featuring the director Michael Bay, actors Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has comments on several interesting things. Affleck's commentary is sometimes very funny. The other commentary track features the Director of Photography and special effects people.

The commentary includes interesting details, including background information on the characters and filming locations. Note: The commentary is raw and sometimes laced with profanity, although the movie itself is rated PG-13, for reasons explained in the commentary.

Although it's not much, this collection is also a Director's Cut and has a couple scenes added, notable of which is Harry Stamper's character visiting his father before launch. Some other scenes are cut slightly differently, adding some depth to the story.

The Gag reel on the second disk is extremely funny, raw, and not your typical "behind-the-scenes" documentary.

The second disk also features a tremendous amount of information on the special effects and includes many different trailers and promo material. The Aerosmith song video is also included.

While the story can be nit-picked, it's still very exciting and enjoyable.

Overall, if you liked the movie, the Criterion Collection release is the DVD to have.

Although I think the movie is an over-loud, completely illogical and fairly disorienting piece of Hollywood claptrap, as far as big Summer blockbusters go it's hard to beat Armageddon. But I wanted to add a large, hairy and potentially sales-limiting aside to all the other reviews. If you're upgrading to a widescreen TV thinking this DVD will showcase the new technological wonders of prograssive scan and 16x9 flat screens you'll be sorely disappointed when you find that there is no anamorphic version on this disc. That's right, friends, even with all the other extras, they couldn't be bothered to include the one feature that truly showcases the cinematography and special effects (which are, let's face it, this film's halmarks cuz it sure ain't the acting and script). On a widescreen TV, Criterion's Armageddon provides black bars above, below and side to side yielding a postcard view of the "big screen" action.

Hey, lighten up, oh puckered product reviewers who can't seem to blast this flick enough. Can we all agree the very premise of this movie--along with all the wacky, physics-defying pseudo-science--requires a suspension of disbelief the size of, say, the Milky Way Galaxy? Can't we all just get along?

ARMAGEDDON isn't a scientific treatise on how to successfully stop an asteroid the size of Texas from destroying the earth; it's a white-knuckled, strap-it-on and strap-it-up, grit your teeth and enjoy the ride roller coaster. This movie delivers nonstop action like a law firm cranking out past-due statements; ARMAGEDDON's got it all, from a slingshot lunar ride, to thrills and chills with a nuclear weapon, to even one spaced-out Russian cosmonaut.

All viewers please check quantum physics at the door.

Bruce Willis, a cantankerous leader of a bunch of renegade roughnecks (roughnecks who must fly to the asteroid and drill through 800 feet of solid metal and drop a nuke in the hole, mind you), is solid. Ben Affleck reminded me of a whiny, annoying teenager; Liv Tyler had me more solid than the meteor itself. Billy Bob Thornton. . .yeah, okay. The rest of the cast works well together--they look like they had fun making this movie. Which is only fitting: I dang sure had fun watching it.
--D. Mikels, Author, WALK-ON

Though not a big fan of the action genre like Die Hard and such, I have always liked Bruce Willis and appreciated his work. Here again, he gives a very good performance of decidedly mediocre material. Now, the special effects are exciting and awesome, so far as they go -- though there's not enough of them. (The "opening shots" sequence of the minimeteors hitting NYC was beautifully done, both exciting and also delightfully humorous at times; the all-too-infrequent bits that follow, such as the destruction of Paris and Hong Kong, are also fine.) But the "story" is not only improbable, but tired as well. And of a rather juvenile mindset. The whole long, loud, annoying oil rig scene, supposed to establish 1) how coooollll Willis' character is 2) Affleck's predictable relationship with Willis' daughter 3) how rrreally cooollll Willis's character is and 4) how cool all the other driller misfits are -- is one that I peremptorily fast-forward through. And some of the scenes are ruined (for me) by the frenetic rock soundtrack which is, especially for people who aren't big fans of that style, PARTICULARLY grating. In short, I wondered if Advil or Tylenol sponsored the film because it is capable of generating whopper headaches. A good film for an afternoon or evening, on a multiple bill with DEEP IMPACT and one or two George Pal films like WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE or THE WAR OF THE WORLDS -- but don't lose your remote!

And I quote "...the Criterion Collection is a large and growing selection of classic and contemporary films that have been singled out for the red carpet treatment..."

Ugh!

Just when I thought "Criterion Collection" meant they chose nothing but the best movies.

The movie had much to be desired - though I must admit I'm a Bruce Willis fan, and Liv Tyler is quite a peice of, era, ehem.... Anyhow, it was still a disappointment.

If you took all of the impending world disaster movies made during the last half-century and mixed them all up in a giant vat, the result would be this big-budget loser; the cinematic equivalent of that organic chemical substance that suposedly produced the earliest lifeforms about two billion years ago in the Pre-Cambrian era. The fate of the world is left in the hands of a bunch of undereducated oil drillers who appear to be World Wrestling Federation rejects. How could these flesh and blood versions of the Transformers complete astronaut training in less than two weeks when in reality, it takes the brightest of candidates many months? Just put aside your education, logic, and common sense for about two and a half hours and try to stay awake to see this film whose only qualities that earned two stars are its special effects (they appear to be borrowed from Independence Day) and its musical score.

This movie is just another example of Hollywood making movies that are big on special effects and scarce on plot. The sorry romantic subplot doesn't make up for it either. It is really unrealistic and would only fool someone with an elementary school mentality. You never once feel for the characters. This show was only made for money and no thought of being a serious movie ever went into it. By supporting trash like this we are cutting out movies that have actual substance and are leading Hollywood to make more garbage.

This is one of the lamest movies I have seen. Lame story. Lame acting. Lame actors. Willis at his worse. Tyler should stay being famous because of her father and give up her acting career before we all see how lame she can really be. The only saving quality of this movie is the special effects and they are great. I give it 2 stars based on this fact and only this fact. If you are like me and enjoy watching movies for the sfx then you will like this. If you are deeper and need a good story, pass this one--with a wide gap.

I don't belong to the apparent elitists who despise Michael Bay's filmmaking because he's entertaining for it's own sake. Michael Bay is what he is the same as Hitchcock directed psychological thrillers or George Lucas directs science fiction. He makes films that are loud, fast, action-packed and quite frankly, fun to watch. Isn't that what movies are supposed to be about?

Armageddon was probably the most (other than maybe Saving Private Ryan) anticipated movie of 1998. I'd rank it in my top two or three of 1998 (The others being Saving Private Ryan and American History X). It's not the next Schindler's List and it doesn't strive to be. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler in the main roles. The supporting cast is underrated, well-balanced and fun to watch, from Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi down to lesser know actors Marshall R. Teague and Jessica Steen.

Yes, the plot and premise may not be the most believable. But neither is King Kong, Lord of The Rings, Star Wars or whatever. These pseudo-critics on Amazon.com whine about "poor science" behind the movie, or the poor plot or the stereotypical cast. You know what? Who friggin' cares? It's a movie that's made for sheer fun, for entertainment, for bringing your family to enjoy a couple of hours of action, thundering explosions, fast vehicles and a little romance. Armageddon, despite what the Ebert and Roeper apprentices in here think, is entertainment at its best. Stop whining and enjoy yourself.

We are all familiar with the story by now. An asteroid the size of Texas is on path to impact with Earth, which would destroy all forms of life on it. The world only has 18 days until impact. The only way to stop it is to blow it up from the inside by drilling to its core. For that, NASA recruits the worlds's best deep-core driller in Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) and his renegade drilling crew. The crew, along with some NASA astronauts and an unlucky Russian cosmonaut, journey to the asteroid and embark upon the mission to destroy it and with that, save the entire planet.

Along the way, the crew endures despite losing lives, having to overcome huge obstacles, and having to make decisions that will affect not only the world but their own personal lives. The movie is filled with a few emotional moments that will bring tears to some eyes. The score is grandiose and is a large part of the film. The film strives to be patriotic and the cinematography reflects it. I couldn't help but feel patriotic and moved while watching the movie. The sound and visual effects in the movie were awesome, which its four Oscar nominations reflect.

This movie is a lot of things. It's fun, it's moving, it's sad and it's romantic. Above all, it's one of the more entertaining movies I have seen. The cast had a lot of chemistry together and seemed to have a lot of fun which is reflected in the film. This was Ben Affleck's first big box-office action movie and he gives a good first effort. Bruce Willis takes on the role of Harry Stamper with ease like the action movie veteran he is. Liv Tyler is sweet as Harry's daughter and their emotional goodbye is to be remembered. (Home theater aficionados will also appreciate the visual and sound effects in this movie).

Armageddon was the second-highest grossing film of 1998 narrowly behind Saving Private Ryan. That might be something for critics to think about, because obviously A LOT of people saw this movie. All in all, don't listen to the critics here trying to become the next "Top 500 reviewer." See the movie, it's a blast.

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This is the largest packed special features release by criterion to date at the time of release. Being the case, both the film and the special features will be reviewed.

The film is about Earth being threatened by an asteroid that would cause the end of every life on Earth. There are some opening scenes of a metoer shower over New York City.

Chapter 3 on the DVD is one that some may want to skip. There are two scenes that may hit too close to home for some people. In one scene, a meteor is shown hitting the World Trade Center, and in another scene shows the World Trade Center with the top ¼ of one of the towers destroyed and the rest of it on fire.

The film has good acting with an all-star cast. The movie has some excellent special effects. The film has many errors though. there are too many to mention in less than 1,000 words.

The Criterion edition is a director's cut with scenes not shown in theaters.

The special features are really good. There are 2 discs in this set one of which only has special features. Disc 1 has TWO aduio commentaries. One is with director Michael Bay, actors Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The other is with cinematographer John Schwartzman and two scientific consultants. one from Nasa and the other an asteroid expert.

On disc two, there are deleted scenes, outtakes and blooper reel, (You may want to note that the blooper reel contains profanity rarely heard even in some R rated films and will offend some people.), Storyboard images, analysis of Visual effects and production design, Trailers and TV spots, and the music video of the song "Don't want to miss a thing" by Diane Warren and performed by Aerosmith.

Overall this is high quality and is one of the more well-known films that have been given the Criterion treatment.