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I just got done watching Armageddon for the first time in years and you know what? If this movie was released now in theaters, it would be regarded as one of the best blockbusters of the year - and that's without an ounce of sarcasm. The characters are exactly what you want in a movie like this, they are colorful, memorable and just entertaining. Also the movie surprisingly hits the emotional notes really well, I almost never get emotional in these types of movies but Harry's goodbye to his daughter is genuinely touching without being overly cheesy (which is really surprising since this is a Michael Bay movie). There are some really great character moments from William Fichtner's character Willie Sharp and Billy Bob Thornton's character Truman that I feel like don't get enough mention. Obviously the score is amazing and the visual effects still hold up really well even after 22 years.
I was also listening to bits of Ben Affleck's commentary and there is this bit at the end when he talks about him convincing Michael Bay to shoot the end credit wedding scene saying that he felt that they needed an ending like that after all the doom and gloom. Then he goes into detail about how he brought in super 8 cameras to film the wedding and how Michael Bay let him operate the camera...I dunno, I feel like people who made this movie really cared, and it shows, no one is phoning it in. I think the key to why this movie works so well is that it hits that fine line between dumb-fun and genuine
Armageddon is one of those movies that I was surprised to learn people hate, and I will defend it to the death.
Ok, so, scariest environment imaginable. Just say 'scariest environment imaginable.'
Armageddon is the best bad movie ever made. The plot is absolute nonsense but it enthralled me. It somehow balances the serious and the absurd in a brilliant way. And that tracking shot he did for the space station scene...100000 chef kisses!
Get off... the nuclear... warhead
I just wanted to feel the power between my legs. Ya know, Slim Pickens, riding the bomb...you guys never seen Dr. Strange love?
He's got space dementia.
Just wanted to feel the power between my legs brother
Rockhound: "Hey Colonel, NO NUKES! NO NUKES! NO NUKES!..."
Harry: "You got any bullets left in that gun?"
He's got space dementia
GO GET MY GOD DAMN PHONE BOOK! GET THE BOOK! GET THE BOOK! GET THE BOOK!
I swear this is what I love about Michael bay. Even characters with about 20 seconds of voice lines say the kookiest, craziest shit
I am rewatching this movie for the first time in ages and literally, as soon as I started reading your comment he started screaming that. Fucking perfect 😂😂
I may be in the minority but I never thought it was a bad movie.
I'm guessing OP didn't watch the movie when it was first released, back then it was a massive hit.
It's bad if you pick apart all the technical details, but if you just sit back and accept all the things they state as fact, it's a lovely drama.
Don't even have to get to technical details. If you're going to nitpick technical details going into a movie where the plot is to send up a team of oil drillers to blow up a planet destroying asteroid into two neat pieces, well...you picked the wrong movie to watch
Movie was and still is one of my childhood 'fun' movies. OP made a good point about all the characters being amusing. They took the time to give each guy a personality. The goodbye scenes were actually some of the more impactful scenes Bay has shot. And kinda subtle like OP says. Crazy that Bruce won the Razzie for this. He did great saying bye to Liv
You're preaching to the choir. I love this film. I'm just so used to having to defend it.
Yes, even some people must defend trash.
That's very reassuring to know there's still people out there who would prefer watching this steaming pile of dog shit, to watching a dumpster fire. At least the dumpster fire isn't pretentious about it's role in life, and only lasts 20 minutes.
Take it at face value as a hugely entertaining film to pass a couple of hours with and it’s great. I don’t know enough about cinematography to worry about the technical aspects.
It’s one of my go to lazy Sunday afternoon films
I'm in that group with you. The plot is absurd but the acting and character interaction make up for it. You watch it for the emotion and they do a fantastic job. I like it for the same reason I like Forrest Gump or The Fast and Furious franchise. Yeah, I know it's completely ridiculous but damned if I'm not going to watch every frame of it.
Well it is in The Criterion Collection. Not just anything makes it in there.
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Ah it’s “Requesting permission to shake the hand of the daughter of the bravest man I’ve ever met” that gets me.
I love that line.
The first half of the movie right up until they leave Earth is some of the most entertaining story telling done tbh. Just fun, funny, exciting building of characters/situations and it hits ALL the marks.
Then they get to space and it kinda loses a lot in my opinion, pace and story wise. Yes the ending and goodbye scene are very well done and it does hit all the emotional chords I agree but compared to the first half I was always dissapointed looking back to it.
How could it possibly lose pace when every 3 minutes there's someone yelling "We have no time! We got to go!" lol.
But yeah, you're completely right, and a lot of it is to do with the tone. The first half is almost a comedy, despite the stakes. The way that the crew are introduced, their demands, the training... It's kinda like Ocean's Eleven with a meteor instead of a vault. It's fast and snappy and colourful, figuratively and literally. The second half is more serious, and Michael Bay just doesn't do serious very well.
I think there is just enough cosmonaut in the second half to carry on the fun. Otherwise would totally feel like a big budget sci-fi channel original.
COME GET PAPA BEAR 🐻
Its a great popcorn movie and i wish they still made movies like this.
I view it as a fun movie to watch that doesn’t take itself too seriously, kind of like Air Force One
It does takes itself pretty seriously, though.
While the plot of Air Force One is a bit out there, it's miles away from Armageddon in terms of ridiculousness. Of course I'll watch both movies though, but I'd take AFO a little more seriously because of the "political thriller" aspect of it; the performances between Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford, and Glenn Close for example.
I think Executive Decision would be a much better comparison.
I enjoyed it, more memorable than most films
Legit one of my favorite movies
"American components! Russian Components! They're all made in Taiwan!" Im late to the party but I'm watching the end of it right now on cable and it's almost as ridiculous and awesome as when I saw in theatre...almost. This is a great movie, and every character has a personality that defines them. And it's emotionally grasping. This movie is like shaking your head "no" but saying "yes" simultaneously.
Agreed with another commenter about how the first half is fantastic 10/10, hilarious, but then after liftoff, the movie pivots more towards the sci-fi side of things, and unless you're into that the movie probably starts to drag.
Thankfully for me I'm totally into that! Armageddon is one of my favorite movies. Harry's goodbye is so touching. Makes me tear up almost every time.
Also, I just want to say, I disagree with Ben Affleck when on the commentary he talks about how he thinks it's not believable for NASA send up the drillers. I think it's a completely plausible scenario. They go over it quite clearly in the movie:
There was very little time (12 DAYS) to train up the existing astronauts to become drill experts.
What knowledge the existing astronauts had for the Mars mission was useless because the drill was a copy cat that didn't function right.
Harry wanted his team with him if he was going to go up, as they were the only people he trusted working with.
If you want to critique something related to who they sent up, ask why the heck did they have suits lying around big enough for Max and Bear/how the heck did the make those extra suits in 12 days?
Some other things/scenes I love about the movie:
Montage of finding all the drillers after they scatter
NASA brainstorming session, the solar sail demo is so pathetic yet funny 😆
Negotiating payment
Training montage
Harry's right hand man (forgot his name) trying to say goodbye 😭
Double shuttle liftoff, would be cool to see something like that IRL
Liv Tyler (well that was more pre-teen me...)
"Cause I'm leaving, on a jet plane!" scene
"You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?"
Everything Steve Buscemi
Billy Bob Thornton
Cosmonaut
The percussive maintenance
Wedding ending, I had no idea it was an afterthought/why, so glad they had that idea
Things I didn't like:
How they killed off Owen Wilson so early 😢
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Exactly!
💯💯💯💯💯💯
When I first saw this in theaters Owen Wilson dying made me cry the HARDEST. Don’t kill off the genuinely talented actor who plays a goofy cowboy with a dick nose that tries to escape the FBI on his horse. Love that dude.
Poor Owen Wilson, always dying around that time (here, Anaconda, the Haunting)
I think it's great in the sense of the 90s style blockbuster. Characters are introduced pretty quickly and they tell you just enough about them so you get the sense of their personality and then the film just goes. It's comedy, it's action, it's drama, it's got big names, it's over the top, it's got a song done specifically for the movie, it's got slick looking visuals... All the hallmarks of the 90s blockbuster but I think Armageddon did it exceptionally well. For some people though, I'm not sure if they actually hate it or if it's one of the ones that people have seen so many times that you feel like you don't ever want to see it again. Kinda like independence day.
I've defended and loved Armageddon since I saw it the first time when I was like 12 years old. Great movie, cheesy but proud of it.
I always liked this movie. The science and specific plot points don't make much sense, but if you just go along with it and enjoy it, it's an enjoyable film with good action, characters, visuals, and emotions.
Honestly, the worst part in my mind was the Col. Sharpe (William Fichtner) line to Liv Tyler's character at the end. "request permission to shake the hand of the daughter of the bravest man I've ever known" blech
An absolute abortion of a line but goddamn does Willian Fichtner sell it.
WF sells everything. Love that dude.
Yeah, I really like him as Adam on Mom
Still my favorite movie, I've watched it every year since it came out
Thoroughly enjoy it every time I watch it.
My only regret is that on first watching it at the cinema I had to go to the loo and missed the destruction of Paris. How many movies destroy an entire city in one pee break?
"Harry never fails he doesn't know how to." 😭
It is a great movie and shows why Movie Critics are among the dumbest people on the earth...
They however like some great movies like lord of the rings and Star Wars
This, and 13 Hours are Michael Bay movies I recommend to people all the time, but because it's Michael Bay, I can't tell them who directed it, or they won't watch it or think I'm joking.
The (understandable) prejudice towards Michael Bay due to his most infamous movies (mostly the Transformers sequels) makes people forget that he has actually done several good movies.
Aside from the ones cited above, The Rock is a classic of 90s action, Pain and Gain a well structured satire with great acting (one of the few films in which Dwayne Johnson doesn’t play himself), Bad Boys and the sequel are funny buddy cop movies and even the first Transformers is quite enjoyable.
This. I get the negativity towards Michael Bay, but on the most part he sticks to his guns and makes trashy action films, and sometimes he nails it and I love them!
You forgot The Rock as well, arguably his best work.
i like the island
Try inviting your friends to watch Pain and Gain telling them it's an unfairly underated Cohen brothers movie (just cut the opening credits), then once you reveal them it was a Michael Bay, they are ready for the others. :)
May also work with The Island and Spielberg.
It’s ok if you tell people michae bay made it no one is going to freak out they know who he is and they like him
As a disaster movie fan, I prefer Deep Impact.
But Armageddon is enjoyable.
Deep impact wasn’t really a disaster as it didn’t have action and the only thing was a tsunami scene in New York and that looked fake and cheap and ugly
Watch it with the commentary track. Ben Affleck is unintentionally hilarious
My 11 year old self enjoyed the hell out of it.
It's bad, but hardly anyone remembers Deep Impact which, although arguably a better film, has completely faded from memory.
Eh I don’t know if I would call it better and it feels even less believable but as a disaster movie enthusiast I loved it almost equally.
The switch at the end made everyone cry, I don’t care what anyone says.
“WE WIN, GRACIE.”
It has 6.7 stars on IMDB. That's pretty good for sci-fi.
If you look at the top rated review on IMDB (I think the most accurate), they give it 8/10. It even explains the love/hate for the movie.
"This movie seems to be a movie that many people love to hate. I don't see why it has such a bad reputation. It is meant to be an Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi movie, and it definitely lives up to this. It is what it is. Many people have tried to compare it to Apollo 13, but that's like comparing apples and oranges. They are entirely different fruit. Apollo 13 is based on a true historical event (Docu-drama), while Armageddon is an Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi movie. It has plenty of action and adventure, a lot of humor, and a bit of romance. Is the story realistic? Not hardly, but name ANY Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi movie that is. That's why they call it Science FICTION... For those who criticize this movie, nothing will change their minds. However, if you HAVEN'T seen Armageddon, take a chance, watch with an open mind and try not to let all these negative reviews spoil your enjoyment of a really fun movie. Remember, a movie is meant to ENTERTAIN, and Armageddon does just that, if you let it!"
It looks like it had more haters and isn’t that baffling
I know what film I'm rewatching tonight.
It is a great movie. Dumb as dogshit, but still great.
People clown on Armageddon and The Rock being in the Criterion Collection but they both totally rip
Nobody complains about the rock being in the criterion that movie was loved
Preach! In the right state of mind, Armageddon is simply an excellent viewing experience.
It's not even bad...it's freaking amazing...all round brilliant...only bit I don't like? Animal crackers on Liv Tylers belly...but it is Liv Tyler so I'll forgive it! Love this movie
My first movie crush x)
Can’t find a single critic that said that
Oh I'm with you 100%, Armageddon is definitely one of my guilty pleasure movies.
But what of it being an actuall good movie cause guilty pleasure is a movie you enjoy but admit it sucks as a film is Armageddon really that or is there any good to it
I watched this movie so many times as a kid it's in my veins now.
A-fucking-men. People who think Armageddon is a bad movie in the sense that they don’t want to watch it are the kind of people that are unpleasant to be around.
Then you have forfeited your right to live. Kill yourself, death by fire.
Not sure why you would have to unironically like this movie. Even the Siskel and Ebert review that pointed out why it was flawed and not "great" cinema ended with them highlighting all the reason you should still see the movie. There is nothing wrong with formulaic as long as it's done right.
Of all the things off in that movie. I'm just baffled at how an asteroid the size of Texas could be taken out by be a mere small bomb dug only down 800 Feet deep.
They happened to have found THAT one spot that will work?
Absolutely agree
I'd like to see the same premise remade to be a bit more dark in tone with the same self-sacrifice at the end, but the result being that the asteroid doesn't move off impact course enough and humanity is still doomed.
And yes, Bruce Willis should return for the same role.
Don't let the fact that internet culture tends to pile on and hate whatever is trendy to hate fool you - Armageddon already was considered one of the best blockbusters in its own release year. It was literally number one in box office for that year. People didn't start hating on it until later.
It is very watchable, but it has very bad/cheesy/cringeworthy moments. This film and the first Bad Boys are two Michael Bay films I can actually sit through. The cast make both of these films easier to watch. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence had good banter in Bad Boys; Bruce Willis, Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, etc made up for Michael Bay's excesses.
Its visual amnesia. You watch it and like it. 3 hours after leaving the theatre you forget it exists
Me too. It's genuinely great.
This and Batman V Superman being fantastic, are the 2 movie opinion hills I'd gladly die on.
Considering current events, I favor Carriers. Just feels like the most believable of the apocalyptic genre...
What are you even talking about?
This obscure disease called Covid-19.
This! I'm just wT hing a documentary on Bruce Willis and found out it got bad ratings! I was like what??? I adore this movie, WTF.
I've watched this movie more times than I'd admit to anyone in real life. You hit the nail on the head. There are so many great lines, funny characters and not overly cheesy emotional moments.
I think this movie got bad ratings because it completely ignored physics and science for Hollywood entertainment. The whole production was also a mess, and as you watch more movies, you can see how messy it is our together at time. Regardless, for 95% of people, like myself, they don't notice or care and just enjoy a movie for what it is, entertainment:)
I used to watch this with my dad and sister and brother and it will always be one of my favorite movies from my childhood! Just rewatched it again in 2022 and I have come to the conclusion that it’s a masterpiece!
I wanna name her dotty cuz she's a viscious life sucking bitch🤣
Like Pearl Harbor it was a cinemetic disaster from start to finish
This movie is the worst. It is people like you who make this type of trash successful. Congratz.
So every person I’ve ever dated has called me a movie snob, but if I ever need a good cry this is my SAFETY. Sure there are scientific inaccuracies but nobody ever claimed it to be nonfiction. It has a ridiculous cast, it’s never not entertaining, and the dialogue is great. Also Liv Tyler screaming at them when they’re about to remote detonate the bomb “that is my father up there” is outrageously convincing. As is when Ben Affleck is screaming at Bruce Willis that he loves him when he shoves him back into the airlock is heartbreaking. Anybody that has ever criticized Armageddon I immediately say “you try watching Bruce Willis tell his daughter he’s not coming home and has to blow himself up and let me know how that goes.”
Plus Steve Buscemi. That’s all.
“I don’t mean to be the materialistic weasel in the group… but do you think there’s any chance we’ll get hazard pay?”