Armageddon (1998)
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This Michael Bay-directed blockbuster made over $200 Million on its American release, despite some terrible critical reaction. It has been much criticised, even appearing on “Worst Blockbuster of all Time” lists, but does it really deserve its bad reputation?
Astronomers are shocked to discover that an asteroid the size of Texas is heading straight for Earth. Obviously the only thing to do is send up a team of oil drillers into space in some fancy space shuttles and hope that they can avert disaster by using explosive charges to break the asteroid in two. Of course it isn't all plain sailing, as there is tension between the disciplined shuttle crew, the bureaucratic administrators and the rebellious oil drillers. There are also a number of challenges when they get up into space, ranging from a drunken Russian cosmonaut on the space station they rendezvous with (racial stereotypes in a Hollywood movie? Surely not) and some of the crew's inability to cope with space without going space crazy to the problems of having to fly through a massive debris field even to get to the asteroid.
The plot is reasonably entertaining – there aren't any higher stakes to play for than the future of the world – and the scenes of meteorites hitting the Earth in advance of the asteroid are very effective at illustrating the potential dangers. However, it is also a bit silly in many respect – there is an excess of cliched Hollywood sentimentality, the attempts at character interaction are occasionally laughable and the film is infamously full of scientific inaccuracy.
The main character is abrasive oilman Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis), who is recruited by NASA administrator Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) to assemble a team to combat the menace. The supporting cast includes a number of big-name actors including Ben Affleck as Stamper's protege (who is in love with Stamper's daughter (Liv Tyler)), Steven Buscemi as an eccentric geologist, Owen Wilson being typically laid-back, William Fitchner as the shuttle commander and Michael Clarke Duncan. There is quite a lot of acting talent here, with the result that the characters do end up being quite likeable, however the script is full of corny dialogue and the character development is minimal. The always-excellent Buscemi is especially wasted in a lazily-written role as a slightly insane scientist with no real depth to explain his eccentricity. The romance between Affleck and Tyler is also very poorly written with some painfully cheesy dialogue and a bland performance by Affleck.
Michael Bay may not make intelligent films, but he is competent with his action scenes and all the explosions look quite impressive, if sometimes slightly unconvincing. The surface of the asteroid in seems to have been designed to look inhospitable rather than realistic which helps with the mood but doesn’t do the film’s plausibility any favours.
In summary, this is a reasonably entertaining film if you can avoid moaning about the plot holes and factual errors. The characters may be overly simplistic but they are still quite likeable, and the action scenes are quite impressive. Dumb but entertaining.
Rating : 6˝ / 10
All content ©2003 William Marnoch.
Comments? Agree/Disagree with the Reviews? Suggestions? Random Ramblings? Whatever you might want to say, feel free to e-mail me at william@wmarnoch.freeserve.co.uk .