Armageddon (1998 film)

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For other films with this name, see Armageddon (disambiguation).
Armageddon
Directed by Michael Bay
Produced by Michael Bay
Jerry Bruckheimer
Gale Anne Hurd
Written by Screenplay
Jonathan Hensleigh
J.J. Abrams
Story
Robert Roy Pool
Jonathan Hensleigh
Adaptation
Tony Gilroy
Shane Salerno
Starring Bruce Willis
Ben Affleck
Liv Tyler
Billy Bob Thornton
Will Patton
Steve Buscemi
Michael Clarke Duncan
Ken Campbell
Owen Wilson
William Fichtner
Peter Stormare
Music by Trevor Rabin
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) July 1, 1998
Running time 150 minutes
Language English
Budget USD$140 million
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Armageddon is a disaster/science fiction film about a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers who are sent by NASA to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. It was directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and released on Disney's Touchstone Pictures label. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler. The film's tagline is "For Love. For Honor. For Mankind."

A novelization was written by C. Bolin, based on the screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh, J.J. Abrams, Tony Gilroy and Shane Salerno and the story by Jonathan Hensleigh and Robert Pool.

Contents

[edit] Plot

While in the middle of an EVA, the Space Shuttle Atlantis is struck by thousands of tiny asteroids and explodes in space. Shortly after, an area of Earth from Finland to the southeastern United States is bombarded by more meteors. Several destroy landmarks and skyscrapers in New York City. NASA determines that the smaller asteroids were forced towards Earth by a much larger one the size of Texas, which will strike the Earth in 18 days causing total destruction of all life.

As high government officials and NASA specialists discuss the best course of action, they realize that sending nuclear missiles at the asteroid would be ineffective due to the size and velocity of the mass. However, they realize that detonating a nuclear warhead inside the asteroid would effectively blow the asteroid in two halves which would bypass the Earth. NASA then decides to recruit Harry Stamper, reputed to be the best deepcore driller in the world. In a subplot, Stamper finds that his best man, AJ Frost, drilled in an unauthorized well on Harry's oil rig in the South China Sea. As he goes to confront AJ, he finds Frost has been secretly dating Stamper’s daughter, Grace, for several months. While going after him with a shotgun, the well opens up, spewing oil all over the rig, and onto the clients who had just come aboard to see the progress. Harry, who knew the relief valve on that particular well was broken, fires AJ over the blatant safety violation.

As the crew cleans up, the Commander of the Pacific Air Force arrives via helicopter to bring Harry back to the mainland. Since he won't leave without his daughter, Grace is loaded onto the helicopter and both fly away, eventually arriving at the NASA Space Center in Houston. Dan Truman, head of NASA, explains to Harry and Grace about the incoming asteroid and the plan of NASA to destroy it before it reaches Earth.

Harry agrees to take the job of destroying the asteroid, but only if he can take his own crew to do the job. The plan is to approach the asteroid from behind and land on it, drill in a spot along a fault line to 800 feet, plant a nuclear bomb in the shaft and detonate it remotely after evacuation. The deadline for detonation is a distance from Earth called "zero barrier," which will allow the two halves of the asteroid to miss Earth when split apart. Harry's best workers prepare for the mission through rigorous space travel drills, modification of their equipment and pointed psychological tests to determine if they are able to work in space.

The crew take off in two specially adapted shuttles, Freedom and Independence. They dock with a dilapidated, Mir-like Russian space station manned by a single Cosmonaut. An equipment failure during refueling causes the station to explode and Lev Andropov, the cosmonaut, evacuates with the Independence.

The shuttles increase their speed to match the asteroid's velocity by flying at high speed around the dark side of the moon. On their approach, debris from the asteroid's tail strikes the Independence, causing massive damage. The shuttle crashes on the surface of the asteroid and only AJ, Lev and Bear are left alive. They pile into their drilling vehicle, called an Armadillo, and head out in search of Harry’s crew.

Harry’s crew lands safely on the asteroid despite damage to the shuttle. Communications are out, leaving the crew with no way to contact Earth. They also determine that they have overshot their landing site and are sitting on an area comprised of iron, making it extremely difficult to drill. The crew start their project anyway and quickly figure out that the drilling will be nearly impossible; they destroy one drill bit and a gear transmission in the first two hours.

Their troubles are compounded when the shuttle commander, Colonel Sharpe, informs NASA that they will not be able to complete the mission on time. The President, informed that possible loss of radio contact after seven minutes will result in loss of their ability to remote-detonate the nuclear warhead, decides that the bomb will be detonated early in the hopes that it will deflect the asteroid’s path enough to miss Earth. A fight ensues on the shuttle between Sharpe and Stamper. Stamper convinces the colonel that he can make the depth of 800 feet. Colonel Sharpe and his lieutenant defuse the bomb mere seconds before it detonates.

One of Stamper’s crew, Rockhound, has a negative psychological reaction to working in space. He causes a distraction while playing with a machine gun, nearly shooting a few crew members. While they attempt to bring him under control, the drilling vehicle hits a gas pocket, blasting it off the asteroid, taking crew member Max with it. On Earth, the media report that the mission has failed. Not long after a larger meteor strikes and destroys the city of Paris.

As they wait out their ultimate fate, the crew discovers that AJ has survived the crash of the Independence and has arrived at the drilling site in the second Armadillo. They continue the operation and despite some arguments between AJ and Harry, drill to 800 feet. Following a few more mishaps, including AJ being trapped in the shaft, they plant the nuke and prepare to evacuate. However, the bomb has been damaged and remote detonation from a safe distance is now impossible.

The remaining members of Stamper’s crew draw straws to see who will stay behind and activate the bomb. AJ draws the short straw. As he and Harry return to the drilling site, Harry pulls out his oxygen feed tube and forces him back into the shuttle, telling him to take care of Grace.

The crew manages to fix the shuttle and they take off leaving Harry behind. Harry contacts Grace at NASA headquarters and they exchange last goodbyes. Harry is rocked by several quakes but manages to reach the detonator. His last thoughts are of Grace as he pushes the button just before zero barrier is breached. The asteroid is blasted in half and the two pieces miss collision with Earth.

The Freedom crew lands safely back on Earth and are met by NASA officials and Grace. She and AJ are reunited and the final scenes of the film are of their wedding.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception and criticism

The film was an international box office success, but it received a large amount of criticism from film reviewers. On Rotten Tomatoes it scores 41%;[1] on a similar website, Metacritic, it similarly scores 42%. The film is on the list of Roger Ebert's most hated films: in his original review, he stated "The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense and the human desire to be entertained".[2] In contrast, his long-time friend Gene Siskel from the show Siskel & Ebert gave it a "thumbs up."

The film received the Saturn Awards for Best Direction and Best Science Fiction Film (where it tied with Dark City). However, it was also nominated in seven categories for the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards for bad films; only one was awarded: Bruce Willis received the Worst Actor award for Armageddon, in addition to his appearances in Mercury Rising and The Siege.

Despite the general critical disdain, a DVD edition of Armageddon was released by The Criterion Collection, a specialist film distributor of primarily arthouse films that markets what it considers to be "important classic and contemporary films" and "cinema at its finest".[3] In an essay supporting the selection of Armageddon, film scholar Jeanne Basinger, who taught Michael Bay at Wesleyan University, states that the film is "a work of art by a cutting-edge artist who is a master of movement, light, color, and shape—and also of chaos, razzle-dazzle, and explosion". She sees it as a celebration of working men: "This film makes these ordinary men noble, lifting their efforts up into an epic event." Further, she states that in the first few moments of the film all the main characters are well established, saying, "If that isn't screenwriting, I don't know what is".[4]

Despite the poor reviews and criticism, Armageddon was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Sound, Best Special Effects, Best Effects Editing, and Best Original Song).

[edit] Criticism of scientific inaccuracies

While science fiction films are generally not meant to be realistic, Armageddon is noted for its large number of scientific inaccuracies. In an interview with ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, Michael Bay said that the solution for the asteroid situation was great for the movie but not possible in real life, while adding that real-life "anti-gravity" systems for such a situation were being worked on by NASA. Bay also said that in real life, people who would think that it was possible to deal with an asteroid based on the movie would be mistaken.

The physics and scientific approach of Armageddon was criticized for its poor adherence to the laws of physics, such as the asteroid having gravity like Earth. This has led NASA to show the film as part of its management training program. Prospective managers are asked to find as many inaccuracies in the movie as they can. At least 168 impossible things have been found during these screenings of the film.[5] The movie also adheres to standard Hollywood conventions when it comes to science, such as having noise in space.

[edit] Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

Following the 2003 Columbia disaster, some screen captures from the opening scene where Atlantis is destroyed were passed off as satellite images of the Columbia disaster in a hoax. [6] Also, in response to the disaster, FX pulled Armageddon from that night's schedule and replaced it with Aliens. [7]

[edit] Box office

  • Budget - USD$140,000,000
  • Marketing cost - $100,000,000
  • Opening Weekend Gross (Domestic) - $36,089,972
  • Total Domestic Grosses - $201,578,182
  • Total Overseas Grosses - $352,131,606
  • Total Worldwide Grosses - $553,709,788

[edit] Soundtracks

[edit] Armageddon: The Album

Armageddon
Armageddon cover
Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released June 23, 1998
Genre Pop
Rock
Length 56:35
Label Sony Records
Professional reviews

The soundtrack features the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", written by Diane Warren and performed by Aerosmith (fronted by Liv Tyler's father, Steven Tyler). This song is the only number one hit of the band's career.

The soundtrack also features the song "Remember Me", as performed by Journey. This song was the first studio recording with new lead vocalist Steve Augeri, who was hired to replace long-time singer Steve Perry after his departure from the band.

Armageddon: The Album (Sony, June 23rd, 1998):

  1. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" - Aerosmith
  2. "Remember Me" - Journey
  3. "What Kind of Love Are You On" - Aerosmith
  4. "La Grange" - ZZ Top
  5. "Roll Me Away" - Bob Seger
  6. "When the Rainbow Comes" - Shawn Colvin
  7. "Sweet Emotion" - Aerosmith
  8. "Mister Big Time" - Jon Bon Jovi
  9. "Come Together" - Aerosmith
  10. "Wish I Were You" - Patty Smyth
  11. "Starseed" - Our Lady Peace
  12. "Leaving on a Jet Plane" - Chantal Kreviazuk
  13. "Theme from Armageddon" - Trevor Rabin
  14. "Animal Crackers" - Dialogue by Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler; vocals and piano by Steven Tyler

[edit] Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1998 The Billboard 200 1
Preceded by
MP Da Last Don by Master P		 Billboard 200 number-one album
July 18 - July 31, 1998		 Succeeded by
Hello Nasty by Beastie Boys

[edit] Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin

Armageddon
Armageddon cover
Soundtrack by Trevor Rabin
Released November 10, 1998
Genre Soundtracks
Original Score
Film music
Label Sony
Professional reviews

There was also an instrumental score titled Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin. Rabin was formerly a member of the progressive rock band Yes.

  1. "Armageddon Suite"
  2. "Harry & Grace Make Peace"
  3. "A.J.'s Return"
  4. "Oil Rig"
  5. "Leaving"
  6. "Evacuation"
  7. "Harry Arrives At NASA"
  8. "Back In Business"
  9. "Launch"
  10. "5 Words"
  11. "Underwater Simulation"
  12. "Finding Grace"
  13. "Armadillo"
  14. "Short Straw"
  15. "Demands"
  16. "Death of Mir"
  17. "Armageddon Piano"
  18. "Long Distance Goodbye/Landing"

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Armageddon - Movie Review - Rotten Tomatoes
  2. ^ Roger Ebert - Armageddon
  3. ^ The Criterion Collection - About Criterion
  4. ^ The Criterion Collection: Armageddon by Michael Bay
  5. ^ New Scientist (September 1, 2007), "Feedback" p 72: ISSN 0262-4079
  6. ^ Photos of the Shuttle Columbia Disaster? - BreakTheChain.org
  7. ^ TV Pulls Shuttle Sensitive Material, Hewlett-Packard Ad, Bruce Willis Movie Yanked From Air - CBS News

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Men in Black		 Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
1998
Shared with Dark City		 Succeeded by
The Matrix
v • d • e
Films directed by Michael Bay