Armageddon (1998 film)

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
Gross revenue $553,709,788[1]

Armageddon is a 1998 disaster/sci-fi-action 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.

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

Plot

After several meteoroids destroy the Space Shuttle Atlantis and bombard a path across the Earth, including New York City, NASA discovers that an asteroid the size of Texas is on a direct collision with Earth, the impact likely to wipe out all life on the surface within 18 days, a fact not publicly revealed. The scientists at NASA devise a scheme to activate a nuclear bomb at a precise point under the asteroid's surface which will split the body in two, both halves missing the Earth. NASA locates the best oil driller on the planet, Harry Stamper, to get advice. Harry and his daughter Grace are taken to NASA and are told of the situation by Dan Truman, the head of NASA. Harry immediately recognizes that he and his crew must accompany the astronauts on the mission to make sure the job is done right. After Harry's crew is collected from across the country and NASA acquiesces to their demands for their services, they are put through a fast-paced training program before the mission starts, as well as outfitting a drilling rig with the proper equipment for the job. During this time, AJ, a member of Stamper's crew who Grace has been sleeping with, gets into several heated arguments with Harry, making the training difficult.

When a meteorite completely wipes out Shanghai, China, the truth is revealed to the world, as well as the pending mission. Two shuttles, Freedom and Independence are launched simultaneously and shortly dock at a Russian space station to refuel. However, an accident occurs during the process, and the crews evacuate to their shuttles, including Lev Andropov, the sole Cosmonaut from the station. The two shuttles begin a high G-force slingshot procedure around the Moon in order to land on the backside of the asteroid. However, as they enter the trailing debris of the asteroid, the Independence, including AJ, Lev, and Bear, another member of Harry's crew, is struck down and crash lands on the asteroids. Mourning the loss of their friends, the Freedom manages to land on the surface but misses the target landing zone, ending up over an area of very hard rock to have to drill through. The Freedom team tries to drill but suffer several setbacks and losses due to the impossible conditions, and are well behind schedule. They are further put behind schedule when it is revealed that if the deadline were missed, the shuttle pilot Colonel Sharpe would activate the nuclear device, sacrificing their lives and likely not damaging the asteroid as needed. Harry, with Dan's help at mission control, is able to convince Colonel Sharpe to help them finish up. Another meteorite wipes out all of Paris as the asteroid continues closer to the Earth.

All seems lost when their drilling machine is blasted off the asteroid by a gas vent. However, they come to learn that AJ, Bear, and Lev have managed to survive the Independence crash and have driven the second machine to the drilling site. Harry puts AJ in charge of finishing the drilling, and they successfully get to the necessary depth. The team lowers the nuclear bomb into the hole, but find that the asteroid's conditions have made it impossible to detonate remotely, and that someone would have to sacrifice themselves to activate the bomb after the shuttle leaves. AJ is picked after drawing straws, but as AJ is about to step out of the shuttle, Harry disables his air supply and takes his place, telling AJ to take good care of Grace. As the shuttle prepares to depart, Harry sends a final touching message to his daughter and gives his full support of her seeing AJ. Harry manages to activate the bomb moments before the critical deadline, and the asteroid halves successfully miss the earth. The remaining crew of the Freedom return to Earth as heroes, AJ reuniting tearfully with Grace while the others are met by their loved ones. Grace and AJ are soon wed, while Harry and their lost crew members are memorialized at the service.

Cast

Reception and criticism

The film critically was given mixed reviews and domestically it was an international box office success, it received a large amount of criticism from film reviewers. On Rotten Tomatoes it scores 40%;[2] 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".[3] In contrast, his long-time friend Gene Siskel from the show Siskel & Ebert gave it a "thumbs up." Roger Ebert considered it the worst film of 1998 as seen in Siskel and Ebert's annual "Worst of" shows.[4]

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".[5] 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".[6]

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).

Scientific inaccuracies

While science fiction films are generally not expected 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 people who might think that it was possible to deal with an asteroid in the manner depicted in 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 similar to 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.[7] For example, Shuttles would not and could not be landed on an asteroid, even if they could, they wouldn't subsequently be able to leave. It also wouldn't be possible to build the shuttles fast enough, whether building from scratch or modifying existing shuttles. The movie also adheres to standard Hollywood conventions when it comes to science, such as depicting there being noise in space. Explosions were also shown to be sustained in the vacuum of space.

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.[8] Also, in response to the disaster, FX pulled Armageddon from that night's schedule and replaced it with Aliens.[9]

Box office

Soundtracks

Armageddon: The Album

Armageddon
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", performed by Aerosmith (fronted by Steven Tyler). 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

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

Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin

Armageddon
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"

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=armageddon.htm
  2. ↑ Armageddon - Movie Review - Rotten Tomatoes
  3. ↑ Roger Ebert - Armageddon
  4. ↑ YouTube The Worst of 1998 - Siskel & Ebert 1999
  5. ↑ The Criterion Collection - About Criterion
  6. ↑ The Criterion Collection: Armageddon by Michael Bay
  7. ↑ New Scientist (September 1 2007), "Feedback" p 72: ISSN 0262-4079
  8. ↑ Photos of the Shuttle Columbia Disaster? - BreakTheChain.org
  9. ↑ TV Pulls Shuttle Sensitive Material, Hewlett-Packard Ad, Bruce Willis Movie Yanked From Air - CBS News

External links

Preceded by
Doctor Dolittle		 Box office number-one films of 1998 (USA)
July 5, 1998		 Succeeded by
Lethal Weapon 4
Preceded by
Lost in Space		 Box office number-one films of 1998 (UK)
August 9, 1998 – August 16, 1998		 Succeeded by
The X-Files
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Men in Black		 Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
1998
Shared with Dark City		 Succeeded by
The Matrix
Films directed by Michael Bay
Bad Boys (1995) · The Rock (1996) · Armageddon (1998) · Pearl Harbor (2001) · Bad Boys II (2003) · The Island (2005) · Transformers (2007) · Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)