| Armageddon | |
|---|---|
German theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Michael Bay |
| Produced by | Michael Bay Jerry Bruckheimer Gale Anne Hurd |
| Screenplay by | Jonathan Hensleigh J. J. Abrams |
| Story by | Robert Roy Pool Jonathan Hensleigh |
| Based on | Adaptation by Tony Gilroy Shane Salerno |
| Narrated by | Charlton Heston |
| Starring | Bruce Willis Billy Bob Thornton Liv Tyler Ben Affleck Will Patton Keith David Steve Buscemi |
| Music by | Trevor Rabin Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Cinematography | John Schwartzman |
| Editing by | Mark Goldblatt Chris Lebenzon Glen Scantlebury |
| Studio | Jerry Bruckheimer Films Valhalla Motion Pictures |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 1, 1998 |
| Running time | 151 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $140 million |
| Box office | $553,709,788[1] |
Armageddon is a 1998 American disaster film, directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and released by Disney (then known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio)'s Touchstone Pictures. The film follows a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers sent by NASA to stop a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth. It features an ensemble cast including Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, William Fichtner, Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi.
Armageddon opened in theaters only two-and-a-half months after a similar impact-based movie, Deep Impact, which starred Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman. Astronomers described Deep Impact as being more scientifically accurate,[2] though Armageddon fared better at the box office.[3] Both films were equally received by film critics. Armageddon was an international box office success, despite generally mixed reviews from critics. It became the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide surpassing the Steven Spielberg war epic, Saving Private Ryan.
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When a massive meteor shower destroys the Space Shuttle Atlantis and bombards parts of New York City, the East Coast and Finland, NASA discovers that a Texas-sized asteroid will collide with Earth in 18 days, creating another extinction event. With the military, NASA scientists, led by Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) plan to embed a nuclear device 800 feet within the asteroid that, when detonated, will split the asteroid in two parts that will both safely fly past the Earth. NASA contacts Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis), considered the best deep-sea oil driller in the world, for assistance and advice. Harry returns to NASA along with his daughter Grace (Liv Tyler) to keep her away from one of his young and more rambunctious drillers, A. J. Frost (Ben Affleck), who has fallen in love with her much to Harry's dismay. Harry and Grace learn of the critical issues of the asteroid from Truman, and Harry explains he will need his team members, including A. J., to carry out the mission. Once they have been rounded up and Harry explains the situation to them, they agree to help, but only after they are assured of being rewarded from an esoteric list of demands.
As NASA puts Harry and his crew through a shortened rigorous astronaut training program, Harry and his team reoutfit the mobile drillers, named the "Armadillos", that NASA plans to use on the asteroid. When a large fragment from the asteroid wipes out Shanghai, NASA is forced to reveal its plans to the world. NASA launches two military space shuttles (the U.S.A.F calls them X-71s), named Freedom and Independence. Once in orbit, the shuttles dock with a Russian space station manned by Lev Andropov (Peter Stormare) to refuel with liquid oxygen. A fire breaks out during the transfer, and the station is evacuated before it explodes, with Lev and A. J. making a narrow escape on Independence. The shuttles continue the plan, slingshotting around the Moon in order to land on the backside of the asteroid. Traveling through the debris field behind the asteroid, Independence is punctured by debris and crashes onto the asteroid. Grace, watching from NASA headquarters, becomes distraught over A. J.'s apparent death.
Freedom lands safely, but the occupants realize they overshot their target area, and must now drill through an area composed of iron rather than the planned softer composition. When they fall significantly behind schedule and communications seem likely to fail, the military acts to remotely detonate the nuclear weapon. While Truman delays the military at Mission Control, Harry persuades the shuttle commander to disarm the bomb so they can complete the drilling.
Distracted by "Rockhound" (Steve Buscemi), who is suffering a mental breakdown, the Freedom crew loses its "Armadillo" when it strikes an explosive gas pocket and is blown into space. A. J., Lev, and "Bear" (Michael Clarke Duncan), having survived the Independence crash, arrive in their "Armadillo" just in time to complete the drilling.
As the asteroid moves dangerously close to the earth, it begins to heat up, causing a dangerous rock storm that damages the bomb's remote trigger. They realize that someone must stay behind to trigger it manually. After all the non-flight crew volunteers, they draw straws, and A. J. is selected. As he and Harry exit the airlock, Harry rips A. J.'s air hose and shoves him back in, telling him that he's the son he never had, and he'd be proud to have him marry Grace. Harry assumes responsibility for detonating the bomb (and tells A. J. that his job is "taking care of my little girl"), and contacts Grace to say his last goodbyes. After the Freedom moves to a safe distance, Harry detonates the bomb at the last minute (after some difficulty), and his life passes before his eyes as the bomb rips through the asteroid. The asteroid, as predicted, breaks in two, and both halves miss the Earth. Freedom lands, and the surviving crew are treated as heroes. At A. J. and Grace's wedding, photos of Harry and the other lost crew members are present in memoriam.
In May 1998, Disney chairman Joe Roth expanded the film's budget by $3 million to include additional special effects scenes. This additional footage, incorporated two months prior to the film's release, was specifically added for the television advertising campaign to differentiate the film from Deep Impact which was released a few months before.[4]
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Michael Bay admitted that the central premise of the film, "that [NASA] could actually do something in a situation like this," was unrealistic. Roy Pool, a contributing screenwriter, stated that his script, in which an anti-gravity device is used to deflect a comet from a collision course with Earth, was "much more in line with top-secret research."[5] Additionally, near the end of the credits there is a disclaimer stating, "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's cooperation and assistance does not reflect an endorsement of the contents of the film or the treatment of the characters depicted therein."[6]
NASA shows 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]
Following the 2003 Columbia disaster, some screen captures from the opening scene where Atlantis is destroyed were passed off as satellite images of the disaster in a hoax.[8] Also, in response to the disaster, FX pulled Armageddon from the night's schedule and replaced it with Aliens.[9]
Prior to Armageddon's release, the film was advertised in Super Bowl XXXII at a cost of $2.6 million.[10]
The film was given generally negative reviews, and it received a large amount of criticism from film reviewers, although it was an international box office success. On Rotten Tomatoes it scored a 40% "Rotten" rating;[11] on a similar website, Metacritic, it scores a comparable 42%. The film is on the list of Roger Ebert's most hated films.[12] In his original review, Ebert stated, "The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense and the human desire to be entertained".[13] Todd McCarthy of Variety also gave the film a negative review, noting Michael Bay's rapid cutting style: "Much of the confusion, as well as the lack of dramatic rhythm or character development, results directly from Bay's cutting style, which resembles a machine gun stuck in the firing position for 2½ hours."[14] It was also subjected to an extensive scathing review at Agony Booth. [15]
According to author Eric Lichtenfeld:
"When it comes to answering critics, Bay himself is one of Hollywood's most outspoken directors. Responding to Peter Travers's scathing review of Armageddon, Bay wrote a letter to the editor of Rolling Stone asking if Travers knows something "that the other two million people around the world who saw my movie don't?" (Incidentally, while Bay claims that Travers hates blockbusters, the critic had been ardent in his enthusiasm for Speed and Air Force One.) As Bay's letter continues, it seems to suggest that the film's popularity is tantamount to, or should at least override questions of, its quality."—Eric Lichtenfeld, Action Speaks Louder
According to Bruce Joel Rubin, writer of Deep Impact, a "president at Disney" took notes on everything the writer said during lunch about his script and initiated Armageddon as a counter film at Disney.[16]
Armageddon had a budget of US$140,000,000 and in its opening weekend it grossed $36,089,972.[1] Throughout its release, it grossed $201,578,182 in the United States and Canada and $352,131,606 in foreign markets for a total of $553,709,788 worldwide.[1]
The film was nominated for four Oscars at the 1998 Academy Awards: 'Best Sound' (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester), 'Best Visual Effects', 'Best Sound Effects Editing', and 'Best Original Song (I Don't Want To Miss A Thing performed by Aerosmith)'.[17] The film received the Saturn Awards for Best Direction and Best Science Fiction Film (where it tied with Dark City). It was also nominated for seven Razzie Awards[18] including: Worst Actor (Bruce Willis), Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actress (Liv Tyler), Worst Screen Couple (Tyler and Ben Affleck) and Worst Original Song. Only one Razzie was awarded: Bruce Willis received the Worst Actor award for Armageddon, in addition to his appearances in Mercury Rising and The Siege, both released in the same year as this film.
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".[19] In an essay supporting the selection of Armageddon, film scholar Jeanine 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".[20]
The film shows a lot of Hindus praying at the Taj Mahal, India several times. There are two errors in this. Firstly, Taj Mahal is an Islamic monument and Hindus would not pray there. Secondly it is a mausoleum of a medieval Queen and no one prays there at all. It is just a tourist attraction due to its magnificent architecture.
| Armageddon | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | June 23, 1998 |
| Genre | Pop Rock |
| Length | 56:35 |
| Label | Sony Records |
The soundtrack features the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", performed by Aerosmith. 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. Our Lady Peace's "Starseed" is a remixed version of the original.
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200[21] | 94 |
| Preceded by City of Angels (soundtrack) by Various artists |
Billboard 200 number-one album July 18–31, 1998 |
Succeeded by Hello Nasty by Beastie Boys |
| Armageddon | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Trevor Rabin | |
| Released | November 10, 1998 |
| Genre | Soundtracks Original Score Film score |
| Label | Sony |
There was also an instrumental score titled Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin and Harry Gregson-Williams. Rabin was formerly a member of the progressive rock band Yes and Gregson-Williams was a former Hans Zimmer's disciple and protegé.
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.
Armageddon – Les Effets Speciaux is an attraction based on Armageddon at Walt Disney Studios Park located at Disneyland Paris.[22] The attraction opened on March 16, 2002 with the grand opening of the park. The attraction simulates the scene in the movie in which the Russian Space Station is destroyed.[23] Michael Clarke Duncan ("Bear" in the movie) features in the pre-show.[23]
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