Armageddon (1998) Reviews

• My Ultimate Guilty Pleasure- how do you assign a rating to that?

  madmaxmedia2006-04-24

  This movie is my ultimate guilty pleasure. It's inane, manipulative, has hyperactive cutting, a ton of glaring inaccuracies (pointless to even discuss or debate), and probably 29 other glaring faults. And why in every dramatic slow-mo emo shot are there 3 helicopters flying in unison overhead? What's the point of having 3 helicopters flying really close together? Who cares! It looks cool. If one day I am having a heartfelt talk with my daughter, I hope there are 3 helicopters flying overhead to really 'bring it home' (and Aerosmith performing in the background.) Despite it all, I still love watching this movie. Anytime it is on TV I can watch it 'til the end. Bruce Willis does a great job doing his Bruce Willis 'thing' (smart alecky tough guy), and the supporting cast is really great. Steve Buschemi in particular gets the best lines. An awesome assortment of ragtag castoffs (spitting funny one-liners) must save the world- who would have thunk it? I think Armageddon was actually conceived by suits in a studio office (no really, I read that in a magazine), which is I guess another strike against it. Yet only a bunch of suits could come up with a 'high concept' like this (so high it's basically a parody by itself.) And only a director like Michael Bay could make it. He's far more suited to these types of movies, rather than big historical epics like PEARL HARBOR (which I really, really disliked.) I read somewhere once that this movie is as close as Hollywood gets to pure cinema, in that it is basically completely divorced from reality of any kind. Is that good or bad? I don't know. I do think if you're going to ditch convention and any semblance to reality, you may as well go all the way. It's better than having something that is a confused mess that tries to be different things (Pearl Harbor.) There will be no 'it could really happen!' here. So after all this, believe it or not I am going to give this movie a big fat whopping 8. Why? Because IMO it unabashedly succeeds at what it tries to set out to be, whatever that is. That makes no sense, since I am basically saying by all logical accounts this movie may actually suck, yet I am giving it a 8. But hey I loved this movie.

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• Fun, Action-packed movie.

  XJoey2003-05-15

  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!

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• I don't care if it is shallow, i love it

  mjw23052005-01-15

  What did everyone expect when this film was released, i expected exactly what i got, stunning visual effects, good surround sound and plenty of action (and yes i expected the traditional dose of sentiment too) This movie is pure escapism fun, which has its place in my collection, movies like Independence Day and Armageddon are great fun to watch and as a bonus the characters weren't bad the script was reasonable and action was indeed plentiful. There were a great deal of laughs too (mostly intentional) anyone who hasn't seen this but just wants relax and enjoy a good (yet Shallow) action flick then this certainly fits the bill. For pure entertainment value i score it 8/10 If this is for you then check out The Core and Independence Day, avoid the Day after Tomorrow and Deep Impact, there not really for action fans.

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• Has all the ingredients of a good action movie...

  NoArrow2003-06-29

  ...that's exactly what this is: an ACTION movie. It's not supposed to sweep the Oscars, the acting isn't supposed to be perfect, and it's not supposed to make perfect sense. The story follows a group of oil drillers sent by NASA to stop an asteroid that will strike the world in eighteen days. The drillers are taught and trained to become astronauts (in a very comedic scene) and then sent to the asteroid to drop the nukes and blow it up. After that, a whole lot goes wrong. I loved this movie, and I hate how everyone's been calling it 'mindless action'. It's not mindless, it's actually very dramatic. The acting is great from pretty much all accounts, even Ben Affleck does a good job. Bruce Willis captures the 'reluctant hero' role, and Liv Tyler does well as his daughter. Steve Buscemi delivers a great comedic performance as the genius who goes insane once they land on the asteroid. Great, funny, intense, dramatic movie. 8/10.

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• Underrated

  bah_cacatule2010-06-19

  this movie is arguably one of the best movies i have ever seen and to be honest i can NOT understand its current IMDb rating... it has everything in needs to be a movie worth remembering after tens of years! it can put a large smile on your face in its funny moments, and it WILL bring tears in your eyes in its most emotional moments... this movie is a reminder of why human life is worth cherishing, worth fighting for, worth DYING for... it features great human valors such as love, forgiveness, heroism, sacrifice, sturdiness.. i must have seen it at least 8 times by now and it never, NEVER ceases to impress me to the point of tears.. to conclude with, i am very disappointed in the viewers that voted on this movie here.. honestly it deserves 10/10

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