Armageddon (1998/I)

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers (WGA):

Jonathan Hensleigh (screenplay) and
J.J. Abrams (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It's Closer Than You Think.

Plot:

When an asteroid the size of Texas is headed for Earth the world's best deep core drilling team is sent to nuke the rock from the inside.

Plot Keywords:

Asteroid | Drill | NASA | Astronaut | Nuclear

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Harry Stamper
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Dan Truman
Ben Affleck	...	A.J. Frost
Liv Tyler	...	Grace Stamper
Will Patton	...	Chick
Steve Buscemi	...	Rockhound
William Fichtner	...	Colonel Willie Sharp
Owen Wilson	...	Oscar
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Bear
Peter Stormare	...	Lev Andropov
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Max (as Ken Campbell)
Jessica Steen	...	Co-Pilot Jennifer Watts
Keith David	...	General Kimsey
Chris Ellis	...	Flight Director Clark
Jason Isaacs	...	Ronald Quincy

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi disaster action, sensuality and brief language.

Runtime:

150 min | USA:153 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:K-12 (1998) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Brazil:12 | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36122) | USA:Unrated (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

4th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

During the training of the mission team, an Aerosmith song ("Sweet Emotion") is playing in the background with vocals by Liv Tyler's father, Steven Tyler, who also sings the theme song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." The two Tylers appear in the Armageddon music video.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: People in numerous locations all over the globe are shown reacting to various events simultaneously - all in daylight.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Camera shoots past the moon to slowly zoom in on the Earth]
Narrator: This is the Earth, at a time when the dinosaurs roamed a lush and fertile planet.
[From behind the camera, a giant asteroid appears, speeding towards the Earth ahead of it]
Narrator: A piece of rock just 6 miles wide changed all that.
[Blazing through the atmosphere, the asteroid impacts with a spectacular display of fire and destruction]
Narrator: It hit with the force of 10,000 nuclear weapons. A trillion tons of dirt and rock hurtled into the atmosphere, creating a suffocating blanket of dust the sun was powerless to penetrate for a thousand years. It happened before. It will happen again. It's just a question of when.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Danger Zone: The Making of 'Top Gun' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mister Big Time

a love it or hate it type of movie

This is definitely the type of movie you'll either love or hate.

I personally love it, I am a Die Hard (lol) Bruce Willis fan. All characters were supurbly cast. Busemi as Rock, Affleck as AJ, Tyler as Grace, Thornton as Truman, ect.... All of them seemed to work well together. Their character just fit them. Lots of people didn't like this movie for they believed that it is too far fetched, which isn't true. One of NASA's theories IS to land on, and drill into a "global killer". And as it is also said in the movie we don't have the budget to look for these things. Amatures are the people that usually find them. Another thing people over look is the fact that Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer worked with NASA on the factual aspects of the movie. They didn't just make these things up.(all of this is said in the commentaries on the criterion collection) The other thing about this movie is, you have to like science, space and the things that go with it (like me "aero_nut"). And you have to appreciate the fact, and not be obtuse that this could happen one day, God destroyed the Earth before he could do it again. I really believe that the love story helped this movie make money, (thats what made Titanic #1), Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck made a great couple. The chemistry between them was awesome. Not to mention this is americans at their best,(with the help of a russian friend, who is perfectly cast as stormare). The love song to this movie is definitely a topper, Dianne Warren has graced so many movies with her songs and this has to be the best so far. Furthermore very few rock bands can sound good with a orchestra, (G-N-R is one) and Aerosmith certainly fit the bill here. i love this cast the movie and the soundtrack, but thats just me.