Armageddon (1998)

After discovering that an asteroid the size of Texas is going to impact Earth in less than a month, NASA recruits a misfit team of deep-core drillers to save the planet.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers:

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

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 36 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Harry S. 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

Storyline

Due to a shuttle's unfortunate demise in outer space, NASA becomes aware of a doomsday asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth. It seems that the only way to knock it off course is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear weapon. But as NASA's under-funded yet resourceful team train the world's best drillers for the job, the social order of the world begins to break down as the information reaches the public and hysteria results. As high-ranking officials play politics with the effort, the drilling team all faces deep personal issues which may jeopardize humanity's last chance...

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Plot Keywords:

cranberry | asteroid | astronaut | outer space | bomb | 

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Taglines:

Heads Up.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rock hound (Steve Buscemi) and Redhead (Shawnee Smith) meet in a bar and she accepts his offer to buy her a drink. In The Island (2005), Steve Buscemi and Shawnee Smith play a romantic couple who live together.

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Goofs

Setting the thrusters on in the "Armadillo" while it is spinning, would cause the vehicle to spin either out to space, or to crash into the ground.

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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 ...

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Crazy Credits

Portions of the video of Grace Stamper and A.J. Frost's wedding are shown during the final credits.

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Alternate Versions

British TV premiere on Channel 5 (March 2002) excluded the wide shot showing the damage caused to New York by the meteor shower.

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Connections

References The Jungle Book (1967)

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Soundtracks

Mister Big Time
Written by Jon Bon Jovi and Aldo Nova
Performed by Jon Bon Jovi
Courtesy of Mercury Records, a PolyGram Company

User Reviews

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

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Indonesian

Release Date:

1 July 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Armageddon

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Theatre - 615 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$140,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,089,972, 5 July 1998

Gross USA:

$201,578,182

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$553,709,788

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Valhalla Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min 153 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS DTS 70 mm (70 mm print) D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (5.1) Broadway Surround (1998)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1