Armageddon (1998)

Genre: Science-fiction/Adventure/Action/Drama

Starring: Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Steve Buscemi, William Fichtner, Owen Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare, Ken Hudson Campbell, Jessica Steen

World catastrophe movies are not new but somehow Armageddon stands out from the crowd. Harry (Willis) is a business tycoon who has made a fortune from drilling oil. His hands-on approach and close involvement in his rigs has given him the title of being the world’s most experienced and accomplished driller. He and his team have drilled on every possible location and situation that Earth could throw up to him and this time he faces a new situation, something even beyond Earth. A huge asteroid, the size of Texas, is heading towards Earth which would most likely result in the extinction of all life forms on Earth. NASA has a limited time frame and tries all possible options to put Earth out of harms way and the only solution appears to be to land a team of astronauts on the asteroid, drill a hole 800 feet deep and plant a nuclear bomb within it. Who else than the accomplished Harry Stamper to do the job? The movie seems very far-fetched in most ways. Firstly, the whole concept of landing on an Asteroid and drilling through it is too outlandish for anyone’s likings. The action is very typically Michael Bay with random and incoherent explosions which are over-dramatised. The only commendable aspect of the entire movie is the method in which the audience tends to fuse with the characters and share the emotions and bonds of love and death. The drama adds tremendous value to the movie and without it, the movie would probably be a complete washout.

Thumbs up: Great mix of action and emotion

Thumbs down: Too outlandish and bizarre

Rating: 7.3/10