Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageArmageddon (1998)
Director: Michael Bay
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
This idiotic film is loud, boorish and smart enough to relish its own lunkhead bravado, with Willis leading his team of deep-core drillers on a last ditch mission to plant nuclear bombs inside an asteroid hurtling towards the earth. 'Talk about the wrong stuff,' gripes a disgusted NASA official, checking out the roughnecks selected to save the world: Affleck's cocky AJ, David's mighty General, and Buscemi's scene-stealing sociopath Rockhound, men whose most heartfelt request is that they be granted tax exemption for the rest of their lives. Producer Bruckheimer (Con Air, Crimson Tide) has this brand of testosterone entertainment down pat. Crucial elements include a sterling supporting cast (Stormare as a reckless Russian cosmonaut, Thornton as Houston's pointman, Patton and Fichtner riding shotgun), biting down on lines beefed up by the likes of Scott Rosenberg and Robert Towne. It's just as well it's all so tongue-in-cheek, because the one thing Bay can't sell is sincerity: lovey-dovey scenes involving Tyler and the supine populations of the world are excruciatingly hokey.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Michael Bay
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer, Gale Anne Hurd, Michael Bay
Cast: Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Peter Stomare, Keith David, William Fichtner, Steve Buscemi full cast
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Duration: 150 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now