Armageddon

Rating:
Summary: Why this?
Review: Dear Criterion, no one can deny that you have done more than any one else to bring the treasures of world cinema to film lovers all over the world, first in LD and now on impeccable DVDs. However, with so many great films still unavailable on DVD, (La Dolce Vita, Les Regles du jeu, The Magnificent Ambersons), and many not available even on NTSC VHS, (Il Gattopardo, Au Hasard Balthasar), I am flabbergasted at your choosing this flick for the honor of a Criterion release. If raising money is the reason behind this, why not reissue Les 400 Coups, or the Killer instead? If you need ideas for contemporary movies that do deserve your attention, try these, Tous les matins du monde, Zentropa, or The Mystery of Rampo. Thanks.

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get much worse than this.
Review: I can't remember a movie that I have disliked more than this. I know it's Science Fiction, but come on. You don't have to abandon all logic when making a film from this genre. Anything in this movie resembling reality is purely coincidental. It's predictable, corny, boring, stupid and just plain silly. This movie would have you believe that oil workers can become astronauts in two weeks, NASA builds space drilling vehicles with machine guns on them, and Ben Affleck can pass as an oil worker. Need I say more? The only highlight of the film, for me, was when Bruce Willis blew himself up. If only it had been Michael Bay(director). Then I would have given it another star.

Rating:
Summary: Noise.Garbage.Pointless.Insipid.That isn't the half of it.
Review: Beware!This is maybe the loudest movie ever made,and certainly one of the worst.Considering how ear-splitting this film is I'm left wondering how in the world anyone sat through it when it was playing in the theater.But on to the horror of the content,or lack thereof.This movie is one in an ever growing and dreary parade of content free "blockbusters" that emphasize perpetual action,minimal dialogue and above all,special effects.Mere escapism for the viewing audience and big business for the growing monster that are the new breed of corporate swallowed movie studios.Movies like "Jurassic Park","Scream" and the neverending sequels to likeminded movies are nothing but a means to sell merchandise and toys at burger kings and mcdonalds the world over.The lowest common denominator is what these movies appeal to;that,and the adolescent audience that doesn't know a good movie from a turkey anyway.It appears the days of intelligent action movies are over.I guess they are not profitable enough.About the only use to be found for this disc is as a drink coaster,albeit an expensive one.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Action Movie With a Good Script
Review: Armageddon, I thought, was one of my top 10's of 1998. It has it all, a superb cast, a great story, superb special effects, and without a doub the best sound editing to date. With a cast of Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi, Will Patton, Liv Tyler,
Peter Stormare, Michael Clark Duncan Jr, Owen Wilson, and of course, Billy Bob Thorton.

The movie is about a meteor the size of Texas is on a collision course with the earth. Now the fate of the world rests in the hands of an oil drilling team, to go into outerspace, and drill a hole, drop a nuke and get out of there.

With Aerosmith's hit song "I Don't Want To Miss A Thang", you wont want to miss Armageddon!

DVD Special Features Included:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Theatrical trailer(s), TV spot(s)
• Michael Bay's gag reel
• Deleted scenes, compiled by Michael Bay
• Storyboards and production design drawings
• Analysis of the special effects by visual effects supervisors Richard Hoover, Pat McClung and Hoyt Yeatman
• Music video "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith, plus interviews with the band
• Widescreen anamorphic format (2:35:1)
• Number of discs: 2

Rating:
Summary: Bruce Willis fans only!
Review: I don't think anyone would have seen this movie if it wasn't for Bruce being in it. Without Bruce, this movie would have been flat! The story is silly, the acting is sillier. The best part of this whole movie is Aerosmith playing in the background. Just goes to show how a top notch actor and musical talent can change a dud movie into a hit!

Rating:
Summary: Yaaaawn...Is it nappy time yet?
Review: You can count on Jerry Bruckheimer whenever you want a big, loud production that assaults your eyes and ears. If you want something realistic, full of meaning, or anything that requires you to use your brain beyond a kindergarten level, then you need to look elsewhere. And what better (or shall I say worse?) to drive this point home than the insipid 1998 blockbuster ARMAGEDDON?

If you ask me this is nothing more than one of those really bad 1970s disaster films with an all-star cast and a bigger budget. There is not one original character or subplot. The jokes are so over-recycled that you can almost hear them begging to be buried in a landfill. The only thing really worth watching - don't think of me as bloodthirsty - are the scenes of carnage and destruction. But not even those scenes can save it from the plot holes that are so big that a the Texas-sized asteroid could easily fit inside. And here are just a few:

1. How could a group of oil riggers (no disrespect toward real oil riggers) as idiotic as those in the movie make a group of well trained astronauts look like bumbling nincompoops?

2. How is it that the smaller asteroids only hit huge cities like New York City, Paris, or Shanghai?

3. How could the asteroid be cut into two neat pieces without smaller debris (like a piece the size of Rhode Island) falling to earth?

4. How come it is called ARMAGEDDON when the world gets saved?

If I were bored enough to watch this miserable dreck twice I would probably notice more discrepancies, but once was entirely too much for me. As it was, I found the movie to be as entertaining as one of Bill Clinton's old speeches.

Rating:
Summary: Better than "Deep Impact"
Review: Why do people hate this movie?, I for one like it, at first I wasn't sure I would, I mean Bruce Willis had a series of flops before this, & after seeing "Deep Impact" months before, how could it top that. Well this one is much better, it may have a series of characters that many could care less about, but they are real people that many of us could or do identify with, The film starts off with a NASA shuttle doing routine satellite repair, only to be destroyed by an incoming debree of asteriods, Billy Bob Thorton gives the best performance as the NASA director who now has the weight of the worlds fate on his shoulders & must find a solution & fast!!, they discover that an asteriod is headed to earth & that the end of mankind is upon them, the only real solution is to land a team on it & drop a nuclear reactor inside in the hopes of destroying its projectory, they hire Bruce Willis & his team to do the job since it requires drilling, somthing these guys are professionals at doing, they undergo rigorous training & are carried into space to complete the mission, one could argue that NASA would never do such a thing, but how do we know?? we have never been faced with such circumstances,& we have to believe that NASA would do whatever it would take to save the world, this is a well put together film, one of Willis' better movies, Thornton really shines here as does Willis who appears much more serious than his previous roles, Willis' character is as beleiveable here, his best role since the original "Die Hard". the film leaves the viewer with so much emotion at the end, that you feel like you were there also & that you care about these people whereas in the beginning you might not. not to say that "Deep Impact" is bad, but I personally can't see how we could sit still & wait to die, "Armageddon" refuses to take that approach!!, Is it possible to do what is done in "Armageddon"? who knows but I would rather fight till the end than wait to die. A great film for those wanting action as well as emotion.

Rating:
Summary: Arma-Geddon-Outta Here!
Review: Now, I normally like big, fun action movies. I thought I would like this one. No way. This is a very overbloated film with little to no fun at all. The movie is bogged down by unappealing characters and boring scenes that you really can't hold much interest in the film at all. Bruce Willis is fine and all, but Ben Affleck seems to just be there to look pretty. Why would he do this after coming off "Good Will Hunting" and winning an Oscar?!. The special effects are, of course, great and very impressive. That's about it. Director Michael Bay tried to go a little more serious and to get more respect with "Pear Harbor", but he screwed that one up too and it was a huge stinker. This is a bad movie that can only be described in one word: awful!.

Rating:
Summary: Wide Screen Stinks
Review: I love this movie, I have the VHS tape and just bought the DVD, well with Wide Screen about 6inches of the movie was blacked out on top and bottom,3inches on top and bottom, this is a waste since I only have a 20 inch tv, most wide screen movies cut a inch or 2 of the top and bottom, this was a ripp off, who really cares about wide screen,it's just a gimmick to make more money when they re release a new version and some add a disc and charge you extra money for behind the scenes footage, you don't need a extra disc for that,like the new Die Hard Collection, about 30 bucks for more behind the scenes stuff, Armageddon is my favorite movie, but the wide screen version is a rip off, but this movie is better than deep impact,I hate wide screen dvds, why can't we have a choice, like put it on the other side of the same disc, the movie industry is just sucking more money out of the movies fans.....

Rating:
Summary: Mindless sci-fi/action fun
Review: OK let's face it,Armageddon is overblown,unrealistic,badly acted,and isn't going to be on the AFI 100 list any time soon.But it is entertaining,fun,and filled with exciting space action,a prime summetime blockbuster.Blasting Armageddon for lack of subtley and brains is like blasting Saving Private Ryan for lack of humor and good cheer. Also,I'm deeply offended by reviews that call people who like this film stupid and lacking good taste.I enjoy "good" flicks like Traffic,Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon and American Beauty as much as allegedly "bad" ones like Gone In 60 Seconds,Charlie's Angels,and this one.So don't be closed-minded,folks.Enjoy what you want to enjoy,make up your own mind. I've made up my mind that I love Armageddon,despite its flaws.The Criterion Collection,in addition to being packed to the max with features, has a slightly better picture and sound quality than the previous bare-bones edition.