Armageddon

Rating:
Summary: One of the most expensive...and one of the worst!
Review: Horrible script and horrible directing (Ebert said it best: it is the first 150 minute trailer). I can almost forgive the actors except they signed up for this awful movie. The special effects and the science are terrible. Even as escapism its bad. This movie is *boring*! "Raiders of the Lost Ark" or "Jurassic Park" or just about ANY other movie would be more worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Good special effects.
Review: I love Criterion DVD's but this one has poor extras,the one exception being the effects documentary which is very good.As for the deleted scenes and gag reel,*well* you only have to see some of the awful scenes left in the movie to realise that the deleted scenes and gag reel(unfunny)don't amount to much.They actually land on the barren meteor with skis(?)on the Shuttle!That would be impossible on a runway let alone barren ground.On the plus side this film has great special effects,such as the destruction of Paris when a meteor hits,and Bruce Willis does a good job in his role.This film actually shows the advantage of DVD because if you press fast forward past the poorly written scenes(the animal cracker scene is truly terrible),then you can have a very entertaining 50 minute movie!The ending is nicely done.This movie has extended scenes but they don't amount to much.

Rating:
Summary: Get the criterion collection!
Review: I first bought the original DVD and was very dissapointed. Now the Criterion collection compensates this lack of specials of the original DVD... You've got outtakes, commentaries, trailers and behind the scenes footage. The movie has been remastered for optimal Dolby Digital 5.1 quality and is presented in the director's cut! The picture and sound quality of this DVD are awesome!

Now the movie itself is an eye-popping but still character-driven fun ride that'll have you laughing, screaming and crying. When the world is threatened by a asteroid the size of Texas, NASA comes up with a plan to send a team of oil drillers, led by Harry Stamper(Bruce Willis), into space to blow it up from the inside by drilling a hole and detonate a nuclear bomb in it before the asteroid hits earth. Now this team isn't prepared to travel through space but it sure as hell is prepared for drilling.

Now this movie is a calculated blockbuster: There's humour for the funny Theres action for adrenaline junkies And there's a love story for romantics

Now, this movie could have been much much worse. But there are so many people involved who made the flawed script into a great entertainig movie:

The cast: Bruce Willis is pretty much the coolest guy in the universe. Who else is gonna save the world? Ben Affleck... well he's good lookin' and a fine actor. There's Billy Bob Thornton who is one hell of a charismatic guy. Liv Tyler, Michael Clarke Duncan, Owen Wilson and Will Patton.... Steve Buscemi: The perfect freak.. what can I say.... The music:Trevor Rabin has written an emotional theme, that will never get out of your ears and I guess I don't have to mention Diane Warren's "I don't want to miss a thing", performed by Aerosmith. Director: Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys)and his collaboration with Jerry Bruckheimer is unique in many ways. He tells the story with so much energy and those brilliant images. There are so many colour tones in this movie, that enrich the emotions and there's an irony to all the patriotism but still you want to stand up and sing the U.S. National Hymn.

There are some lenghts in this movie but it's entertaining from start to finish. I would rate the movie four stars and that extra star for this incredible disc.....

Rating:
Summary: Good Popcorn Fun
Review: It amazes me how people all of the sudden become these dare-I-say predictible "film critics" when watching movies like Armageddon. Do you people honestly feel the people behind this film were after the Acadamy Award for Best Picture?

Unfortunately, films like these are not taken seriously anymore and should not be compared to gems like American Beauty. They are made for an entirely different purpose: To appeal to our basest entertainment needs and to make money.

The action was excellent, the special effects mind-shattering, and the story was fun. And anyone who likes to eat popcorn while watching a movie is sure to enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: A big, fat, horrendous, but very profitable mess.
Review: If it weren't for the big budget and A-list stars, this would be a prime candidate for "Mystery Science Theater 3000." The special effects may be great, but the editing is horrible; there are long stretches of this movie where I defy you to tell exactly what is happening to whom. The characters are pure, 100-percent cardboard, and their basic character traits change at the whim of the screenwriters and the necessity of the dull, by-the-numbers plot. I would really love to have recorded the private discussions between Ben Affleck and Billy Bob Thornton (both Oscar-winning screenwriters) regarding the script for "Armageddon"; I'm certain their comments would require a very strong Parental Advisory!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie experience!
Review: This is not a movie you watch for the plot twists, or for the amazing screenplay, etc. Unlike many super-action blockbusters, Armageddon actually succeeds at entertaining and producing a very enjoyable movie.

The acting is great - the characters are great, and it is a literal roller-coaster ride to save the world. Is it far fetched? Yes. Is it hollywood? Yes. But despite my synicism and hatred of Hollywood garbage, I really enjoyed the movie - and am considering adding it to my DVD collection.

The FX were awesome and it did do a good job of showing how people will give their lives to do something for the good of all people. Extremely entertaining!

Some of the awesome lines from the movie that had me laughing out loud...

"What are you doing with a gun in space." "Get off...the...nuclear...warhead."

Billy Bob Thorton, Ben Afflek, Steve Buscimi deliver great acting...this movie is a blockbuster that succeeds - you do not come out of the movie feeling cheated or that it was dumbed down for you...rather, you come out feeling like someone took you to the moon and back and bombarded you with an awesome hollywood experience!

Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY AWFUL
Review: This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen and that my fellow readers is absolutely NO joke. The special F/X are brilliant,but that's the movie's only saving grace.Everything else you can throw in the trash.Despite a superb cast of actors,the acting was very oddly sub-par.These are some of the best actors in movie history and they deliver acting that fails to impress.The characters have practically no depth and are simply nothing more than cardboard.The movie is about 3 hours long so technically,I wasted three hours I'll never get back.The script is pretty bad. The events are practically predictable and the movie is just plain boring from beginning to middle to end.The characters are SO annoying that I was actually hoping they'd all get destroyed by the asteroid.Each and every single one of 'em.D-grade acting,a horrendous script, sub-par direction and a terrible ending made this a VERY unpleasent experience.It DOES deserve the one star that I'm giving it,though,cuz the F/X are unbelieveable,but everything else makes this one of the worst movies ever.Avoid it at all costs.Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence, unexpected high profanity and pretty strong sex material.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: Special effects aside, this is an example of Hollywood at its worst. I'm not sure, but I think the writers of this film were purposely writing the corniest lines in the history of movies. (Maybe as a joke, to demonstrate how stupid and shallow American audiences have become) Great special effects, but after 20 minutes, who cares?

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie !
Review: If you have not yet seen this movie, please ignore the negative reviews. See it for yourself and decide. This movie has incredible special effects, and very believable actors. I would have given it 5-Stars, but I reserve those ratings for movies such as "American Beauty", "The Insider", etc.

Still, Armageddon is an excellent apocolyptic thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Armageddon Criterion Collection DVD Review: Amazing!
Review: I'm so glad that a Criterion edition of "ARMAGEDDON" was released. The story of a huge asteroid about to collide with Earth and a group of oil drillers to prevent that from happening + Bruce Willis, what more can you ask for right?

Well, all I can say is that if you do have one choice for this movie, the Criterion Collection is the way to go.

Yes, both movies have outstanding video and the digital 5.1 is used a lot in this movie. But that's where the comparisons end because the regular version of the DVD has no extras. The Criterion Collection version is loaded with extras. I mean fully loaded and each segment in the special features are quite long. One of my favorites happens to be the gag reel.

Also, the movie contains trailers. Oh, no...not the typical 1-3 trailers that regular DVD's tend to have, this one has many trailers. I'm not sure how many trailers I counted for the 20-second or 10-second segment. This DVD is loaded with them.

Then another cool thing about the DVD extras are how certain special effects were made.

So, yes, the Criterion Collection cost about $10 more but it is probably one of the best Criterion edition DVD's out there. This version of Armageddon is highly recommended!