Overstuffed but serviceable popcorn flick

Rating: 6/10 (14 November 2014)

If there is one positive thing about Michael Bay and his movies, it's consistency. From his very first film, it was clear what he was about: explosions, hot women and awkward humor. In almost 20 years, nothing has changed and upon watching Armageddon, it seems like this is probably his purest film marketed to the widest audience possible (since R-rated movies are limited to ages 17 and up).
The story is about an asteroid which is headed towards earth. NASA recruits a team of deep core drillers to be trained as astronauts, so that they dig a hole in an asteroid where a nuclear bomb will be placed. Along for the ride is one of the most impressive ensemble casts ever, although a lot of them don't really get to do that much. Most of them are also nothing more than caricatures rather than fully developed characters. The best performances come from Bruce Willis as Harry Stamper, the leader of the drilling team, and Billy Bob Thornton as Dan Truman, the NASA guy who recruits Stamper in the first place. There's also Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi, Liv Tyler and several other recognizable actors who round out the cast.
So, what worked? For starters, the filmmaking and cinematography was appropriately epic and restrained, especially compared to the hyper-kinetic style which Bay was to use with the Transformers movies. With the exception of a few intense sequences, one has a sense of place and the action is fairly easy to follow. This film also has impressive visual effects, probably the best that 1998 had to offer. Of particular note are some outer space asteroid sequences and a nicely done destruction of Paris. There was also rather good practical effects and use of miniatures, which was a nice change of pace from today's CGI-obsessed blockbusters.
Moving on to where this movie falls short. One would think that with such a great cast that the movie would be outstanding as a result, and you'd only be partially correct. While the film does have a lot of individual moments that are funny, or touching, nothing really coalesces. Instead of fully-formed characters, you mostly have stereotypes and caricatures, which is rather sad for a movie that lasts 150 minutes. There's also a romantic subplot between Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler that could have been completely left out. Of course, then they wouldn't have had an excuse to include one of the sappiest songs that Aerosmith has ever recorded (and whose lead singer, Steven Tyler, is Liv Tyler's father). There was also some pacing issues, namely that the first hour compresses about two weeks of training, and then the remaining 90 minutes takes place over the course of about one or two days. And of course, we get all the standard Michael Bay-isms. There's a ridiculous amount of explosions, misplaced "humor," leery shots of scantily clad women (from one scene in a strip club), upward facing camera angles and lots of slow motion (although not as much as some of his other work).
Put together, the various ingredients which make up a Michael Bay movie do, for the most part, work here. It's not deep, and it's not trying to be either. This is popcorn entertainment at it's finest, and for sheer spectacle this is one of the best summer blockbusters ever made. That being said, I usually demand more of my movies and prefer not to have to turn off my brain very often to enjoy a movie. There are lots of people who absolutely love this stuff, but I'm not one of them. I thought it was passable entertainment, and certainly not one of Bay's worst (I'm looking at you, Transformers 2).