Action, Traction and Satisfaction within reason.

Rating: Null/10 (14 January 1999)

We didn't see this film in the theater. They didn't show it in a surround sound room here, and that was a mistake. So, we waited to watch it on DVD, which was released on January 5, 1999.
I've always enjoyed Bruce Willis in action films (i.g.Â—Die Hard trilogy), and Ben Affleck has more than caught the attention of my 16-year-old daughter, and he impresses me as an actor with potential. But Bruce fell short of being as much a remembered oil rig expert as John Wayne was in "Hellfighters" (1968). And it was refreshing to see Ben Affleck's lines 1000% cleaner than in either "Chasing Amy" or "Good Will Hunting."
Just as in the theatres, we decided to rent "Deep Impact" first, then see "Armageddon." Two doomsday films released in the same summer.
Although I really enjoyed "Armageddon", it was vastly predictable throughout the plot. Even foreshadowing was not subtle enough. But the occasional verbal and visual references to classic movies (Dr. Strangelove and Pulp Fiction just to name two) tickled my movie buff receptors. And Steve Buscemi continues to be one of my favorite "independent extras" with his constant quips and sharp tongue.
The story was thin, the emotions were stilted, but the action and effects were involving. Definitely worth an evening in your home theatre, but not a flick full of content. The only depth to this story was the 800 feet of rock they had to drill.
Overall, this film gets an 8/10, mostly for the casting of the motley crew of oil drillers-turned-astronauts, and the action. It is, afterall, only a movie. Escapism, in my opinion, is still a movie's best attribute. If you want a space film with drama and action that is more realistic than "Armageddon," I recommend "Apollo 13."