Well-Made, Misunderstood Sci-Fi

Rating: Null/10 (6 April 2001)

On a rating scale of 0 to 100; I gave Armageddon a score of 74.
If you are making an explanation of the ingredients that an 100/100 film would need, it is best not to use Armageddon's flavours. But, if you are making an explanation of pure entertainment at it's best, then Armageddon is a great example to use. This film opened up to the world as a major blockbuster with Razzie potential from some critics. However, some movie-goer's, like myself, happened to enjoy this film, and as a shooting star of a moneymaker, Armageddon soars high in the universe.
A giant, global-killing asteroid, like the one that killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago is 18 days away from hitting the Earth. NASA's been caught with their pants down and needs a new plan to stop the rock. They enlist the help of Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis), an expert deep core driller, to train their astronauts and help them drill into the asteroid and plant a nuclear bomb. But Harry figures the astronauts can't be trained in time and opts to go with his own oil drilling crew.
To get the flaws over and done with, Armageddon is sometimes too far-fetched that it becomes a little bit laughable, and Bruce Willis' character, Harry, is the hero. He isn't likeable one bit, unlike Willis' former heroic gun-aimer's and space travelling characters. But those things are quite minor, and great performances from Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck  especially Tyler, as the beautiful and Earthly young girl who sends her two most important men into sport  make up for Willis' half-effort. Also, a star-studded cast supports the three stars, including the never bad Steve Buscemi, giant Michael Clarke Duncan, the calm Owen Wilson and the weirdly watchable William Fichtner. All these actors play their roles well, and each have more faith in the story than some of the other main stars alone. Michael Bay controls his crew well, and he works excellently with the special effects team to create a stunning view of space, and some awesome blasting sounds that will unnerve you.
Armageddon is not as bad as you may of heard, and even though it isn't Best Picture material, it is still an excellent form of entertainment, a film that is able to mix romance, thrills and full-on adventure nicely and without struggle.