So Many Campy Moments That You Have to Enjoy It

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2016)

Armageddon (1998)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A mammoth asteroid is on a collision course with Earth and it becomes clear by NASA that if it hits it'll be the end of mankind. With just a few weeks to do anything, the plan is to land a spaceship on the asteroid and then drill a nuclear bomb into it, which will hopefully throw its course off. Who ya gonna get for such a job? Well Bruce Willis, of course!
Armageddon is a film I remember watching and somewhat enjoying when it first came out. I mean, you're had someone cool like Willis, young stars like Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler, a great supporting cast with the likes of Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Buscemi, William Fichtner, Michael Clarke Duncan and Will Patton. You've also got several Aerosmith songs. You've got a lot of loud action and big-budget special effects. What wasn't to like? The critics of the time ripped the film apart for how stupid it was and how it didn't have any logic to it. At the time I wondered if critics realized they were watching a summer popcorn movie. I revisited the film nearly twenty years later and I must admit that it really hasn't aged well and in all honesty it is pretty awful. The performances are at times quite embarrassing and especially with the really lame dialogue that they have to say. I'd also argue that the logical issues are all over the place and in fact some are so bad that you can't help but laugh.
Is Armageddon awful? I'm not sure I'd call it awful because there are some fun moments scattered throughout but you have to question why the hell Michael Bay has never learned that his films need editing. For this thing to clock in at 150 minutes is just nuts and it really drags at a very slow pace and especially the ending, which just seems to take forever. The film should have been a fast and fun picture but instead everything just gets stretched to the point where you don't care.
The special effects are obviously quite good and it's fun getting to see so many talented actors even if they are just cashing paychecks. The film is pretty darn bad at times but these moments just add a campy factor that helps give it some entertainment value.