Must have for any movie collection

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2007)

While blending action and comedy maybe a known recipe for success, how about action, comedy, and the end of the world? After seeing the movie Armageddon I now know that such a combination is not only possible but in this case a recipe for an extremely entertaining movie. Michel Bay also known for such movies as Bad Boys and The Rock, manages to pull together all the critical elements necessary for a good film in Armageddon. The all star cast includes Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, and Liv Tyler just to name a few. To add to the great cast are good special effects (including a meteor shower in downtown New York) and a rocking musical score including bands such as Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and ZZ Top.
The basic premise of the plot is that a giant asteroid is detected on a collision course with earth. After NASA studies the asteroid they determine that the only way to destroy it is with a nuclear warhead placed precisely on a fault line in the middle of it. The next step they take is to call in some of the world's best deep core oil drillers (led by Bruce Willis) and give them the task of drilling an 800 foot hole on the asteroid in which to place the bomb. Over the course of their endeavor this ragtag group must overcome a variety of challenges with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Despite the serious subject matter Mr. Bay manages to integrate a great deal of comic relief without going over the top (More like Bad Boys than Rush Hour). It is this fine tuned balance in which humor and action blend that makes this movie great. An example of some of the humor can be found in the following quote:
When the asteroid is first discovered by an astronomer he calls it into NASA while his wife sits next to him:
NASA Director (Billy Bob Thornton): Now listen Karl, this is top secret. Astronomer: Sir, I'm retired navy, I know all about classified. But one more thing. The person who finds her gets to name her right? NASA Director (Billy Bob Thornton): Yes, yes that's right, that's right. Astronomer: I wanna name her Dottie after my wife. She's a vicious life-sucking bitch from which there is no escape.
Aside from the action and humor this movie manages to turn one of the characters into a hero and by the end you find yourself rooting for him. Don't worry about the fact that this is a Sci-Fi movie, it doesn't slow you down with technobabble and there are no life sucking aliens. As far as plot goes this movie may not be some great work of art, however the plot progresses in good fashion. While for the first time viewer the occasional minor twist livens up the movie, the plot as a whole is good enough so that it does not rely entirely on suspense or shock value (No M. Night Shyamalan here). Simply put, this movie has a high re-watch-ability value shifting it from the rent  for  a  night to the buy  for  your  collection category.