This grows on you

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2000)

I remember that after seeing Armageddon for the first time, I went to look it up in IMDb, and I gave it a 6. I didn't flunk it because I had to admit that it was entertaining fun, but at the time I was miffed by the fact that it was a ridiculously, absurdly exaggerated plot, blatantly manipulative and without the faintest shade of seriousness, verisimilitude or believability. And directed like an MTV video, as you would expect from Bay. God forgive me, I even remember saying I preferred Deep Impact!
A couple of years later and after seeing it two or three more times, all those things that I saw as defects I now consider as its virtues. Precisely because it dispenses completely with believability and is played continuously and exclusively for kicks, is why I love it so much now. I am amazed at the capacity this film has to grab you and take you in a roller-coaster ride, even if you know perfectly what's going to happen; I clench my fists, I bite my nails, I laugh out loud, I cry; every time I see it. My latest rating for it is a 9; I have some trouble giving it the 10 that is reserved for sublime masterpieces, but who knows, maybe I just need to see it one more time...