Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission provided he can bring along his own hotshot crew. Among them is the cocksure A.J. who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, until the mission proves otherwise.
Armageddon is a quintessential late-90s Michael Bay blockbuster — loud, bombastic, and emotionally manipulative in ways that are simultaneously effective and hollow. The plot is riddled with logical inconsistencies and leans heavily on disaster-movie clichés, while the acting ranges from hammy to serviceable, with Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck doing what they can with underwritten roles. Visually, Bay's kinetic, hyperactive style delivers some genuinely spectacular set pieces and the asteroid surface imagery is impressively realized for its era, earning a solid cinematography mark. Novelty is low — this is a by-the-numbers disaster epic borrowing liberally from Deep Impact and genre conventions, with little distinctive voice beyond sheer excess. The ending, however, genuinely lands emotionally: Harry's sacrifice and the Liv Tyler farewell scene extract real tears despite the schmaltz, making it one of the more effective climaxes of 90s blockbuster cinema.