Armageddon (1998 film)

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Armageddon
Directed by	Michael Bay
Produced by	Michael Bay Jerry Bruckheimer Gale Anne Hurd
Written by	Screenplay: Jonathan Hensleigh J.J. Abrams Story: Robert Roy Pool Jonathan Hensleigh Adaptation: Tony Gilroy Shane Salerno
Starring	Bruce Willis Billy Bob Thornton Ben Affleck Liv Tyler Michael Clarke Duncan
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	July 1, 1998
Running time	150 minutes
Language	English
Budget	USD$140 million
Gross revenue	$554,600,000[1]

Armageddon is a 1998 disaster/science fiction-action film about a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers who are sent by NASA to stop an Asteroid on a collision course with the Earth. It was directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and released on Disney's Touchstone Pictures label. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Armageddon arrived in theatres only two and a half months after a similar impact-based movie, Deep Impact, which starred Morgan Freeman. Astronomers described Deep Impact as being more scientifically accurate,^[2] and it was better received by critics^{[3] [4]}, but Armageddon fared better at the box office.^[5]

Due to a fire that destroyed the master print of the film, if Armageddon were to be released on Blu-Ray, it would have been remastered.^[6]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception and criticism 3 Scientific inaccuracies 4 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster 5 Box office 6 Soundtracks 6.1 Armageddon: The Album 6.1.1 Chart positions 6.2 Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin 7 Novelization 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Plot

After several meteoroids destroy the Space Shuttle Atlantis and bombard New York City and other parts of the world, NASA discovers that an asteroid the size of Texas is on a direct collision course with Earth and will likely wipe out all life on the Earth and destroy the planet. It is not publicly revealed that it will hit the Earth within 18 days. The scientists at NASA devise a plan to activate a nuclear bomb at a precise point under the asteroid's surface which will split it in two and cause it to miss the Earth. NASA locates the best oil driller on the planet, Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis), to get advice. When invited to NASA, Harry brings his daughter Grace (Liv Tyler) to keep her away from AJ (Ben Affleck), a young rambunctious member of Harry's crew that has been lusting after her. At NASA, Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton), the head of NASA, informs him of the dire situation. Harry immediately recognizes that he and his crew must accompany the astronauts on the mission to ensure the job is done properly. After Harry's crew is collected from across the country and NASA acquiesces to their demands, they are put through a training program and outfit a drilling rig with the proper equipment for the job.

When a meteorite strikes Shanghai, China, destroying the city and causing a tsunami, around 50,000 people die. At this point, the pending mission is revealed to the world. Two specially designed military shuttles, Freedom and Independence are launched simultaneously and shortly dock at a Russian space station (crewed by Lev Andropov) to refuel. AJ encounters a problem stopping the pumps after the ships tanks are full and the station explodes. The crews and Lev Andropov escape. The two shuttles perform a high G-force slingshot procedure around the Moon to land on the backside of the asteroid. However, as they enter the trailing debris of the asteroid, the Independence is struck and crash lands on the asteroid, all hands believed to be lost. The Freedom manages to land on the surface but misses the target landing zone. They land on an area of hard iron which will be difficult to drill through. The Freedom team try to drill but suffer several setbacks and losses due to the unexpected conditions. It is revealed that if the deadline is missed, Colonel Sharp would activate the nuclear device on the surface. However, a surface explosion would not be sufficient to divert the asteroid from hitting the Earth. Harry is able to convince Colonel Sharp to help them attempt to finish the job. During this time, another meteorite wipes out much of Paris, France.

All seems lost when their drilling machine is blasted off the asteroid by a gas vent, but the Freedom crew learns that the other team managed to survive the crash thanks to Lev Andropov and have driven the second drilling machine to the drilling site. Harry puts AJ in charge of finishing the drilling and they successfully drill to the necessary depth. The team lowers the bomb into the hole, but find that they can not detonate remotely after a rock storm damages the bomb's trigger, as well as killing one of the crew members. Truman tells the team that someone is going to have to stay behind to activate the bomb to destroy the asteroid. AJ is picked to detonate the bomb remotely after drawing straws, but Harry disables his air supply and takes his place. As the shuttle prepares to depart, Harry sends a final message to his daughter and gives his full support for her to marry AJ. Harry manages to activate the bomb seconds before the critical deadline, and the asteroid halves successfully miss the Earth. The remaining crew of the Freedom return to Earth as heroes, AJ reuniting tearfully with Grace while the others are met by their loved ones. Grace and AJ soon marry, while Harry and their lost crew members are memorialized.

Freedom shuttle crew

• William Fichtner- Colonel Willie Sharp: Pilot of shuttle Freedom.
• Jessica Steen- Jennifer Watts: Co-pilot of shuttle Freedom.
• Grayson McCouch- Gruber: Munitions specialist of shuttle Freedom, killed during rock storm when his helmet's face-plate is smashed open.
• Bruce Willis- Harry Stamper: Protagonist and leader of shuttle Freedom drill team, died when he stays back to detonate the bomb in order to destroy the asteroid.
• Will Patton- Charles Chapple (Chick): Harry's best friend and drill team member of shuttle Freedom.
• Ken Hudson Campbell- Max Lennert: Operator of the armadillo, killed when during drilling a gas pocket is released sending the armadillo into outer space with Max inside.
• Steve Buscemi- Rockhound: Geologist of shuttle Freedom.

Independence shuttle crew

• Marshall R. Teague- Colonel Davis: Pilot of shuttle Independence, killed when window of shuttle is broken by space debris and is sucked out of the cockpit.
• Anthony Guidera- Tucker: Co-pilot of shuttle Independence, also killed when window of shuttle breaks.
• Greg Collins- Lt. Halsey: Munitions specialist of shuttle Independence, killed during crash of Independence.
• Ben Affleck- A.J. Frost: leader of shuttle Independence drill team and Grace's love interest.
• Clark Heathcliffe Brolly- Freddy Noonan: member of shuttle Independence drill team, killed during the crash of the Independence.
• Michael Clarke Duncan- Jayotis "Bear" Kurleenbear: Operator of the armadillo for shuttle Independence.
• Owen Wilson- Oscar Choice: Geologist of shuttle Independence, killed during Independence crash due to space debris breaking his visor and striking his face.
• Peter Stormare- Lev Andropov: Russian Cosmonaut who joined the Independence crew after the Russian space station exploded.

[edit] Reception and criticism

The film was given mixed reviews and, although it was an international box office success, it received a large amount of criticism from film reviewers. On Rotten Tomatoes it scores 40%;^[7] on a similar website, Metacritic, it similarly scores 42%. The film is on the list of Roger Ebert's most hated films: in his original review, he stated "The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense and the human desire to be entertained".^[8] In contrast, his long-time friend Gene Siskel from the show Siskel & Ebert gave it a "thumbs up." Roger Ebert considered it the worst film of 1998 as seen in Siskel and Ebert's annual "Worst of" shows.^[9]

The film received the Saturn Awards for Best Direction and Best Science Fiction Film (where it tied with Dark City). However, it was also nominated in seven categories for the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards for bad films; only one was awarded: Bruce Willis received the Worst Actor award for Armageddon, in addition to his appearances in Mercury Rising and The Siege.

Despite the general critical disdain, a DVD edition of Armageddon was released by The Criterion Collection, a specialist film distributor of primarily arthouse films that markets what it considers to be "important classic and contemporary films" and "cinema at its finest".^[10] In an essay supporting the selection of Armageddon, film scholar Jeanne Basinger, who taught Michael Bay at Wesleyan University, states that the film is "a work of art by a cutting-edge artist who is a master of movement, light, color, and shape—and also of chaos, razzle-dazzle, and explosion". She sees it as a celebration of working men: "This film makes these ordinary men noble, lifting their efforts up into an epic event." Further, she states that in the first few moments of the film all the main characters are well established, saying, "If that isn't screenwriting, I don't know what is".^[11]

Despite the poor reviews and criticism, Armageddon was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Original Song).

[edit] Scientific inaccuracies

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

Armageddon is noted for its large number of scientific inaccuracies. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Michael Bay said that the solution for the asteroid situation was great for the movie but not possible in real life, while adding that real-life "anti-gravity" systems for such a situation were being worked on by NASA. Bay also said that people who might think that it was possible to deal with an asteroid in the manner depicted in the movie would be mistaken.

The physics and scientific approach of Armageddon was criticized^[who?] for its poor adherence to the laws of physics, such as the asteroid having gravity similar to Earth. This has led NASA to show the film as part of its management training program. Prospective managers are asked to find as many inaccuracies in the movie as they can. At least 168 impossible things have been found during these screenings of the film.^[12] For example, Shuttles could not be landed on an asteroid. And even if they could, they would not subsequently be able to leave. It also wouldn't be possible to build the shuttles fast enough, whether building from scratch or modifying existing shuttles. (Although an earlier scene alludes to the fact that the shuttles had already been built, and were being kept secret by the military, until such time that they were needed.) The movie also adheres to standard Hollywood conventions when it comes to science, such as depicting there being noise in space. Explosions were also shown to be sustained in the vacuum of space.

[edit] Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

Following the 2003 Columbia disaster, some screen captures from the opening scene where Atlantis is destroyed were passed off as satellite images of the disaster in a hoax.^[13] Also, in response to the disaster, FX pulled Armageddon from that night's schedule and replaced it with Aliens.^[14]

[edit] Box office

• Budget - USD$140,000,000
• Marketing cost - $60,000,000
• Opening Weekend Gross (Domestic) - $36,089,972
• Total Domestic Grosses - $201,578,182
• Total Overseas Grosses - $352,131,606
• Total Worldwide Grosses - $553,709,788

[edit] Soundtracks

[edit] Armageddon: The Album

Armageddon
Soundtrack by Various artists
Released	June 23, 1998
Genre	Pop Rock
Length	56:35
Label	Sony Records
Professional reviews
Allmusic link

The soundtrack features the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", performed by Aerosmith. The soundtrack also features the song "Remember Me", as performed by Journey. This song was the first studio recording with new lead vocalist Steve Augeri, who was hired to replace long-time singer Steve Perry after his departure from the band.

Armageddon: The Album (Sony, June 23, 1998):

1. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" - Aerosmith
2. "Remember Me" - Journey
3. "What Kind of Love Are You On" - Aerosmith
4. "La Grange" - ZZ Top
5. "Roll Me Away" - Bob Seger
6. "When the Rainbow Comes" - Shawn Colvin
7. "Sweet Emotion" - Aerosmith
8. "Mister Big Time" - Jon Bon Jovi
9. "Come Together" - Aerosmith
10. "Wish I Were You" - Patty Smyth
11. "Starseed" - Our Lady Peace
12. "Leaving on a Jet Plane" - Chantal Kreviazuk
13. "Theme from Armageddon" - Trevor Rabin
14. "Animal Crackers" - Dialogue by Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler; vocals and piano by Steven Tyler

[edit] Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1998	The Billboard 200	1

Preceded by City of Angels (soundtrack) by Various artists

Billboard 200 number-one album July 18 - July 31, 1998

Succeeded by Hello Nasty by Beastie Boys

[edit] Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin

Armageddon
Soundtrack by Trevor Rabin
Released	November 10, 1998
Genre	Soundtracks Original Score Film music
Label	Sony
Professional reviews
Allmusic link

There was also an instrumental score titled Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin. Rabin was formerly a member of the progressive rock band Yes.

1. "Armageddon Suite"
2. "Harry & Grace Make Peace"
3. "A.J.'s Return"
4. "Oil Lube"
5. "Leaving"
6. "Evacuation"
7. "Harry meets World"
8. "Back In Business"
9. "Launch"
10. "5 Asteroids"
11. "Underwater Love"
12. "Doing Grace"
13. "Armadillo"
14. "Short Straw"
15. "Ride It"
16. "Death of Mir"
17. "Armageddon Piano"
18. "Long Distance Goodbye/Landing"

[edit] Novelization

A novelization was written by C. Bolin, based on the screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh, J.J. Abrams, Tony Gilroy and Shane Salerno and the story by Jonathan Hensleigh and Robert Pool.

[edit] See also

• List of American films of 1998
• Asteroid deflection strategies
• List of disaster films
• Deep Impact (film)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Armageddon (1998 film)

• Armageddon at the Internet Movie Database
• Armageddon at Allmovie
• Armageddon at Box Office Mojo
• Armageddon at Rotten Tomatoes
• Armageddon -vs- Deep Impact at Movie Smackdown!
• Criterion Collection essay by Jeanine Basinger, from a Wesleyan University professor under whom the film's director studied
• Movie Physics review of Armageddon
• Bad Astronomy - The Astronomy of Armageddon
• Movie Tour Guide.com - Maps and directions to Armageddon Filming Locations
• Ketzer.com - The Armageddon movie props and costumes archive
• Scientific and other mistakes at moviemistakes.com

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Men in Black	Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film 1998 Shared with Dark City	Succeeded by The Matrix
Preceded by Doctor Dolittle	Box office number-one films of 1998 (USA) July 5, 1998	Succeeded by Lethal Weapon 4

Preceded by Lost in Space

Box office number-one films of 1998 (UK) August 9, 1998 – August 16, 1998

Succeeded by The X-Files

v • d • e Films directed by Michael Bay 1990s Bad Boys (1995) · The Rock (1996) · Armageddon (1998) 2000s Pearl Harbor (2001) · Bad Boys II (2003) · The Island (2005) · Transformers (2007) · Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

v • d • e J. J. Abrams Writer Taking Care of Business (1990) · Regarding Henry (1991) · Forever Young (1992) · Gone Fishin' (1997) · Armageddon (1998) · Joy Ride (2001) · Mission: Impossible III (2006) Producer The Pallbearer (1996) · The Suburbans (1999) · Joy Ride (2001) · Cloverfield (2008) · Star Trek (2009) · Morning Glory (2010) Director Mission: Impossible III (2006) · Star Trek (2009) Television series Felicity (1998–2002) · Alias (2001–2006) · Lost (2004–2010) · The Office (2005-present): "Cocktails" (2007) · What About Brian (2006–2007) · Six Degrees (2006–2007) · Fringe (2008–present) · Anatomy of Hope (2009) Production company Bad Robot Productions