Armageddon (1998 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 Will Patton Michael Clarke Duncan Owen Wilson Peter Stormare Steve Buscemi William Fichtner Keith David Jason Issacs Jessica Steen Ken Hudson Campbell
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	July 1, 1998
Running time	150 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$140 million (estimated)
Gross revenue	$553,709,788[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 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, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi.

Armageddon arrived in theaters 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] but Armageddon fared better at the box office.^[3] They were about equally well-received by critics (Armageddon scoring 41% and Deep Impact scoring 46% on the 'Tomatometer').

Because a fire destroyed the master print of the film, Armageddon will have to be remastered for release on Blu-ray.^[4]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Freedom shuttle crew 2.2 Independence shuttle crew 2.3 NASA and others 3 Reception and criticism 4 Scientific inaccuracies 5 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster 6 Box office 7 Soundtracks 7.1 Armageddon: The Album 7.1.1 Chart positions 7.2 Armageddon: Original Motion Picture Score by Trevor Rabin 8 Novelization 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Plot

After several meteoroids destroy the Space Shuttle Atlantis and bombard New York City and several other parts of the world, NASA discovers that an asteroid the size of Texas will collide with Earth in 18 days at 22,000 miles per hour, destroying all life. The scientists at NASA in cooperation with the Russian, Japanese and French space agencies plan to detonate a nuclear bomb at a precise point under the asteroid's surface which will split it in two, causing it to miss the Earth. The bombs must be buried at least 800 feet below the surface within eight hours of landing, and no later than four hours before Earth impact. The mission is not revealed to the public, fearing panic.

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 A.J. (Ben Affleck), a young rambunctious member of Harry's crew who has become - to Harry's unfortunate surprise - her lover, which greatly angers Grace. Head of NASA Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) informs Harry of the dire situation. Harry recognizes that he and his crew must accompany the astronauts to ensure the job is done properly. After Harry's crew is collected and NASA acquiesces to their demands, they are put through a 12-day training program and outfit a drilling rig with the proper equipment.

After a meteorite strikes Shanghai, China, destroying the city and causing a tsunami, the incoming asteroid and pending mission are revealed to the world. Two military shuttles, Freedom and Independence, are launched and dock at a Russian space station (crewed by Lev Andropov) to refuel with liquid oxygen propellant. A.J. encounters a problem stopping the pumps after the ships' tanks are full and the station explodes. The crews and Lev Andropov escape. Later, the two shuttles perform a high G-force powered slingshot procedure around the Moon, traveling at 22,500 miles per hour to tail behind the asteroid.

As they enter the asteroid's wake, the Independence is struck and crash-lands on the asteroid, killing most of its crew. The Freedom lands on the surface but misses the target landing zone, arriving on an area of hard iron which will be difficult to drill through. The Freedom team tries to drill but suffers several setbacks and losses due to unexpected conditions. After losing communication with Earth, the mission is put on hold, as the bomb's timer is activated by orders from the United States President to ensure the mission succeeds. However, a surface explosion would not be sufficient to divert the asteroid. Harry convinces Colonel Sharp to help them attempt to finish the job. With just 250 feet left to drill, their drilling machine is blasted off the asteroid by a gas vent. When the crew radio report to NASA that the mission has failed, worldwide panic ensues as humanity braces for the end of the world. A massive meteoroid then strikes Paris, completely destroying most of the city.

The Freedom crew learns that the other team managed to survive the crash thanks to Lev Andropov and A.J. and have driven the second drilling machine to the site. Harry puts A.J. in charge of finishing the drilling and they successfully drill to the necessary depth. The team lowers the nuclear bomb into the hole, but are caught in a rockstorm. The storm damages the remote on the bomb, rendering remote detonation useless. With 18 minutes left, Truman tells the team that someone must stay behind to detonate the bomb. A.J. is picked to stay behind after drawing straws, but Harry disables A.J.'s air supply and takes his place. As the shuttle departs, Harry sends a message to his daughter, giving his full support for her to marry A.J.

Harry detonates the bomb seconds before the deadline, causing the asteroid to split in two and miss the Earth by 400 miles, at the cost of his own life. The remaining crews of Freedom and Independence return to Earth as heroes. A.J. reunites with Grace while the others are met by their loved ones. Grace and A.J. soon marry, while Harry and the other lost crew members are memorialized.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Freedom shuttle crew

• William Fichtner as Colonel Willie Sharp: Pilot of shuttle Freedom
• Jessica Steen as Jennifer Watts: Co-pilot of shuttle Freedom
• Grayson McCouch as Gruber: Munitions specialist of shuttle Freedom
• Bruce Willis as Harry Stamper: Protagonist and leader of shuttle Freedom drill team
• Will Patton as Charles "Chick" Chapple: Harry's best friend and drill team member of shuttle Freedom
• Ken Hudson Campbell as Max Lennert: Operator of the Armadillo
• Steve Buscemi as Rockhound: Geologist of shuttle Freedom

[edit] Independence shuttle crew

• Ben Affleck as A.J. Frost: Secondary protagonist; leader of shuttle Independence drill team and Grace's love interest.
• Marshall R. Teague as Colonel Davis: Pilot of shuttle Independence
• Anthony Guidera as Captain Tucker: Co-pilot of shuttle Independence
• Greg Collins as Lt. Halsey: Munitions specialist of shuttle Independence
• Clark Heathcliffe Brolly as Freddy Noonan: Member of the shuttle Independence drill team
• Michael Clarke Duncan as Jayotis "Bear" Kurleenbear: Operator of the armadillo for shuttle Independence
• Owen Wilson as Oscar Choice: Geologist of shuttle Independence
• Peter Stormare as Lev Andropov: Russian Cosmonaut

[edit] NASA and others

• Billy Bob Thornton as Dan Truman: Head of NASA, discovers the asteroid and organizes the plan to destroy it
• Liv Tyler as Grace Stamper: Daughter of Harry Stamper and A.J.'s girlfriend
• Keith David as General Kimsley: Member of US government, helps Truman organize the plan to stop the asteroid
• Jason Issacs as Dr. Ronald Quincy Head scientist at NASA who proposes using nukes to blow up the asteroid.

[edit] Reception and criticism

The film was given mixed to negative 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 41%;^[5] 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".^[6] 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.^[7]

The film received the Saturn Awards for Best Direction and Best Science Fiction Film (where it tied with Dark City). Only one Razzie 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".^[8] In an essay supporting the selection of Armageddon, film scholar Jeanine 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".^[9]

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Original Song.

[edit] Scientific inaccuracies

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Michael Bay admitted that central premise of the film, "that [NASA] could actually do something in a situation like this," was unrealistic. Roy Pool, a contributing screenwriter, stated that his script, in which an anti-gravity device is used to deflect a comet from a collision course with Earth, was "much more in line with top-secret research."^[10]

NASA shows 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^[11] - for instance, that the shuttles could not be built fast enough, either from scratch or by modifying existing shuttles (although one scene suggests that the shuttles had already been built in secret, until such time as they were needed), that they could not land on an asteroid, and if they could, would not be able to leave. The movie contains several scientific inaccuracies typical of science fiction films, such as depicting noise in space, and explosions being sustained in a vacuum.

[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.^[12] Also, in response to the disaster, FX pulled Armageddon from that night's schedule and replaced it with Aliens.^[13]

[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 18-31, 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
• Meteor (film)
• 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

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Men in Black	Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film 1998 Shared with Dark City	Succeeded by The Matrix

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) · What About Brian (2006–2007) · Six Degrees (2006–2007) · Fringe (2008–present) · Anatomy of Hope (2009) Production company Bad Robot Productions