Armageddon

Cast: Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Steve Buschemi, Owen Wilson and Michael Clark Duncan.

Director: Michael Bay

Release Date: 1998

Running Time: 2hrs 30 minutes

Genre: Action

Rating: PG-13

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

NASA find there is an asteroid the size of Texas heading for Earth, it's gonna hit impact in less then a month so NASA  recruit a  pretty interesting bunch of deep core drillers to save the planet.

It's hard to say what we'd do if we knew an asteroid the size of Texas was about to impact Earth, It's unlikely that we'd know who the perfect people are to destroy it too, if in fact it could be destroyed in time. Armageddon isn't just an action movie, It's about love, courage and friendship. Michael Bay has probably brought us one of the best action flicks of the late 90's. It's interesting that NASA would assume it's a terrorist attack before anything else, I suppose instinctively one may put that first before assuming it could be from outterspace. It becomes apparent pretty early on that what they are experiencing is not a missile attack but a meteor shower.

We're very nicely introduced to our main characters on board an oil rig, Harry Stamper played by Bruce Willis. One would definitely assume that he owns the oil rig company, judging by the name Stamper Oil written all over the rig. Of course like most oil rigs he certainly isn't alone on board, we're also introduced to a very young Ben Affleck, the relationship between these two characters is extremely rocky, Harry isn't in the best of moods when he finds that AJ (Affleck) is in a relationship with his daughter Grace (Tyler) and that both have chosen to keep it a secret from him. It becomes apparent that Grace and Harry do not have the best father daughter relationship themselves. Affleck portrays AJ brilliantly, he's young and a little bit naive about life, but tries to do the right thing, until of course he's caught sleeping with his boss's daughter and all hell brakes loose.

 After an explosion on the oil rig we are soon introduced to the rest of the team including, Chick, Rockhound and Bear. Played brilliantly by Will Patton, Steve Buschemi, and the late Michael Clark Duncan. Each one of them delivers excellent performances in this film, each one has something very different about them. They all work brilliantly together. Their performances really support their characters.

This is a very long movie at 2hrs and 30 minutes, however it's worth it, Michael Bay has made sure not to bore his audience with thrilling scenes right from the start. This is a very nice looking film, the production department have done an incredible job, so much so that Disneyland even decided to remodel a special effects ride after it. The set design looks very authentic and real. Michael Bay has chosen to use really stunning aerial shots in space and around the space shuttle. The only thing that is a little bit irritating is like most action movies set in space we always see and hear a big explosion. In reality there would be no sound in space. One too many filmmakers forget to do their research before making a film. The special effects are absolutely fantastic, if your really into explosions you certainly aren't going to be dissapointed. The use of clever lighting and special effects together look amazing, it really adds to the tone of the film, adding in creating it to look as authentic as possible. The film has a very nice score, of course who can forget Aerosmith's "I don't want to miss a thing" it adds beautifully to the tone of the film, as much as this is a action movie it's very emotional too, it's really emphasized through the soundtrack.

The blu-ray looks really nice, there is a little bit of grain, but nothing too noticable, the majority of the film looks really really good. Sadly the special features aren't too amazing with just a couple of trailers and the music video for Aerosmith's "I don't wanna miss a thing" however don't let that put you off, Armageddon is a very entertaining and thrilling film, full to the brim with action and emotion. This is definitely one you are gonna want to add to your collection, especially on blu-ray.

5/5 stars