-
Trust Weighted
Good
-
76Trust Points
Wick's Review
Summary - Good 3.0
Big bangs, high testosterone dialog, semi-witty asides in the face of calamitous situations, Armageddon includes the classic BBB elements. While not the best Bruckheimer-Bay Blockbuster, Armageddon is nonetheless reliable entertainment in the style of the modern Hollywood action movie.
Acting - OK 2.5
The starring performances range from bad (Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck) to good (Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton). Of the former, Liv Tyler – neither especially gorgeous or interesting – and then hot-young-stud Ben Affleck fail to generate any romantic heat. Of the latter, we get a reliably charismatic performance from Bruce Willis, though certainly not one of his best, coupled with the always interesting Billy Bob Thornton, here as the top NASA muckty-muck.
The supporting actors – notably Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan, and a young Owen Wilson – provide much of the character interest, as they must in a large cast adventure yarn like this.
Male Stars - Very Good 3.5
Female Stars - Pretty Bad 1.5
Female Costars - Pretty Bad 1.5
Male Costars - Great 4.0
Film - Very Good 3.5
Nobody directs Jerry Bruckheimer explosion-fests like Michael Bay, and Armageddon is a classic of the breed. While the action sequences in Armageddon are classically semi-coherent, he delivers plenty of bang for the buck.
Direction - Very Good 3.5
Dialogue - OK 2.5
Music - Great 4.0
Arrowsmith provides the excellent theme song, made even better by having Arrowsmith's Steve Tyler sing it over scenes involving his daughter Liv Tyler's character.Visuals - Great 4.0
Edge - Risqué 1.7
Sex Titillating 1.8
Violence Fierce 1.6
Rudeness Salty 1.6
Reality - Surreal 2.8
Where to start? Bruckheimer-Bay movies are conceived to make a mockery of reality. Action movies always feature mildly superhuman BioReality, but Armageddon distinguishes itself with wild CircoReality and PhysioReality, examples of which below.
Circumstantial - Supernatural 3.2
Two shuttles taking off simultaneously from launch pads so close they share an elevator for the astronauts? I don't think so.Biological - Glib 2.0
Physical - Supernatural 3.1
The gravity on the asteroid was just right for the story: 1G, then well under 1G when Ben Affleck had to do an Evel Kneivel jump over a huge canyon. Convenient.2 Comments
-
Wick Dec 28, 2007 12:12AM
Thanks Randy. OK, here’s your reminder… Lookin forward to seeing your review.
-
Randy Dec 26, 2007 12:19AM
Nice review, Wick~
I also enjoyed this movie… I saw it when I was a lot younger, with my grandmother, and enjoyed it a lot. Remind me to post a review for it some time…
Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!
Randy