Armageddon (1998)

Fire, sparks, fighting, shouting, collisions! These are just a few words that characterize the Armageddon (1998) movie, an action-packed science-fiction thriller, where 'man faces Nature'. Who will win in this deadly battle? A large asteroid threatens the Earth with its explosive power. A few days are left till the fatal collision extinguishes life on the planet. Armageddon, the tragic end of the world's history, is almost there. A miracle or combined efforts of the best specialists are required to avert the disaster. Can a handful of people resist the asteroid's apocalyptic power and save the day?

Scripted by Jonathan Hensleigh and Jeffrey Abrams, directed by Michael Bay, Armageddon tells an intelligible story of courage, bravery, and love. Harry S. Stamper (Bruce Willis) is the best oil-driller managing a team of professionals, including his protégé A.J. Frost (Ben Affleck), Charles Chapple (Will Patton) and others. Stamper raised his daughter Grace (Liv Tyler) all by himself. Frost has a romantic interest in Grace, the fact that irritates Stamper. This drama adds a romantic glimpse to the movie.

Meanwhile, NASA notices a giant rock the size of Texas that is about to ruin the Earth in just 18 days. Top NASA's expert, Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) makes up a rescue plan. Since the asteroid is way too large to be converted into vapor, the only way out will be to split it in several pieces, so that they change their trajectory and move past the planet leaving it intact. To implement this plan, a team of astronauts is sent to the asteroid to make a deep hole and put a bomb in it. Harry and his team are chosen to take this mission that seems to be a suicide. Harry says he will be back and A. J. offers his hand to Grace.

The movie abounds in quick actions, collisions, running, explosions, and flashes. With the first signs of the asteroid (the meteor shower), the camera shows all the destructive power of these space elements. Nevertheless, with all the money spent on the production, it seems that more work could have been done. The actions quickly change one by one, the final episodes are dragged on and the ending can be anticipated right from the middle of the movie. This is a stereotype already, if you see Bruce Willis in the movie, whether apocalyptic like this one or in any crime thriller say Sin City, the ending is automatically predictable due to his heroism, boldness and incredible luck. In any case, the Armageddon movie is certainly enjoyable and if you haven't seen an apocalyptic film this yet, this movie is worth a glance, especially if you appreciate Bruce.