Armageddon: An Interesting Space Movie

If you have a keen interest in watching action and suspense-based films, Armageddon should definitely be on your list. The movie was released in 1998 and is based on the story of a large asteroid that is coming to hit the earth in a matter of a few weeks only. Armageddon is the story of deep core driller men who risk their lives to plant a bomb at the Asteroid. It has been directed by Michael Bay. The movie has hit many records and charts and is still known as one of the best space movies of all time.

Movie Success

Initially, the movie Armageddon didn’t get much attention and also saw some negative reviews from the critics. However, it was an international box office success and was the most grossing film of the year 1998. With a budget of $140 million, the film earned over $553 million in the same year.

Some critics suggested that they did not see the movie as the one with scientific accuracy. The infeasibility of the bomb that was taken to space namely the H-Bomb was several times lower than the required amount of a bomb. In addition to that, training oil drillers to become astronauts was supposedly a much difficult task compared to astronauts becoming oil drillers.

Many critics such as Roger Ebert suggested that this was the worst film of 1998 as it was not an assault on the eyes, ears, and common sense. Some astronomers also noted the fact that a similar movie named Deep Impact was scientifically more accurate than this film.

Nonetheless, the film has been one of the most successful ones of all time which proves that the critical aspects noted may not be as relevant.

The Cast

The film has been starred by Bruce Wills while Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, and Peter Stormare are also among the cast of the film.

Bruce Wills

Bruce Wills is the star of this film who is an American-German actor and a film producer. In Armageddon, he played the role of Harry S. Stamper who was not only the head of a deep core rigging company and also the head of one of the teams that were to detonate the bomb on the Asteroid.

Wills began his career on the Broadway stage in the 1970s and first got his fame in the comedy series, Moonlighting. Over his long career, he has appeared in more than 70 films while Armageddon has also been one of the best ones. Most recently, Bruce Wills has been working on the film called Breach which is yet another great action film for the audience.

Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler played the role of Grace Stamper, the daughter of Harry Stamper. She used to stay along with Harry throughout and had a love affair with A.J. Frost, a role played by Ben Affleck. Liv Tyler had a limited presence in the movie, but it can surely be said that the movie got exciting and emotional due to the presence of Liv Tyler.

She began her career with her debut Silent Fall in 1994 and then started working on other films as well after it became a big success. She has played roles in other films like Inventing the Abbotts (1997) Cookie’s Fortune and Onegin (both 1999) Dr. T & the Women (2000) and One Night at McCool’s (2001).

Her best role was as  ArwenUndómiel in the Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. Tyler has a lot of other stuff on her record too which includes being the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States from 2003. In addition to that, she has been singing very well with Howard Shore.

Liv Tyler in 2008.

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck has played the role of A.J. Frost in the movie and was the guy at the rig who fell in love with Harry’s daughter. The film initially shows a rivalry between A.J Frost and Harry Stomper because Harry does not like the fact that Frost is dating his daughter. Nonetheless, the story ends with Harry giving his life’s sacrifice and saving Frost so that he marries his daughter.

Ben Affleck is one of the best actors in Hollywood and has won 2 Academy Awards and 3 Golden Globe Awards throughout his career. He started with the educational series by the name of The Voyage of the Mimi. Since then, Ben Affleck has been a part of Hollywood and has also directed several films throughout his career.

Ben Affleck in 2017 at the Comic-con of San-Diego.

Billy Bob Thornton

One of the most important roles played in the movie was of Dan Truman which was played by Billy Bob Thornton. Dan Truman was the Project Director at NASA who was covering the entire mission and made sure that the two spaceships are on their decided course.

Billy Bob has had a very successful career in Hollywood as he has racked up several awards and nominations as well. This includes Oscars, Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and even the  President’s Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, a Special Achievement Award from the National Board of Review. Unlike other stars of Hollywood, Billy Bob took off when he wrote his own thriller film by the name One False Movie.

As far as the personal life of Billy Bob is concerned, the major event includes his marriage to Angelina Jolie. He has also been a singer and songwriter.

Billy Bob Thornton in 2012.

About the Movie – The Good Side

What we liked the most about this movie is that it was quite emotional for the viewers. This is one reason why it became a success at the box office as well. There have been several parts of the movie which have been quite emotional. One of them was the speech of the President in which he addressed the nation on the mission and wished well for the team members who were about to go to the expedition.

Stanley Anderson, who was playing the role of President, delivered a speech that was praised by many audiences. You can find out his speech at this link (Link). It remained as one of the best speeches for quite a long time even after 1998.

In addition to that, viewers also found out the ending of the movie as one of the most influential parts when the father (Bruce Wills) addresses her daughter (Liv Tyler) before detonating the bomb on the asteroid. Due to technical issues, the bomb had to be detonated manually which meant that one of the crew members had to stay on the asteroid and do it himself.

After this scene, the movie takes on quite an emotional turn because Bruce Will goes in a long flashback of the events and his entire life where he spent the time with his daughter. This scene was when many of the viewers actually cried.

Director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer at Edwards Air Force Base.

About the Movie – The Bad Side

We don’t believe that there is something very wrong about the movie. Although many claim that the scientific accuracy was not there but we don’t believe that this is the main point. No one watches a movie to claim that the scientific accuracy is there or not. If it appears real, it grabs the attention of the audience.

However, what we do believe that a somewhat downside of the movie was that it showed how a couple of non-serious oil drillers were so easily up for going on to space. What astronauts prepared for years; the drillers prepared in weeks. It just raises the question as to whether it is that easy to become a scientist or not.

In addition to that, docking at the International Space Station of Russia showed that the person over there was not much in his senses. Come on! We are talking about an International Space Station where things could have been much more sophisticated than they were shown. In particular, there was no point where the Russian man appeared in his senses, and yet, he was at the control of one of the most critical equipment. This does not seem to add much.

Other than that, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler have been rated as the Worst On-Screen Couple by the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards and the 19th Golden Raspberry Awards. We don’t know why but many movie audiences have considered the couple a much “Cuter one” rather than the worst one.

Conclusion

If you haven’t watched Armageddon yet, we recommend you watch it right away. It’s a great movie that will surely touch you emotionally as well as take you on a journey of suspense and action side by side. Despite having mixed reviews from audiences and critics, we still believe that it is one of the best ones of all time with many incidents in the movie making it the one where the viewer does not get bored right away.

If you want to learn more about space, astronomy, and how do humans live in space, read the article here – What Happens To Your Body When You Are In Space?.

For more information on the International Space Station, there is pretty useful information on the following page – International Space Station: Can you see it with a telescope?.