By Chris Snellgrove | Published
With the holidays just around the corner, many families are trying to find the perfect movies to watch together, but that can be difficult when the most interesting films are hitting theaters (from Nosferatu To Baby girl) is not exactly child-friendly. But did you know that the perfect ’90s blockbuster is just a click away and that the whole family can enjoy it without leaving home? Armageddon is now on Disney+ and this is the perfect time to revisit this timeless tale of hardened ruffians recruited to save the world from an asteroid that threatens to wipe out humanity.
The Armageddon Conspiracy
In ArmageddonNASA discovers that an asteroid will impact the planet in 18 days, causing humanity to go the way of the dinosaurs. They hatch a plan to drill a hole in the asteroid and drop a nuclear bomb, but that means they need to find experienced drillers on short notice. To this end, NASA recruits an experienced oil driller and his team of misfits. Whether they can work as well in space as they do on Earth will determine whether they even have a planet to return to when their mission ends.
The plot of Armageddon is delightfully wacky, but powered by some great performances, including Billy Bob Thornton as a grumpy NASA executive responsible for recruiting an oil team led by Bruce Willis. The team’s best worker is played by Ben Affleck, who often has his eye on the boss’s wife (played by Liv Tyler) more than the job. As for the job, its success or failure depends on the talents of the strange oil team, whose characters are brought to life by quirky genre veterans like Steve Buscemi and Owen Wilson.
Huge box office success but criticized by critics
When Armageddon It was a huge hit with audiences when it premiered in 1998, from the star-studded cast to the hit Aerosmith song and music video. On a budget of $140 million, this film grossed an outstanding (or should that be interstellar?) $553.7 million. Surprisingly, there was never a sequel to this film, but its cultural influence is still felt today.
Unfortunately, Armageddon wasn’t exactly well received by critics: the film has an astronomically low critical rating of 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. In general, critics complained that the film’s sophisticated presentation was marred by a very stupid script. However, the audience didn’t mind, and Armageddon has a much higher Popcorn Meter audience rating of 73 percent.
The critics are not wrong when they say that with a script like this you have to turn your brain off to enjoy it. However, if you can do that, you will find it Armageddon The ’90s action heir to all those “Snobs vs. Slobs” movies of the ’80s. Now it’s the snobs who are in charge, but ultimately they have to beg the guys for help just to save the world, and the resulting film is extremely entertaining to watch.
Plus, the wide range of talent means you can always rely on a skilled actor to steal the scene through a combination of stupid dialogue and killer writing. There’s also a bit of funny physical comedy that helps give this disaster film just enough outlandish laughs to avoid being deadly serious. Armageddon also has a touching romantic subplot, and the sticky sweetness of these characters’ love pairs perfectly with the salty sarcasm of… well, pretty much everyone else.
You will find Armageddon an extraordinary hit like us, or do you want the asteroid to wipe us all out when the credits roll? You won’t know until you stream it on Disney+. But be warned: a particular Aerosmith song will stick in your head long after that song is over.
