Armageddon (1998)
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A group of deep-core drillers must be transformed into astronauts to destroy a massive asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
The story
After a massive meteor shower damages New York City, NASA discovers a Texas-sized asteroid will impact Earth in 18 days, threatening to wipe out all life. To stop the catastrophe, NASA devises a plan to drill into the asteroid and detonate a nuclear bomb to split it. They recruit Harry Stamper, a veteran oil driller, and his team of expert drillers to perform the mission. The men must undergo intensive training to become astronauts and pilot a shuttle to the asteroid. As the deadline approaches, the team faces immense pressure and technical hurdles to ensure the survival of the planet.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
A massive meteor shower damages New York City, revealing a Texas-sized asteroid will hit Earth in 18 days. NASA recruits Harry Stamper and his team of oil drillers to drill into the asteroid and detonate a nuclear bomb. The team is trained as astronauts and launched via two super shuttles, Freedom and Independence. After a Russian space station is destroyed, the crew on Independence is split, and A.J. and others must find the Freedom crew. On the asteroid, the drilling progresses slowly, and the President orders a remote detonation that fails. Harry and astronaut Willie Sharp must work together to manually detonate the bomb. A.J. is tasked with the final manual detonation, and Harry gives him his blessing to marry Harry's daughter, Grace. Ultimately, Harry successfully detonates the bomb, saving the planet but sacrificing his life. The survivors return to Earth, where A.J. and Grace are reunited and married.
- First release year
- 1998
- Runtime (minutes)
- 150
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Michael Bay
- Writers
- Jonathan Hensleigh · screenplay; J. J. Abrams · screenplay; Robert Roy Pool · story; Tony Gilroy · adaptation; Shane Salerno · adaptation
- Cast and characters
- Bruce Willis · Harry Stamper; Billy Bob Thornton · Chick Chapple; Liv Tyler · Grace; Ben Affleck · A.J. Frost; Will Patton · Rockhound; Peter Stormare · Oscar Choice; Keith David · Bear; Steve Buscemi · Max
- Genres
- science fiction; disaster; action
- Themes
- sacrifice; heroism; fatherhood
- Tone and mood
- epic; high-octane
- Setting
- Earth and outer space during the late 1990s.
- Premise and plot tags
- disaster; space exploration; nuclear weapons
- Reception
- The film was a commercial success but received mixed reviews from critics who criticized its pacing and dialogue.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · scale: percentage · review count: 177; Metacritic · score: 42 · scale: 100 · review count: 23
- Production trivia
- The film was released in the same summer as the similarly themed Deep Impact.; The asteroid set was used as a credit roll gag scene to imitate a cave in Wilson's basement.; The film's budget was expanded by $3 million to include extra scenes of an asteroid impacting Paris.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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