Armageddon
Buena Vista Home Video
2.35:1/Dolby Digital 5.1/Dual Layer
Not 16x9
Region:1
Rated:PG-13
Also:French 5.1 Surround
Subtitles/Closed Captions:English
Original Film Review From July, '98
Well, the "other" asteroid film is here, and it's not too bad, thankfully. Directed by Michael "Let's make an edit after every frame" Bay, "Armageddon" is just another step into the world of producer Jerry Bruckheimer's films, where the sun's rays make the world glow a perfect amber; testosterone rules, and everything is a sensory overload. Director Bay has brought his style from his early commercial work: everything is always in screaming, full-throttle motion. Edits come flying forward at a rate of simple seconds and everything is, if it all works, pure adrenaline. If not, a style like Bay's can become extremely grating and annoying.
"Armageddon" reminds me of the kid in the back of everyone's high school class who was scared out of his wits when the finals were handed back. All the sudden you'd hear "Yeah! I Passed! I Got a D!" "Armageddon" is implausable, loud, sometimes very stupid- but it's always watchable. It's stupid, but at least it knows it's stupid.
Much like this year's other asteroid film "Deep Impact", an asteroid is headed this way, and we've got to send a team of people to send a bomb into the asteroid's core. But the similarities end there. "Armageddon" is pure Hollywood; where "Deep Impact" tried but failed to be human drama, "Armageddon" is pure force. Explosion after explosion, and the special effects that "Deep Impact" promised, but never came up with until the very end.
That definitely doesn't mean it's flawless, though. After an excellently done scene destroying New York City, the plot of Willis and his team of oil drillers kicks in(NASA needs a team to drill to the asteroid's surface). We then get numerous scenes of the ragged group of drillers going through numerous asteronaunt training tests, as well as an embarassingly stupid sequence where each of the team talks to a NASA Psychologist.
Most of these scenes are unnessessary and dull and don't do much to forward the already small plot. It's also strange to watch the oil drilling team party during and after the tests. I was waiting for one of them to smack their forehead and go "Oh yeah, we're all going to die in 10 days if we fail!"
In terms of acting, it's strange that the very best acting in "Armageddon" is on the outer edges. Liv Tyler is a pleasant sight as always, even though filmmakers have yet to understand how beautiful she is; she's never filmed quite right. She's not called on to do much, but she gives her best. Billy Bob Thornton blows everyone else out of the film in terms of performance with an excellent, emotional performance. Thornton is the center of the film emotionally.
It's unfortunate that I can't say the same about the main actors. Bruce Willis gives an unfortunately weak performance; nowhere near the energy or emotion or wit of his John McClane character from the "Die Hard" series. Some of Willis's dramatic line readings are very laughable in this film. Ben Affleck of "Good Will Hunting" simply acts like a macho idiot throughout the film.
My main problem with the film is that it's simply too long. There are many scenes, especially in the middle before the launch, that could have been taken out on the editing floor. At two hours and thirty minutes, "Armageddon" runs about twenty minutes too long.
Editing also becomes a problem during a scene in a Russian Space Station that's about to blow; the editing is so fast the scene becomes a fried mess. I couldn't figure out who was where and what was what. It became a slew of quick edits and speedy handheld shots. Bay has always been known for his quick edits, but this was part of a series of scenes in this film that were edited far too fast, and it began to take me out of the movie. Towards the end I began to count the space between edits and it was usually about three seconds. A lot of the time it was even down to one second.
I've been ranting mainly about what doesn't work in "Armageddon", but there are actually a few things that work very well. The specials effects are generally excellent. It may be a film without much of a brain, but "Armageddon" tries it's hardest to entertain. The film is never really unwatchable. It's fast, passable Summer entertainment that won't dissapoint. It likely won't blow your mind, especially if you've went through the same plot with "Deep Impact" earlier this year. If you go in with little expectations, you will likely be satisfied by "Armageddon". I guess I can partially thank the makers of "Godzilla" for my enjoyment of this film. Walking out of "Armageddon", I said to myself, "Hey, at least it wasn't as bad as 'Godzilla.'"
The Disc:
Picture: Although it's not 16x9 enhanced, Disney has done a good job with the transfer on this disc. The disc transfer is excellent, but, of course, it could have benefited from the added resolution of 16x9 enhancement. Even so, contrast
and color saturation are both excellent. There are aren't major compression artifacts to be found, but I did see a couple of small instances of shimmering. The shots of the asteroid are very murky and there are some problems with all the smoke
and dust in these shots on the disc, but the job done on these scenes is still quite good, since scenes like this are a real test for DVD mastering. The layer change is quite annoying as well, with a distinct halt that's quite noticeable
at the very end of chapter 13.
Sound: Simply thunderous. The bass will shake the room, especially during some of the more impressive action scenes(chapter 2 for example). It's an extremely active sound mix, with plenty of direction and impact. Dialogue is clear and crisp, which is pretty impressive since the dialogue is being spoken over constant explosions. Definitely a demonstration disc for any DVD fan. The sound mix engulfs the viewer for a strong sensory experience. Very nicely done.
Extras: The theatrical trailer, a different teaser trailer than I remember seeing and Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" music video.
Menus: Nice, but nothing animated or striking.
Grades:
Picture:A-
Audio:A
Film:C+
Extras:C-
Menus:C-
Overall:B
Overall:The film is just ok; it's basic entertainment. It's a very well done disc, but unless you enjoyed the film a lot, I only somewhat recommend it. If you haven't seen the film, rent it first. Laserdisc owners might enjoy the upcoming Criterion Collection Laserdisc, but the last time I looked, that disc has been delayed with no new date.(NOTE: Criterion Has Announced A DVD Version Of The Laserdisc Special Edition. The Announcement Is:Here
