100. Armageddon (1998) - Dir: Michael Bay
I saw Armageddon and Deep Impact as a double feature while living in southern California. Deep Impact was first, and it was really boring. It took forever for anything to blow up, and when stuff finally did start blowing up, it just wasn't enough. In Armageddon, the opening credits explode, and within the first few minutes, New York city gets its butt kicked. This is what I'm talking about.
I like Michael Bay - I think he is great at what he does. He makes expensive, exciting movies, exciting and look expensive. On the commentary track for the Criterion released DVD (I bet this film getting a Criterion DVD pisses the heck out of some film buffs) Ben Affleck jokes around about how Michael Bay wanted a big yellow helicopter to land on an oil tanker because it would look cool and cost a lot of money - it did and it did. I think everything in the film looks awesome - from the sets to the people, and from the effects to the action. It is a pretty movie, and it is also incredibly stupid and entertaining.
Bruce Willis, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, Steve Buscemi, and the rest of the cast all turn in really cool performances. The dialog is cheesy and full of machismo, and the testosterone level is off the hook. It's full of bravado and “America rules!” sentimentality, and I'll be damned if I don't feel like standing up and cheering when they finally blow up that damn asteroid.
It also has one of the dumbest, most outlandish, and asinine premises ever committed to film, not to mention the biggest and deadliest super villain I've ever seen. How many other movies do you know of where a bunch of regular blokes get blasted into space to fight a planet destroying asteroid on its home turf?
All kidding aside, I really do like Armageddon; It excites me; It causes my pulse to raise; I laugh (especially at that crazy Russian cosmonaut); I choke up when Ben Affleck prances the little animal crackers across Liv Tyler's taut tummy and when Bruce Willis saves the day; I marvel at the grand spectacle of it all. The thing is, Michael Bay knows how to make films that rely solely on the visuals, he knows how to frame a nice looking shot. I think film is first and foremost a visual medium, and I think a good film should have a narrative that can be understood, and emotions that can be felt, with the sound turned off. Michael Bay's films are all about what you see, he makes sure to make them look damn good, and none of them look as good as Armageddon.
