Don’t get me wrong, I like Michael Bay movies (except for Transformers). They’re fun, technically well-done 2-hour-plus romps through Suspension Of Disbelief (with Michael Bay, that phrase is capitalized). Everything is larger than life, and tension and adrenaline ramp up steadily through the climax of the film. And of course, stuff blows up.
The problem is that while his movies are fun to watch, they don’t have much substance. As South Park pointed out (and their strawman version of Michael Bay failed to understand), explosions and action set-pieces are not the same as plot and character. And while everyone enjoys a good explosion, it doesn’t earn you the respect of your peers (or wanna-be Internet bloggers) the same way that a powerful character-driven piece would.
This is where Armageddon stands apart from other Michael Bay movies. While Bay does deliver plenty of high-tension slow-motion everything-blows-up action sequences, the actors and writers are determined to bring something more to the table. Even though critics might complain that the characters are “flat,” they are delivered with an authenticity that makes the audience care. We are given enough information about each character (he’s the funny guy, he wants to be a hero, those two don’t like each other, and that guy’s just crazy) to make a frame, and then each actor compells you to fall in love with him (or her – all three actresses in this movie are wonderful, but this aside gives them more attention than their combined screen time).
The various stories and characters are variations on old themes – the romance blocked by circumstance, the clown, the teammate with a different agenda, the Christ figure, the outsider who saves the day; heck, Owen Wilson would be a red-shirt if they didn’t name him Oscar. The thing is, while these stories are told often they are not always told well. Armageddon hits all the notes spot-on and crafts a masterpiece that is pretty much guaranteed to pull on every single one of your heart strings. A brief montage near the end of the film reduced me to tears the first time I saw it, and still brings me close on repeat viewings.
So yes, Armageddon is a great end-of-the-world action movie. It’s also a character drama, a romance, a comedy, and coming-of-age story. The fact that it succeeds at being every one of those is what takes it from being a good Michael Bay movie to simply a wonderful film.