Movie
Armageddon is fast-paced, with lots and lots of special effects and loud noises. It's your typical summer blockbuster. Not much character development, no script, flimsy subplot, but an enormous amount of action is poured into this 2 � hour meteor movie. The fate of the Earth is left in the hands of a top notch oil driller (Bruce Willis). He and his rag tag co-workers are sent into space to try stop a giant meteor, presumably the size of Texas (although that's impossible).
Disc
Criterion usually puts out a dvd of a movie that is of some importance. ARMAGEDDON is probably the last movie that offers any importance. I'm glad that did this movie because the Touchstone version sucked. This is a 2 disc set. The first disc has the "director's cut", which adds in 2 minutes of useless footage. There is also 2 commentary tracks. The one with Bay, Bruckheimer, Affleck, and Willis is really funny. Disc 2 has all the goodies. The Michael Bay "Gag Reel" is hilarious, with Thornton's SLING BLADE character making a few appearances. 4 deleted scenes is the other highlight. There is also animated menus, which are done nicely. The non anamorphic transfer done on the Touchstone disc was good, but this one is better. The picture is sharper, the colors are stronger, and the black levels are deeper. It was supervised by Bay, so you know it had to be improved. The audio sounds the same as the standard version, which means lots of booming bass. Demo material. In all, this version stomps the crap out of Disney's "lazy" effort.
Overall
I'm not a huge fan of ARMAGEDDON. I'm sure those who love it will have gotten both versions. You non fans that are looking for a solid dvd in general should pick up this version. One of the best dvds of 1999. Highly recommended.
|
Get your own Free Home Page