Analysis Of The Movie Armageddon

Armageddon begins by showing the destruction of the Earth by an asteroid 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs inhabited the earth. According to the narration, the asteroid is said to have been six miles wide, with the power of 10,000 nuclear weapons. The after effects were trillions of tons of dirt and rock thrown into the atmosphere, creating a blanket of dust that the sun was unable to penetrate for 1,000 years. The narrator explained that it happened once, and that it would happen again, it was only a matter of when.

The beginning of the end.

Pete, an astronaut on the shuttle Atlantis, is speaking via satellite radio to NASA’s executive director, Dan Truman. Pete is completing maintenance on a satellite when it is struck by several small meteorites. Atlantis, Pete, and the Satellite are all destroyed by the meteorites. As Truman gives

orders for everyone to find out what happened, the space center command for the Pentagon sees numerous unidentified objects heading toward the eastern US seaboard on their radar. These unidentified objects turn out to be small meteorites that hit the Earth from Finland to the northeastern seaboard. New York is hit hard, with many national landmarks being destroyed, such as the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, and the Museum Of Natural History.
The President of the United States orders Kimsey, General of the Secretary of Defense, to find out what happened and if the worst is over. He seeks answers from Dan Truman. Truman explains that the objects were from a meteor shower, the same meteor shower responsible for the destruction of the Shuttle Atlantis.
Thousands of miles away, a man named Carl is looking through his telescope at the night sky and notices a large fiery object. Carl contacts NASA and informs Truman of what he spotted and its last known location. Because Carl is responsible for discovering the object, he is given the opportunity to name the asteroid. Carl tells Truman that he wants to name it Dottie, after his wife, because “she is a vicious life sucking bi*@h from which there is no escape.” Based on Carl’s information, NASA is able to relocate their satellites to get a look at what Carl has identified. NASA officials are shocked to find out that the object Carl spotted is a massive asteroid.
Truman and his team brief the President and General Kimsey, along with the Department of Defense about their findings. Truman explains that the meteorites that hit the eastern seaboard were just small meteorites ranging in size from a basketball to the size of a small car. The President inquires more about the asteroid and whether or not it will hit Earth. Truman explains they are working to find its trajectory. The President wants to know the estimated damage if the asteroid hits Earth. Truman tells the President that the asteroid is the size of Texas and what they call a “global killer”. The impact from an asteroid this size would be the end of mankind. No matter where it hit, nothing would survive, not even bacteria.
NASA’s scientists calculate that the Asteroid will hit the Earth in 18 days. Truman begins to call in the brightest scientists in the world to come up with strategies to stop the asteroid from hitting Earth. Truman and his advisors decide that their best strategy is to place a nuclear weapon inside of the asteroid and detonated it. This would cause the asteroid to split into two pieces and push the two halves apart from each other, causing each half to pass by the Earth without impact. For this plan to work, they will need to insert the nuclear weapon deep inside the asteroid, with the help of deep Earth core drillers.
Unlikely Heroes: the Best of the Worst
It is at this point in the film that the viewer is introduced to the unlikely heroes of the movie.

Harry Stamper, a deep earth driller is hard at work on his oil rig in the middle of the China Sea. Harry is surrounded by a lively crew: Harry’s right-hand man, Chick, is great at his job, but has screwed up his life gambling; Bear, the loveable gentle giant; Rock Hound, a horny genius that knows everything there is to know about geology; Max, the mamma’s boy; Oscar, a brilliant but quirky geologist; and last but not least, AJ, the young, “hot dogging, show off” that is constantly going against what Harry tells him to do. Harry has recently found out that AJ and his little girl, Grace (also his employee) are intimately involved. Harry, not happy about the relationship, fires AJ, but not before he chases him around the rig with a shotgun, accidently shooting him in the leg. Amidst all of the chaos of Grace and AJ’s newly discovered relationship, Harry is asked to come to the NASA headquarters on orders from the President of the United States. Harry reluctantly agrees to go, on the condition that he gets to bring Grace with

him.
Once Harry and Grace arrive in Houston, Truman explains what the Earth is facing and asks Harry to help them save the world. Harry agrees to help the astronauts responsible for drilling on the asteroid, but quickly realizes that the design for the drill set to save the world is his patent design. He explains to Truman that they didn’t even build the drill correctly and that the men responsible for the job are nowhere near experienced or qualified enough to drill the terrain on the asteroid. Harry asks Truman what his backup plan is but Truman tells Harry there is no back up plan. Harry tells Truman he will go and do the drilling, but only if he gets to take his own men. Harry explains to Truman that he is the best of the best, and that his men are the only reason he is the best. Truman reluctantly agrees and all of Harry’s men are round up and brought to Houston Once they arrive in Houston, they all agree to help Harry save the world.
The unlikely heroes undergo a series of medical and psychological exams to ensure they are healthy enough to survive the trip into space. This is one of the funniest parts of the movie, as all of the men fail the tests. NASA’s doctors are appalled by the test results and are not sure they are physically or mentally capable of making the trip. The doctors are surprised the men were even able to survive the tests. Reluctantly, NASA approves the men for the mission.
Once testing is out of the way, Harry and his team are put through training exercises to prepare them for the mental and physical strains they will encounter in space. Harry and his crew are fit with their suits and thrusters to become more aware of how to use them once they are on the asteroid. The men are also briefed by Truman and Dr. Quincey of exactly what the mission entails.
After training and briefing are complete, Harry tells Truman that he wants his men to have the night off before heading to Florida. Truman initially resists the idea, but Harry explains that this could possibly be their last night on Earth and that they deserve an opportunity to say goodbye to their friends and relatives.
AJ and Grace have a little love fest during which AJ asks Grace to marry him. Chick goes to see his ex-wife and son. His ex-wife tells their son that Chick is only a salesman. Chick leaves a toy space ship for his son after his ex-wife tells him that he can’t come around and confuse their son. He apologizes to her for all of his wrongdoing in the past and tells her that he has something big coming up that will make her proud of him. Rock Hound takes a hundred grand from a loan shark, at 60% interest, and goes to a strip club with Max, Oscar, and Newman. They all get arrested when they get into a fight over a stripper named Mollie Mouse. While the men are out living it up, the South Pacific is hit by another string of meteorites. This causes panic around the globe as the news about the asteroid leaks to the entire world.