THE REWATCHABLES · May 21, 2020
A 1998 sci-fi / action directed by Michael Bay, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The asteroid attack is admired for spectacle and chaos, including Eddie Griffin's brief setup.
About 24 minA bonkers, violent domestic scene that establishes the movie's insane tone and introduces Grace/Harry weirdness.
About 32 minThe group loves the slow-motion walk to the shuttle and the patriotic presidential speech.
About 24 minThe station rescue and bomb-disarm sequence are praised for tension and comedy, especially the cosmonaut and gun-in-space bits.
About 56 minBilly Bob's reaction shot to the ship destruction is treated as hilarious and devastating.
About 40 minThe father-daughter farewell is cited as one of the film's most emotional moments.
About 32 minThe 'bravest man I've ever met' handshake and landing are treated as the emotional payoff.
About 32 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Chris RyanBay is so talented that he may have contempt for cinema; his later work is often unwatchable.
Jason ConcepcionBay invented a new kind of hyperkinetic spectacle and should be understood as a showman, not a cynic.
Chris RyanThe Rock may be tighter, but Armageddon is the most Bay movie.
Jason ConcepcionArmageddon is the director's biggest heat check and likely his peak showmanship.
Bill SimmonsThe science is ridiculous and impossible, but the movie is still fun.
Jason ConcepcionWho cares; the film is propaganda and works on emotion, not realism.
Jason ConcepcionAngelina Jolie would make the movie more chaotic and sexy.
Shea SerranoLiv Tyler is untouchable because the character needs wide-eyed optimism.
Chris RyanAnne Hathaway would be the only somewhat acceptable alternative.
Argues the movie is shamelessly pro-American, with oil companies as heroes and taxes as a punchline.
Opening minutesSays the film blasts through logic and is the most confident movie he has ever seen.
Opening minutesCompares Bay to a hyper-amped Tony Scott and praises the excess.
Opening minutesComplains that the movie is too long and could easily be trimmed.
About 48 minTreats Thornton as the essential grounding force and best performance in the movie.
About 24 minExplains Bay as a 'frame-fucking' director who never allows stillness.
About 32 minSays the emotional ending lands because the whole movie has invested in sincerity.
About 32 minKeeps returning to Patton as a favorite supporting actor across the movie and in general.
About 40 minLoves the slow-motion launch as a Bay rebuttal to more solemn space-movie imagery.
About 32 minArgues Bay is more innovative than contemptuous, creating a new branch of cinema.
About 24 minSees Bay as an extraordinary talent whose work is pure Bay, even if he later spun out on Transformers.
About 16 minFinds the added wedding epilogue funny and unnecessary but enjoyable.
About 40 minSays the movie works because the right director, script, and technology all arrived together.
About 16 minThe movie is read as aggressively American, from the oil workers as heroes to the President's speech and flags everywhere.
Opening minutesThe panel argues the movie works because everyone treats the material sincerely, allowing the final goodbye and reunion to land.
About 32 minThe film is treated as a product of peak late-90s disaster-movie culture and technology catching up to Bay's ambition.
About 8 minBay is framed as a maximalist director who invented a new kind of hyperkinetic action filmmaking.
Opening minutesThe panel repeatedly notes that Bay's special-effects team was under pressure and that the movie ran on a rushed production schedule.
About 8 minBen Affleck reportedly mocked the film's logic on the DVD commentary, asking why drillers weren't taught to be astronauts instead.
About 48 minBay reportedly paid for a $20,000 set of Affleck's teeth for close-ups.
About 48 minNASA allegedly uses the film in management training to spot errors.
About 56 minThe film is said to have at least 168 mistakes identified by NASA trainees.
About 56 minThe shuttle launch footage was filmed for real.
About 56 minThis was the last LaserDisc ever released by Criterion, catalog number 384.
About 56 minThe movie's screenwriting credits were extremely crowded, with both credited and uncredited writers.
About 24 minMentioned as the previous successful episode with the same group.
Opening minutesUsed by Shea as a benchmark he claims this 'documentary' is better than.
Opening minutesCited as a major influence on the film's romance and scale.
About 8 minUsed as the thing Michael Bay is deliberately undercutting with his launch montage.
About 32 minUsed as the more scientifically accurate asteroid movie and a rival from 1998.
About 16 minCited as part of the 90s disaster resurgence and for its scale.
About 16 minNamed as part of the 1990s disaster/sci-fi blockbuster wave.
About 16 minMentioned among 90s disaster titles.
About 16 minMentioned among 90s disaster titles.
About 16 minUsed to describe the older disaster-movie era.
About 16 minUsed as another older disaster-film reference.
About 16 minReferenced as the comedy that parody-killed the disaster genre.
About 16 minUsed as the benchmark for William Fichtner identification in a joke.
About 56 minDiscussed as another Billy Bob Thornton favorite and possible future rewatchables.
About 40 minMentioned as another Michael Bay movie that will likely be covered.
About 8 minJason jokes that Bay's style comes from being a handsome Los Angeles guy who shoots the world through that lens.
Opening minutesThey repeatedly joke that the movie simply declares its heroes the world's best without evidence.
About 32 minThe panel keeps returning to Steve Buscemi's character's madness and the phrase 'space dementia.'
About 40 minA recurring joke about Bay movies hiring the same ensemble of dependable character actors for money and fun.
About 24 minThey rename Apex Mountain for Michael Bay, treating Armageddon as his peak heat-check moment.
About 1:04The movie's nationalism is repeatedly turned into a joke about oil heroes, American flags, and not paying taxes.
Opening minutes“I want to know if the worst is yet”About 40 min
“It's the size of Texas, Mr. President.”About 32 min
“requesting permission to shake the hand”About 32 min
“the first ever 150-minute trailer”About 16 min
“We have no time! We got to go!”About 56 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Armageddon, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Shea SerranoThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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