Armageddon is a 1998 film that has trouble finding people to give it stars online. (It’s got 2 of 5 on Rotten Tomatoes and Ebert gave Armageddon a single star.) But Armageddon didn’t have trouble getting people to give it money: it’s made $550-plus million at the box office. The film has surged into the lightning fast Internet attention span this week because one of its stars, Liv Tyler, posted a photo of Batman — no, sorry — Ben Affleck biting her head while they were filming it. The general consensus is that the pic is just darling and, my, where have the years gone?
So — inspired by Ben Affeck’s teeth marks should you fire up Amazon video or Netflix and start watching Armageddon today? Here are 11 facts to help you make the decision:
- We repeat: it made $553.7 million and that was back in 1998. Good for 124th all-time.
- Ben Affleck doesn’t really bite Liv Tyler in the film.
- Familiar famous faces — lots: Bruce Willis, Michael Clarke Duncan, Billy Bob Thornton, William Fichtner.
- J.J. Abrams was a writer on Armageddon.
- Director Michael Bay — love him or not, he blows stuff up.
- Are you American? Because most of that box office (64%) came from foreign sales — they liked it better elsewhere.
- Soundtrack contains some badass material, from Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” to Aerosmith to ZZ Top and Shawn Colvin.
- That might even be Ben Affleck’s real hair. No guarantees, just might be. Nah.
- Bruce Willis does not need hair.
- Nominated for an Oscar for “Best Visual Effects” (ahem, Michael Bay)
- LIV TYLER is just stunning.
