The Criterion Collection release of Armageddon is a treat. It offers 2 commentary tracks, one featuring the director Michael Bay, actors Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has comments on several interesting things. Affleck's commentary is sometimes very funny. The other commentary track features the Director of Photography and special effects people.
The commentary includes interesting details, including background information on the characters and filming locations. Note: The commentary is raw and sometimes laced with profanity, although the movie itself is rated PG-13, for reasons explained in the commentary.
Although it's not much, this collection is also a Director's Cut and has a couple scenes added, notable of which is Harry Stamper's character visiting his father before launch. Some other scenes are cut slightly differently, adding some depth to the story.
The Gag reel on the second disk is extremely funny, raw, and not your typical "behind-the-scenes" documentary.
The second disk also features a tremendous amount of information on the special effects and includes many different trailers and promo material. The Aerosmith song video is also included.
While the story can be nit-picked, it's still very exciting and enjoyable.
Overall, if you liked the movie, the Criterion Collection release is the DVD to have.

There are as many summaries of the plot, opinions on the acting, music, portents as there are reviews here so I will only focus on the quality of the actual Blu Ray transfer and my rating is based upon that. Often with technical reviews much depends upon the T.V. and home theater system the reviewer is using and how they see and hear things. My own 7.1 system if quite esoterically high end and the monitor I am using is a Panasonic ZT 65" plasma.
While I have watched the Standard Def DVD many times which was not badly produced at all, the Blu Ray is a significant upgrade. This review, however, is not a side by side comparison, that said, I wish Amazon would please separate the Standard Def, Instant Downloads and Blu Ray reviews from each other. It would make it that much easier to find a review that fits your needs and interests.

VIDEO….
Extraordinarily clean transfer with no artifacts that I could see anywhere. Grain did not seem to be present nor was there any haloing saw during CGI scenes. Blacks were extremely deep without sacrificing details in even the darkest of shots. Contrast is excellent throughout the film. Color grading appeared to be very normal, warm actually until they get to the asteroid where the color grading becomes decidedly cool with a very slight bluish tinge. This is one of the better transfers to Blu Ray I have seen with Mbps rates generally averaging in the low to mid 30's.

AUDIO….
The audio is a lossless 5.1 DTS MA HD which I wish also came with a 7.1 option. Dialogue was clean and transparent throughout and there was no need to reset your remotes volume control due to audio roller coasting; it stayed consistently set. Armageddon, in its own way, comes with one of the very best audios to be found.Read more ›

Lighten up, pop open a bubbly, suspend all belief and have a good time. This is the sort of movie you watch just to have some mindless good fun. Sure the 'science' is laughable. Sure the characters are two-dimensional cardboard cutouts. Sure the dialogue is sophomoric. So what? Enjoy yourself.

I don't belong to the apparent elitists who despise Michael Bay's filmmaking because he's entertaining for it's own sake. Michael Bay is what he is the same as Hitchcock directed psychological thrillers or George Lucas directs science fiction. He makes films that are loud, fast, action-packed and quite frankly, fun to watch. Isn't that what movies are supposed to be about?

Armageddon was probably the most (other than maybe Saving Private Ryan) anticipated movie of 1998. I'd rank it in my top two or three of 1998 (The others being Saving Private Ryan and American History X). It's not the next Schindler's List and it doesn't strive to be. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler in the main roles. The supporting cast is underrated, well-balanced and fun to watch, from Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi down to lesser know actors Marshall R. Teague and Jessica Steen.

Yes, the plot and premise may not be the most believable. But neither is King Kong, Lord of The Rings, Star Wars or whatever. These pseudo-critics on Amazon.com whine about "poor science" behind the movie, or the poor plot or the stereotypical cast. You know what? Who friggin' cares? It's a movie that's made for sheer fun, for entertainment, for bringing your family to enjoy a couple of hours of action, thundering explosions, fast vehicles and a little romance. Armageddon, despite what the Ebert and Roeper apprentices in here think, is entertainment at its best. Stop whining and enjoy yourself.

We are all familiar with the story by now. An asteroid the size of Texas is on path to impact with Earth, which would destroy all forms of life on it. The world only has 18 days until impact. The only way to stop it is to blow it up from the inside by drilling to its core.Read more ›