Armageddon (1998) - 9/10

Continued my marathon of "Bayhem" this morning by watching the Criterion Director's cut of Armageddon with commentary by Michael Bay, Bruce Willis, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Ben Affleck. This movie was THE blockbuster of 1998 and one of Bay's best, using the dirty dozen-like concept of an ensemble cast to bring amazing special FX and humor to the end of the world scenario of an astroid striking earth. What most impressed me listening to these guys was the fun they had making the movie and how lucky they were to work with NASA and all the technicians on the film to make it as realistic as possible. Miniature armadillos vs. visual effects, talks about PG-13 vs. R audience expectations, and the hardships of working on an actual oil rig or on the set of the astroid where they used cocoa dust as the surface material.