movie poster

Armageddon

1997

Director: Gordon Chan

Stars: Andy Lau, Anthony Wong

A group of the world's 10 leading scientists are being killed in mysterious ways and it seems Dr. Ken (Lau) is next on the list. MI6 wants to protect him, but instead Ken wants his cop buddy Chiu (Wong) to protect him. Together, Ken and Chiu discover a dark plot involving a cult called the "Brotherhood of Technology," which seems to be preparing for armageddon --the final confrontation between good and evil.

On first glance, Armageddon could have been a great movie. It's got an interesting story, a good director, a great leading man in Wong, and one of the largest budgets in HK cinema to date. But what the makers of the film didn't pay attention to was the script. After a slam-bang opening, the movie quickly grinds to a halt, wasting away time in scenes that really have nothing to do with the film. By the time the secrets are "revealed" (sharp viewers will be able to guess the "plot twist" a mile away), the audience is so bored and disoriented that it doesn't matter. And, for the large budget of the movie, the depictions of the final apocalypse are really weak. I'm also really sick of the "lover from the dead" plot which has been rehashed so many times since Ghost became popular in the '80's. It's a tired and overused plot device and, while it does figure into the plot here, it also tends to slow down the film.

An okay movie, but nothing worth rushing out to see.

RATING: 5.5

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