History Film / Armageddon1998

* DeadStarWalking: This is more in retrospect since [[spoiler:Owen Wilson]] is a much bigger star now than he was in 1998, but [[spoiler:Oscar]] dies during the crash-landing on the asteroid. This actually benefits the film, lending it an air of AnyoneCanDie that wasn't there before.

** And, most importantly, [[MarshmallowHell Ms. Mounds]] met Rockhound at the spashdown to [[{{Glomp}} welcome him home]].

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: ''Astrophysics'' to be precise, to the point where the movie is so [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness soft]] that pretty much the only thing it gets right about space is "you can't breathe in it". The staggering amount of scientific inaccuracies in this film has [[http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/01/nasa-uses-the-movie-armageddon-in-their-management-training-program/ actually prompted NASA]] to use it as part of their management training to see how many inaccuracies candidates would be able to identify. So far, over 160 have been found and with the film being only 2 1/2 hours in length, that averages to roughly one inaccuracy per minute.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics:
** ''Astrophysics'' to be precise, to the point where the movie is so [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness soft]] that pretty much the only thing it gets right about space is "you can't breathe in it". The staggering amount of scientific inaccuracies in this film has [[http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/01/nasa-uses-the-movie-armageddon-in-their-management-training-program/ actually prompted NASA]] to use it as part of their management training to see how many inaccuracies candidates would be able to identify. So far, over 160 have been found and with the film being only 2 1/2 hours in length, that averages to roughly one inaccuracy per minute.

In 1998, Hollywood almost destroyed the Earth from space. [[DuelingMovies Twice.]] This is about the one that didn't [[Film/DeepImpact involve Elijah Wood]].

* DareToBeBadass: TheTeam has arrived at NASA, and are cracking jokes with Harry. JumpCut to the conference room where they have just been given the bad news and most of them didn't take it too well.

* LongList: Once Stamper's team realizes they're being sent on a mission to ''literally'' SaveTheWorld, Rockhound wonders if they could get hazard pay. ''Everyone's'' eyes light up as they begin thinking of stuff to demand.
##Oscar wants some outstanding parking tickets erased from his record. ''Fifty-six tickets.'' In ''seven states.''
##Noonan wants citizenship for ''two'' foreign girlfriends–NoQuestionsAsked.
##Max wants the government to bring back eight-track tapes...
##Chick wants a full week's Emperor's Package at Caesar's Palace.
##''Somebody'' asked WhoShotJFK
##Bear wants to stay in the [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Lincoln]] Bedroom of the White House for the summer.
##There's more stuff like that, but there's one thing ''everyone'' demanded; "None of them wanna pay taxes again. Ever."

** The size of Texas? Know what else is about the size of Texas? [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet) Ceres]], a dwarf planet discovered ''back in 1801'' that can be seen easily with binoculars. The astronomers in this movie claim the asteroid was not detected because only fifteen telescopes on Earth could do so, but in truth, you'd be able to see an asteroid ''that'' big with the naked eye ''two months'' prior to any threat of impact. NASA can - and has - seen and identified ''far'' smaller ones.

* AnyoneCanDie: Fourteen people launch from Earth, which becomes fifteen when they pick up a cosmonaut. [[spoiler:Seven]] make it back.

* AwardBaitSong: Music/{{Aerosmith}}'s "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"
** While it won neither, it has the odd distinction of being nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie.

->'''Lev''': Pull the lever!
->'''AJ''' ''(waving it in his face)'': THIS IS THE LEVER!!!

--->''"I am the only certified astronaut and I'm saving your American ass!"''

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler: Max. He is blown into outer space while inside the Armadillo, and where as every other character death in the movie was killed pretty much instantly, he will die slowly and be aware and alone.]]
** Davis and Tucker, who are sucked into the void of space when the ''Independence'' is ripped to shreds by debris.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: AJ's underwater training simulation includes complications such as a gas pocket and compressed iron ferrite, both of which Harry's team faces while drilling.

* GutPunch: [[spoiler:The destruction of the shuttle Independence, ''before'' they even land on the asteroid.]]

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: the Roughnecks

-->'''Harry Stamper:''' What's your contingency plan?
-->'''Truman:''' Contingency plan?
-->'''Harry Stamper:''' Your backup plan. You gotta have some kind of backup plan, right?
-->'''Truman:''' No, we don't have a back up plan. This is it.
-->'''Harry Stamper:''' And this is the best that you c - that the-the government, the ''[[{{Eagleland}} U.S. government]]'' can come up with? I mean, you-you're NASA for cryin' out loud, you put a man on the moon, you're geniuses! You-you're the guys that think this shit up! I'm sure you got a team of men sitting around somewhere right now just thinking shit up and somebody backing them up! You're telling me you don't have a backup plan, that these eight boy scouts right here, that is the world's hope, that's what you're telling me?
-->'''Truman:''' Yeah.
-->'''Harry Stamper:''' Oh Jesus, dammit.

-->'''Harry Stamper:''' A.J., I got just five words for you: Damn glad to see you, boy!\\

-->'''A.J.:''' You know, Harry, there are only, uh, five words, I want to hear from you right now and those words are: you know A.J., I really look up to you, you been a hero of mine for sometime, and I'm really impressed with your work and I'm emotionally closed off... ''[{{beat}}]'' That's like, I dunno, that's like eleven words or something. You know what how 'bout just: A.J., I'm sorry and I love you?
* TheWarRoom: Shown in the film. Apparently the real deal wasn't impressive enough, since a new one was designed for this purpose.

* WeHardlyKnewYe: Freddy Noonan. One of the oil-drillers on AJ's team who, along with Oscar, died when the Independence crashed on the asteroid. Compared to the rest of the oil-drill cast, you hardly ever see this guy except to say a forgettable one-liner here and there. ''He doesn't even get a spot in the montage of hilarious introductions to the drillers-turned-astronauts''.
** Some of the astronauts as well. The two who died flying the Independence in particular; Lt. Halsey doesn't even get a single line of dialogue.

* ArtisticLicenseSpace:
** The size of Texas? Know what else is about the size of Texas? [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet) Ceres]], a dwarf planet discovered ''back in 1801'' that can be seen easily with binoculars. The astronomers in this movie claim the asteroid was not detected because only fifteen telescopes on Earth could do so, but in truth, you'd be able to see an asteroid ''that'' big with the naked eye ''two months'' prior to any threat of impact. NASA can - and has - seen and identified ''far'' smaller ones.
** For the record, Ceres is the largest known "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_planet minor planet]]" within the orbit of Neptune, a classification that includes dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and other small natural objects that orbit the Sun. As of 2017, the orbits of '''''745,411''''' minor planets have been recorded and cataloged.
** In the opening, we see the K-T impact event asteroid flying past the moon and into Earth. The side of the moon that we see is the Near Side rather than the Far Side.

* SpaceDoesNotWorkThatWay:
** Why on Earth would they want to make the Russian space station ''rotate'' before they started docking with it? It'd just make the docking maneuver that much more complicated, and the ArtificialGravity you generated would be directed radially -- toward the outer edge of the rotation -- not top-to-bottom as was shown.
*** Well, given NASA seems to have mastered ArtificialGravity inside its space shuttles (note the unrestricted movement of crew members ''inside'' the shuttle as opposed to ''outside'' the shuttle on the asteroid) maybe this had something to do with it.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy:

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Truman claims that "not even bacteria" would remain after the impact. This would be pretty impressive, since bacteria is by far the single most adaptable and unkillable lifeform on Earth. Bacteria can survive in space, miles beneath the sea floor, and in radioactive zones. Covering the earth in nuclear radiation wouldn't be enough to kill of every single bacteria, so an apocalyptic winter doesn't stand much of a chance.

* InfantImmortality: Kind of. It's a small dog who survives the opening destruction scenes, rather than a child.
** On the other side, they did show many kids playing in Paris and Shanghai before these cities fell to RocksFallEveryoneDies...

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt

* {{Homage}}: Internal, on a crazed Rockhound's part, to ''Film/DrStrangelove''.

* InSpaceEveryoneCanSeeYourFace

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: Harry won't work with anybody but his own team, so NASA has to round them up.HilarityEnsues. (note that they spread quickly across the country in less than two days!)
* RaceLift: Subverted. Owen Wilson's character was supposed to be Asian American. The surname "Choi" is of Korean origin, but [[invoked]][[ThrowItIn they didn't bother changing it]] when Wilson was cast.
* RaisedByDudes: Subverted. Grace was raised by the drilling team, but grew up to be a well-adjusted and surprisingly feminine young woman.

* RidingTheBomb: See homage, above.

* WildlifeCommentarySpoof

Although they have some of the best scientific minds in the country at NASA, [[ThisAintRocketSurgery they simply aren't as attuned to the job as the best oil drillers]]. So NASA makes some calls and sends for the best -- [[FullNameBasis Harry Stamper]], lifelong oil rig operator considered the best deep sea driller in the world. Harry brings his daughter Grace with him, because he disapproves of her romance with rebellious hotshot AJ, whom Harry fired for having "hunches" that repeatedly damage Harry's equipment (and potentially his reputation) and could get people killed. On hearing what's at stake, Harry agrees to head into space to lead the drilling project but only on one condition, he brings in his own team. NASA now has to gather a group of blue collar, lawbreaking roughnecks and get them ''trained in two weeks'' to go up to drill the meteor and break it into two pieces that will miss the Earth, or everyone dies.

* NationsOfTheWorldMontage:

* OvershadowedByAwesome

* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: Harry won't work with anybody but his own team, so NASA has to round them up. HilarityEnsues.

* AwardBaitSong: Music/{{Aerosmith}}'s "Don't Want To Miss A Thing"

* GoMadFromTheIsolation: The Russian cosmonaut has been alone on Mir for a while, so he's become a little eccentric.

* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Rockhound's incident with the gattling gun on the asteroid; upon returning home, he asks that his surviving friends be sure not to let that one out to the adoring masses coming to greet them.

* ObliviousAstronomers: {{Lampshaded}} to the point of {{Anvilicious}}ness.

** an AffectionateParody of ''Film/TheRightStuff''
** "Man, talk about the ''wrong stuff''..."
** Done two more times. By the roughnecks and astronauts, on their approach to the shuttles and then again at the end. The one at the end deserves special mention, [[spoiler:as the line-up is about 60% thinner. The line-up is even organized the same, with gaps where the ones who died would have been.]]

* RaceLift: Subverted. Owen Wilson's character was supposed to be Asian American. The surname "Choi" is of Korean origin, but [[ThrowItIn they didn't bother changing it]] when Wilson was cast.

* LawyerFriendlyCameo: The Russian Space Station is clearly supposed to be the Mir. But considering what happens, it's obviously not called that.

##Noonan wants citizenship for ''two'' foreign girlfriends.
##Max wants the government to bring back eight-track tapes.

##Bear wants to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House for the summer.

* DisasterMovie: Something huge, horrible, and natural heading towards Earth? Check. AllStarCast? Check. Makes ''Film/{{Volcano}}'' look like a scientific documentary.

* EmergencyRefuelling: Not long after the two shuttle ships leave Earth's orbit, they are refuel at the semi-abandoned Mir space station. Currently manned by one man named Lev, [[GoMadFromTheIsolation who has gone a little space-crazy.]] Refueling goes okay until they suspected a leak in the space station; they're too late to prevent it, although they managed to escape in time before the space station explodes.

** Also the victim of a TakeThat from ''Film/DeepImpact'': When the tidal wave hit, the first structure we see it taking out is an oil rig.