Tear Jerker / Armageddon (1998)

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

---

• For a testosterone-fueled action movie, there are several, but the tearjerking scene mostly involved AJ, Grace, and Harry.
  • Harry's Heroic Sacrifice: The Hero Dies to save Earth and all of humankind.
    • Harry calling AJ "my son" as they part ways for the final time.
      A.J.: Just tell Grace that, uh, that I'll always be with her. Okay? Can you do that?
      Harry Stamper: Yeah. Okay, kid.
      (Harry suddenly pulls AJ's air hose out and rips off his own mission badge and hands it to AJ)
      Harry Stamper: Give this to Truman. Make sure Truman gets that! Get in there.
      (he pushes AJ back into the hatch and closes the door)
      Harry Stamper: It's my turn now.
      A.J.: Harry! Harry! You can't do this to me! It's my job!
      Harry Stamper: You go take care of my little girl now. That's your job. Always thought of you as a son. Always. But, I'd be damn proud to have you marry Grace.
      A.J.: (beginning to cry) Harry.
      Harry Stamper: You take care of yourself.
      (pushes a button sending the hatch up)
      A.J.: Harry, no!
      Harry Stamper: I love you,pal.
      A.J.: Harry, I love you! Don't Harry! Wait a minute! Harry, no!
      Harry Stamper: Goodbye son.
• Special mention for the music video for "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," where they mirror the most tear-jerking scene in the entire movie, only with Liv and Steven Tyler.
  • Speaking of "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing," according to Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, Aerosmith originally passed on recording that song for the movie because Steven thought they would lose fans if they did a sappy ballad. Then the band was given a pre-release screening of the film. What scene made Steven change his mind about the song? Harry's Heroic Sacrifice, and Grace's (played by Steven's real life daughter) reaction to it; the daddy/daughter stuff really got to him.
    • Then there's Truman going to console Gracie, who amidst all the celebration when the mission has succeeded can only mourn for the loss of her father and all who died with him. No words need be spoken, and she tearfully embraces him as he offers what little comfort he can.
• Chick's reunion with his son.
• "FOR ALL MANKIND."
• "That man's not a salesman...that's your daddy."
• The death of Max as a gas explosion sends the Freedom's Armadillo blasting into outer space and with it seemingly the last hope of humanity.
  • Particularly chilling is Harry's repeated anguished Big "NO!"'s and Rockhound's reaction.
  Rockhound: Bye, Max. Take care, buddy.
• The destruction of Shanghai, which while brief is an incredibly violent scene where we see many people, many of them young children going about their everyday lives and even playing in the streets when suddenly the city around them is reduced to oblivion by not just the meteor but also the tsunami that results from the impact. The sheer scale and tragedy of that disaster forces NASA to go public with the horrors that await the rest of the world. Death of a Child is tragically averted here.
• Even worse is the destruction of Paris, which is wiped out in a single blast equivalent to the power of a nuclear warhead, obliterating millions of panicking citizens and many beloved landmarks as the shockwave consumes the city. For all those fortunate to have survived the cataclysmic eruption, the aftermath is nothing short of an absolute Hell.
  • Perhaps the most sobering is the sight of the Arc De Triomphe, which miraculously and triumphantly survived largely intact in the vicinity of the blast even as nearly every other structure around it is now unrecognizable.
• The global response that ensues following the presumed failure of the mission; life is at a near-standstill, families huddle together for their apparent final hours, city streets are deserted while others see violence and rioting, millions turn out in prayer, and the world press resigns itself to the reality that the apocalypse may now be inevitable.
  • "Get a hold of Truman...prepare the world for bad news."
• Naming off the casualty list for the mission alone is enough to bring tears.
  Colonel Davis; Co-Pilot Tucker; Lt. Halsey; Oscar Choi; Fred Noonan; Max Lennert; Gruber; and of course, Harry Stamper.
• After the loss of the Independence, where it's assumed that AJ, among others, are dead, Grace is told that she should probably leave mission control. Her response is heartbreaking, and emphasizes that everyone she's ever loved is up there.
  Grace: I don't have anywhere else to go.
  • She's seen shortly after, curled up on a row of chairs out of sight and crying her eyes out.
• The immediate aftermath of the crash of the Independence, where AJ returns to find his friends dead, and is crying desperately over Oscar's body, screaming for survivors. Luckily, Lev and Bear are found to have survived the ordeal. Imagine how much worse his situation would be if they hadn't.
• And the ending at AJ and Grace's wedding, with all of the surviving crew in attendance as well as portraits of all the deceased crew placed where they would have sat.
• The fact that thousands, if not millions, have died across the globe due to the sheer carnage caused by the meteors that reached Earth before the asteroid itself had been destroyed. Several cities, Paris being the most obvious example, have been irreversibly scarred even if they should rebuild following the cataclysm that was narrowly averted.

---