Stars: Rutger Hauer, Mark Dacascos, Yvonne Scio, Patrick Dreikauss

Director: Tibor Takacs

Summary: Rutger Hauer stars in this futuristic action film where an economically devastated Russia is ruled by a brutal, merciless dictatorship. American crook and smuggler John Wade (Hauer) ventures into this dangerous world, looking to make a quick fortune out of silicon fantasy chips--small devices that make the user's wildest virtual dreams come true. However, Wade is executed by a vicious gangster, and his body is brought back to life through experimental bionic technology so that he can get his money--and his revenge.

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This 1998 testosterone-saturated blow-'em-up from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys) continued Hollywood's millennium-fuelled fascination with the destruction of our planet. There's no arguing that the successful duo understand what mainstream audiences want in their blockbuster movies--loads of loud, eye-popping special effects, rapid-fire pacing, and patriotic flag waving. Bay's protagonists--the eight crude, lewd, oversexed (but, of course, lovable) oil drillers summoned to save the world from a Texas-sized meteor hurling toward the earth--are not flawless heroes, but common men with whom all can relate. In this huge Western-in-space soap opera, they're American cowboys turned astronauts. Sci-fi buffs will appreciate Bay's fetishising of technology, even though it's apparent he doesn't understand it as anything more than flashing lights and shiny gadgets. Smartly, the duo also try to lure the art-house crowd, raiding the local indie acting stable to populate the film with guys like Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, and Michael Duncan, all adding needed touches of humour andcharisma.

When Bay applies his sledgehammer aesthetics to the action portions of the film, it's mindless fun; it's only when Armageddontackles humanity that it becomes truly offensive. Not since Mississippi Burninghave racial and cultural stereotypes been substituted for characters so blatantly--African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Scottish, Samoans, Muslims, French ... if it's not white and American, Bay simplifies it. Or, make that white male America; the film features only three notable female characters--four if you count the meteor, who's constantly referred to as a "bitch that needs drillin'". Sadly, she's a hell of a lot more developed and unpredictable than all the other women characters combined. Sure, Bay's film creates some tension and contains some visceral moments, but if he can't create any redeemable characters outside of those in space, what's the point of saving the planet? --Dave McCoy

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1998
Release Date:	May 24, 1999
Runtime:	93 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D U K 0058
Keywords:	Action, General, Deathline, Fiction, Science, Armageddon, Horror, Adventure, Futuristic, Sci, Fi, Redline
Genre:	Horror/Occult