There are many nice Ben Affleck-led motion pictures, on which he is labored each in entrance of and behind the digicam as a director. Nevertheless, few have endured in popular culture fairly like Michael Bay’s 1998 sci-fi catastrophe epic, Armageddon. It is loud, it is ridiculous and, although it is one of many finest ’90s motion pictures, it additionally embodies the nonsensical blockbuster filmmaking of the period. And, apparently, Affleck’s child cannot cease clowning him for it.
Ben Affleck lately appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! to advertise his 2025 film schedule launch, The Accountant 2. Amid the chat, he talked about what it was like having his youngsters attend the movie’s premiere. Based on the actor-turned-director, it was the primary time they checked out him as if he had completed one thing cool. That wasn’t precisely the case when he tried to point out them certainly one of his massive ’90s blockbusters. Apparently, he revisited Armageddon together with his household, pondering it will be a enjoyable, nostalgic bonding second — till his youngsters, particularly his son, Samuel, began completely tearing the film aside:
Throughout COVID, all the youngsters have been round the home, and I used to be like, ‘Hey, let’s watch a film.’ And I believed, ‘Hey, possibly the youngsters will like Armageddon.’ Nearly instantly. It was like, ‘That is so silly! Are you kidding me?’ My son was like, he mentioned, ‘This doesn’t make sense!’ I used to be like, ‘This isn’t a logic-based movie! That isn’t one of many standards we used making this.’
For those who’ve seen the enduring catastrophe flick, which was launched in 1998, you realize precisely what he means. The film’s complete premise of sending blue-collar oil drillers into area to cease an asteroid falls aside underneath even the slightest little bit of scrutiny. Nevertheless, who is popping into Armageddon to deal with science, moreover Neil deGrasse Tyson? Its absurd earnestness is form of the attraction, proper? It’s a popcorn film via and thru that is constructed on massive explosions, Aerosmith ballads, overtly cinematic patriotism and star-studded hero photographs in gradual movement.
Nonetheless, youngsters as we speak have been raised on a gradual eating regimen of extra “grounded” sci-fi, from Interstellar to The Martian, the place realism (or a minimum of an affordable facsimile of it) is a part of the deal. So it isn’t precisely stunning that Affleck’s son had questions. Numerous them.
What’s nice is that the previous Justice League actor would not appear remotely defensive about it. If something, he appeared genuinely entertained by how a lot his child roasted him. It is the form of self-awareness that has endeared him to followers through the years. Affleck has talked about his expertise making the Michael Bay movie earlier than, most notably throughout a legendary DVD commentary monitor the place he brazenly mocks the film’s logic. (For those who’ve by no means heard it, do your self a favor and take a look at the clip under. It is pure gold.) So it isn’t like he is instantly pretending it was excessive artwork.
In a profession that is spanned the whole lot from Oscar-winning dramas to superhero blockbusters, Armageddon stays a time capsule of a specific second in Hollywood, one the place physics, science, and plausibility have been all secondary to “How cool will this look on display?” To be fairly sincere, I really like that. Yeah, it’s outrageous, nevertheless it’s additionally the form of film that’s only a blast to observe, whether or not you’re laughing with it or at it. Apparently, within the Affleck family, it’s a little bit of each.
Ben Affleck’s newest motion blockbuster, The Accountant 2, is now in theaters. Test your native listings for showtimes.