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Parents' Guide to

Armageddon

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Giant-sized end-of-the-world scenario too scary for tweens.

Movie PG-13 1998 151 minutes
Armageddon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 15 parent reviews

Shann
Shann Adult
January 16, 2012
age 11+

Highly recommend it!

Fantastic movie, absolutely love it. Definitely not for the kids though. Lots of action, a bit of humour, good plot and character development. Might be suitable for tweens, but it's really aimed at adults so they may or may not enjoy it. There's a couple of raunchy poll dancers and one or two f-bombs but it's not frequent and nothing an 11-year-old won't have seen/heard before.
1 person found this helpful.
littleone522
littleone522 Parent of 12-year-old
January 22, 2011
age 13+

They hear worse language at school.

Although this movie does have some bad language and sexual content, I do say the movie is "ON" for 13+. The language and sexuality is what I consider to be "minor". There is no nudity but there is a scene in a strip club that has some girls in some pretty racy outfits. If these are concerns for you, I do recommend you proof-watch the movie yourself before allowing your kids to watch.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

A giant asteroid ("the size of Texas") threatens to wipe out everything and everyone on Earth. NASA chief Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) cooks up a crazy, last-ditch plan involving a crack team of drillers, led by Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis). They will board a rocket, land on the asteroid, drill an 800-foot hole, and plant a nuclear bomb, splitting the asteroid in two before it can reach the Earth. Many complications arise, including overshooting the landing site, and a case of space dementia. But Harry becomes most perturbed when he realizes that his best right-hand man, A.J. (Ben Affleck) is secretly in love with his beloved daughter Grace (Liv Tyler).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (16 ):

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Michael Bay (The Rock, Pearl Harbor), ARMAGEDDON is a super-packaged product, designed and marketed rather than created. It's noisy, glossy, and excessive, and more than a tad simplistic -- but it's also nearly irresistible. It has a huge cast of stars and character actors, all playing instantly likeable misfits and outsiders that grab our affections and never let go.

The cliffhanger setups and payoffs come right out of the silent era, complete with ticking clocks counting down to the last second, but these creaky old devices still work like gangbusters. The movie's major drawback is that it cheerfully plays with the terrifying concept of the complete extinction of everything and everyone on Earth. Younger and sensitive viewers who think a little too much about this setup may find themselves lying awake for nights afterward.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the film's violence and destruction. Was it frightening, or thrilling? Why do you think it made you feel that way?

  • How would you feel if you found out the Earth was ending in just a matter of days? What would you do with the time? Would you risk everything for a chance to save the Earth?

  • The main characters, the drillers, were all misfits and outcasts, gamblers, drug users, womanizers, quick-tempered, foul-mouthed, etc. How did you like them as you met them onscreen? How much did you trust them with the fate of the Earth?

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