When you think of 1998's summer blockbuster and one of the best action movies Armageddon, several things come to mind: asteroid annihilation, an ensemble cast, Aerosmith's "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing," and, of course, Ben Affleck’s unforgettable presence. But it's 2023, and what's resurfacing isn’t just a nostalgic remembrance of the movie but Affleck’s snarky commentary about a particular plot point he brought up to director Michael Bay. Honestly, I cannot get enough of his 1999 hot takes.
Here's a quick flashback for those who aren’t familiar. On the film's DVD commentary track, the Chasing Amy actor recounted how he had once questioned the logic of the film's premise: Why was it easier to train drillers to become astronauts than to train astronauts to drill? According to Affleck, Michael Bay's response was succinct, “Shut the fuck up.” In the nearly two minutes of the commentary, which was posted to Twitter by @AtRightMovies, the DC Movies veteran can be heard hilariously recounting:
I asked Michael why it was easier to train oil drillers to become astronauts than it was to train astronauts to become oil drillers, and he told me to shut the fuck up. So that was the end of that talk. [Does Michael Bay voice] 'You know, Ben, just shut up, OK? You know, this is a real plan.' I was like, 'You mean it’s a real plan at NASA to train oil drillers?' And he was like, 'Just shut your mouth!' [Laughs]
Michael Bay might be best known for bringing Bayhem to projects like Ambulance, but he’s also known not to mince words. T director with a pension for explosions gave the Bad Boys For Life filmmakers one piece of blunt advice: “Don’t fuck up my baby.” While it's easy to call the Transformers producer's response gruff, the off-the-cuff remark, combined with Affleck's spot-on impression of the man behind the camera, is comedic gold. The Justice League alum doesn’t stop there; he continues by cracking wise about the “salt of the earth” approach of the film:
Here is where we demonstrate that [logic] because Bruce is going to tell the guys they did a bad job of building the drill tank. See, he’s a salt of the earth guy, and the NASA Nerd-onauts don’t understand his salt of the earth ways. His humble ways. [Laughing] Like, somehow they can build rocket ships, but they don’t understand what makes a good transmission!
Listening to the Gone Girl actor poke fun at his director is too funny. Of course, it was obviously all in good fun because the two would reunite a few years later for the Bay’s epic war and romance flick Pearl Harbor–which has a few problems of its own as a film. You can listen to the entire clip in the video embedded below:
Ben Affleck's great commentary track on ARMAGEDDON where he talks about some of the plot holes in the film. pic.twitter.com/LjsRwuPInKAugust 15, 2023
While NASA probably isn't recruiting oil drillers for space missions just yet, some of Armageddon's wild ideas might not be far from the real playbook for asteroid defense. Turns out that using a nuke might actually work. Got that, Ben? Who's chuckling now?
While Armageddon might not take home the award for best space movies, it is certainly funnier and more entertaining than it has any right to be and well worth revisiting. You can stream the 1998 hit with a Max subscription. Or you can check our schedule of 2023 movie releases to see what's coming to a theater near you.
