5 Reasons Armageddon Is Better Than Deep Impact (& 5 Reasons Its Worse)

In 1998, Hollywood released into the world two movies about a comet on the path to destroy it: Armageddon and Deep Impact. While both movies share similar storylines, they are vastly different in terms of tone. Armageddon is a bombastic action movie while Deep Impact is a slower-paced and contemplative drama.

Most fans already know that Armageddon faired better commercially than Deep Impact. However, there is still much debate between film lovers about which one is generally considered the better film. While Armageddon stands out as the fan favorite because it’s a more entertaining movie, a lot more people prefer the emotional depth that comes with Deep Impact. So here’s a question for readers to contemplate: out of the two movies, which one do they prefer?

10 Armageddon: The Action

Director Michael Bay is known for action and that’s the primary aspect of Armageddon. The film follows the exploits of a drilling team, who are sent to destroy an asteroid by drilling a hole in it and planting a bomb.

Once in space: everything goes wrong. A space station blows up before they even reach the asteroid after stopping to refuel. Then after landing on the asteroid, it’s one problem after another as accomplishing their mission becomes harder and harder. It’s a rollercoaster ride from start to finish.

9 Deep Impact: The Characters

While Armageddon is filled with unique characters who are all different in their own way, they don’t carry much dramatic weight. Where Armageddon’s focus is the action, Deep Impact focuses on the people.

The title Deep Impact is actually a double meaning because the movie is really about how this event truly impacts the character’s lives and its effect on the world. It’s about families and lovers in different areas of life who have to deal with what’s happening. This end-of-the-world movie focuses on the “world” aspect very closely.

8 Armageddon: The Cast

Deep Impact has stronger characters that the audiences can connect with, but it still can’t beat the cast assembled for Armageddon. Deep Impact has great actors like Tea Leoni, Robert Duvall, and an excellent performance from Morgan Freeman as the President. However, Armageddon boasts an impressive cast of actors, who were mainly known, at the time, for their independent films.

Other than action-star Bruce Willis, performers like Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke, Owen Wilson, Ben Affleck, and Will Patton feature alongside him too. While their characterizations have been criticized, many fans like that they brought a “down to earth” quality that made them believable as blue-collar workers, called upon to save the world. Where Deep Impact has better-written characters, Armageddon’s are more watchable.

7 Deep Impact: The Music

Armageddon features a propulsive action score by Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin that’s rhythmic, intense, and, at times, patriotic. The movie is pretty much wall-to-wall music, always there reminding audiences of the urgency and stakes of the moment. However, Deep Impact’s score is much more emotional and adds to a more realistic take the film depicts.

Deep Impact was scored by legendary composer James Horner and his strings and cues showcase the heavy emotional weight brought on by the film’s events. The score is oftentimes very sad, but also uplifting. It fits the mood and tone of the movie perfectly as it reflects what the film displays front and center: this situation’s toll on humanity.

6 Armageddon: The Soundtrack

While Deep Impact boasts a better musical score, listeners can’t beat Armageddon’s soundtrack. The movie features songs from Journey, Bon Jovi, and above all, Aerosmith. Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv Tyler, of course, stars in the film and he lent several songs to the soundtrack, including a great cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together.”

These songs complement the blue-collar characters and the soundtrack features songs audiences can imagine them listening to. The big song from the movie was Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.” It was a huge hit on the charts and would attain an Oscar nomination for Best Song.

5 Deep Impact: The Science

While Armageddon was slightly more popular than Deep Impact, scientists felt the latter was more scientifically accurate. Deep Impact strived for a realistic portrayal of an extinction-level event and Armageddon just really wanted to give people a good time. Bay has always been style over reality and even refused to model his movie’s NASA control after the real NASA control because, to him, the real one just “wasn’t sexy”

Armageddon is false from the start when it begins with a space shuttle’s fiery explosion. The problem is: there’s no oxygen in space so there can’t be any fire. When they are on the asteroid, the astronauts walk around like it was earth, when in reality, and like depicted in Deep Impact, there’s no gravity. The list of inaccuracies goes on and on.

4 Armageddon: The Pace

Deep Impact is a slower-paced film because, unlike Armageddon, it really focuses on the story and not action. Michael Bay sets a pace from the first frame and it doesn’t stop. Armageddon is 2 and 1/2 hours long but it never feels that way because the movie is going at a breakneck speed, reflecting the ticking clock that’s putting intense pressure on the characters.

This pace adds to the rollercoaster nature of the film, even though it has been heavily criticized for it. Michael Bay started in music videos so he’s always brought that aesthetic to his films. Audiences have pointed out that the average shot length is 2.3 seconds. Bay doesn’t linger. He moves quickly because he wants to take audiences on the ride of their lives.

3 Deep Impact: The Story Makes Sense

Even though the idea of the movie might be slightly implausible, Deep Impact explores how the world would really react to such an event. However, the crux of Armageddon’s story, in which oil drillers must save the world, is wildly implausible.

As hilariously pointed out by Ben Affleck in the DVD commentary, the movie’s story just doesn’t make sense. Willis’ Harry convinces NASA that he will only help if he can bring his own team to the comet to drill because astronauts “don’t know jack about drilling.” Yet, this was where the issue arose. Wouldn’t it be a lot harder for an oil driller to become an astronaut than for an astronaut to become an oil driller? Like Affleck says in the audio commentary, “What’s so hard about it? Just point the drill at the ground and turn it on.”

2 Armageddon: It’s Fun

Deep Impact aims to be a realistic drama and Armageddon just wants to be a good time. While events in Deep Impact and Armageddon could really happen, they are still science fiction movies. They just have two very different approaches.

Deep Impact leans into the dramatic aspects in its depiction of the devastation created by the comet. While similar things happen in Armageddon, it’s not as earnest. Instead of an emotional journey, audiences are taken on a roller coaster, with action, funny characters, and a compelling love story. It may not leave audiences emotional like Deep Impact but, like any great ride, it will make them want to experience it again soon.

1 Deep Impact: It’s Moving

By going the more realistic route, Deep Impact frightens audiences with its realistic depiction of events. However, it is because of its grounded realism why the movie’s story is better.  Deep Impact’s tagline is “Oceans Rise, Cities Fall, Hope Survives,” and that’s certainly true in the film’s final moments.

The whole movie is about perseverance through tragedy, and in the end, audiences really feel they have gotten to the other side of something horrible. Armageddon produces a similar catharsis but there is a difference. Audiences had too good a time during the film’s version of events to be left with the same impact.

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