Armageddon opened in theaters only two-and-a-half months after a similar impact-based movie, Deep Impact, which starred Robert Duvall andMorgan Freeman. Armageddon fared better at the box office, while astronomers described Deep Impact as being more scientifically accurate.Both films were equally received by film critics. Armageddon was an international box-office success, despite generally negative reviews from critics. It became the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide surpassing the Steven Spielberg war epic, Saving Private Ryan.
A massive meteor shower destroys the Space Shuttle Atlantis and bombards New York City, America's East Coast, and Finland. NASA discovers that a rogue comet the size of Texas passed through the asteroid belt and pushed forward a large amount of space debris. The Texas-sized asteroid itself will collide with Earth in eighteen days, creating another extinction event. NASA scientists, led by Dan Truman (Thornton), plan to bury a nuclear device deep inside the asteroid that, when detonated, will split the asteroid in two, driving the pieces apart so both will fly safely past the Earth. NASA contacts Harry Stamper (Willis), considered the best deep-sea oil driller in the world, for assistance and advice. Harry returns to NASA, along with his daughter Grace (Tyler), to keep her away from her new boyfriend, one of Harry's young and rambunctious drillers, A. J. Frost (Affleck). Harry and Grace learn about the asteroid, and Harry explains he will need his team, including A. J., to carry out the mission. Once they have been rounded up and the situation is explained, they agree to help, but only after their list of unusual rewards and demands are met.
As NASA puts Harry and his crew through a short and rigorous astronaut training program, Harry and his team re-outfit the mobile drillers, named the "Armadillos", that will be used on the asteroid. When a large fragment from the asteroid wipes out Shanghai, NASA is forced to reveal its plans to the world and launches two military space shuttles, named Freedom and Independence. Once in orbit, the shuttles dock with the Russian space stationMir, manned by Lev Andropov (Stormare), to refuel. A fire breaks out during the transfer, and the station is evacuated just before it explodes, with Lev and A. J. making a narrow escape. The shuttles slingshot around the Moon in order to land on the back side of the asteroid. Traveling through the asteroid's debris field Independence's hull is punctured and crashes onto the rock. Grace, watching from NASA headquarters, is distraught about A. J.'s apparent death.
Freedom lands safely, but misses the target area by twenty-six miles, so the team must now drill through an area of compressed iron ferrite rather than the targeted softer stone. When they fall significantly behind schedule and communications are about to fail, the military initiates "Secondary Protocol" to remotely detonate the nuclear weapon on the asteroid's surface, which apparently will not have any effect. While Truman delays the military at Mission Control, Harry persuades the shuttle commander (Fichtner) to disarm the bomb so they can complete the drilling.
Distracted by "Rockhound" (Buscemi), who is having a mental breakdown, the Freedom crew loses their Armadillo and its operator (Campbell) when it strikes a gas pocket and is blown into space. World panic ensues as the mission is assumed lost, just as another meteorite destroys Paris. Suddenly, A. J., Lev, and "Bear" (Duncan), having survived the Independence crash, arrive in time in the second Armadillo to complete the drilling.
As the asteroid approaches the Earth, it heats up, causing a dangerous rock storm that damages the bomb's remote trigger. They realize someone must stay behind to detonate it manually. After all the non-flight crew volunteers, they draw straws, and A. J. is selected. As he and Harry exit the airlock, Harry rips off A. J.'s air hose and shoves him back inside, telling him he is the son Harry never had, and he would be proud to have A.J. marry Grace. Harry prepares to detonate the bomb and contacts Grace to say his last goodbyes. After the Freedom moves to a safe distance, Harry pushes the button at the last minute (after some difficulty) and his life passes before his eyes as the asteroid is destroyed. It breaks in two and both halves fly past the Earth. Freedom lands, and the surviving crew are treated as heroes. The film ends with A. J. and Grace's wedding, complete with photos of Harry and the other lost crew members present in memoriam.
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