Cheapo DVD Review: Armageddon (1997)

Not The Bruce Willis Film!

 AKA

Deathline
Redline
The Syndicate

  John Anderson Wade ((Rutger Hauer) is a small-time smuggler ready to retire. On his very last run, wade is betrayed by partner Merrick (Mark Dacascos) and shot in the head. 

 Resurrected by some sciency stuff that's never fully explained, Wade teams up with ass-kicking call-girl Marina K. (Yvonne Scio) to seek revenge on Merrick and his Underworld cabal. 

  For the most part Armageddon is a standard Revenge B-Movie that just happens to have some Sci-Fi elements glued onto it.   As near as I can tell, this was mainly so the director could use some familiar elements while trying to keep them fresh.  There's some stuff about Virtual Reality that's only there to allow for some dream sequences that aren't dream sequences.  Meanwhile Future Science also explains why Wade gets shot in the head at point blank range but still manages to stick around for the rest of the movie.

  A better film could have made better use of the SF toys, as well as the subplot about political corruption, but Armageddon fails to use these elements to any great advantage. 

 On the subject of things not used to their full potential....

  I have long held the belief that both Mark Dacascos and Rutger Hauer deserved better careers than they seem to have had.  If you've seen Crying Freeman or Brotherhood Of the Wolf then you'll know that Mark Dacascos is a fantastic martial artist; so I was hoping for more than the brief display of prowess we got.  He's a decent enough villain though, dubious accent notwithstanding. 

   Rutger Hauer seems to have a knack for being a good actor in a long series of indifferent movies. As always he gets the job done and done well, but dammit, dude, you deserved more than this. 

  I did like Yvonne Scio's turn as a working girl with a great selection of wigs and a talent for violence.  Her and Hauer play well off each other. The scene where wade is fighting a naked woman (don't ask) while Marina takes him to task is quite memorable.

 In all other regards Armageddon  is Ok but nothing special. The story crawls sometimes but not fatally, the action is decent as is most of the cast.  The sort of movie you buy at a car boot because you wonder "What happened to that guy", watch once and then file at the bottom of the DVD pile, never to emerge again. Watchable but not rewatchable. 

 The one thing that did impress me was the location. Apparently Armageddon was filmed in Budapest doubling for Moscow and I have to say, if I ever have the money I want to go there. Damn, but that place has some great looking buildings. 

 So there you have it. After watching this film, the thing I remember is the architecture. Says it all really.  

How much did I pay for this: 25p.

Was it worth it?  I'm going to say yes. Armageddon is not essential viewing but fills the time well enough.