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An old DVD commentary of Ben Affleck hilariously ripping apart Armageddon in which he starred as A.J. Frost has resurfaced and gone viral yet again.
Fans have been revisiting the actor and filmmaker lending his unfiltered thoughts on the production and plotholes of the 1998 action blockbuster about a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers on a special mission to prevent a ginormous asteroid from colliding with Earth.
Although the disaster flick was a box office smash, critics gave mixed reviews–the worst of which was from Roger Ebert who placed the film among his most hated films.
Here is a TikTok clip shared by @alltherightmoves featuring Affleck's Armageddon commentary.
In the commentary track, Affleck recalled grilling the film's producer and director Michael Bay on the veracity of the far-fetched plot. Affleck along with Matt Damon won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for 1997's Good Will Hunting so he had some experience to draw on.
In the DVD commentary, Affleck said:
"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 f**k up."
"So that was the end of that talk."
He then impersonated Bay's voice responding to his burning inquiry.
"You know, Ben, just shut up, okay?"
"You know, this is a real plan."
Affleck continued revisiting their banter.
"I was like, 'You mean it's a real plan at NASA to train oil drillers?'"
"And he was like, 'Just shut your mouth!'"
The Air actor said while laughing in the commentary over a scene featuring his Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis:
"One whole week? Now you know how to fly into space? 'I need my guys!' 'Why do you need your guys?' 'They're the best!' Everyone's the best."
'Why are they the best?' 'Well, they just are!'"
Fans were eating it up.
@alltherightmoves/TikTok
@alltherightmoves/TikTok
@alltherightmoves/TikTok
@alltherightmoves/TikTok
@alltherightmoves/TikTok
Armageddon boasted a cast of Hollywood A-listers in addition to Affleck–including Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Keith David, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi.
At the time of its release in 1998, it was the year's highest-grossing film at $553 million worldwide against a $140 million budget.
Special features and multiple DVD commentary tracks were touted bonuses used to sell DVD and blu-ray editions of films prior to the emergence of streaming services.