There are legendary commentaries for the best movies, and there’s Ben Affleck talking over Armageddon. The A-lister provided commentary to Michael Bay’s disaster movie when it was coming out on DVD, and it’s a masterpiece unto.
For a significant portion of the entire science fiction movie, Affleck ribs Bay and the writing in general. One incredible clip has recently gone viral on Twitter, reminding us of a true highlight in Affleck’s career, where he pissed off Bay by undermining the adventure movie‘s whole premise.
“I asked Michael why it was easier to train oil drillers to become astronauts that it was to train astronauts to become oil drillers,” Affleck recalled. “He told me to shut the fuck up, so that was the end of that talk.”
From there the former Batman actor poked a healthy amount of fun at Bruce Willis coming in as the smart ass inventor who creates the special drill they use. There’s a particular scene where Willis clowns NASA’s scientists that’s absurd in a patently Bay way, and Affleck riffs on it in glorious fashion.
Every so often, clips of Affleck’s insight bubble up on social media, and for good reason. It’s one of the all-time classic commentaries, perhaps because it arrived before the feature became completely widespread and studios placed a keener eye on what was said.
Armageddon boasts a star-studded cast, with Willis and Affleck joined by Owen Wilson, Steve Buscemi, Liv Tyler, Peter Stormare, and Billy Bob Thornton among others. Released in 1998 and following the exploits of a team of oil drillers drafted to stop a comet from hitting Earth, the action movie was one of the year’s biggest blockbusters, drawing in nearly half a billion dollars at the box office.
Check out our best movies list for more cinematic classics, as well as our new movies guide to see what’s coming out. Most don’t have insight from Affleck, sadly.