In the late 1990s and the early 2000s, when he was a constant punchline in the press for being a sell-out, popcorn actor, the idea ofBen Affleckas an advocate for cinema as an art form would be inconceivable. Althoughhis new film,The Accountant 2, won’t be appearing on anyone’sSight and Soundballot, Affleck wasinvited to be a guest in every film buff’s dream paradise, the Criterion Closet, a candy store of cinephilia containing shelves of every movie in the Criterion Collection.
After taking a healthy number of Blu-rays off the shelf, he came across one of the more bizarre entries in the collection,Armageddon, a 1998 film he starred in. More than the content ofMichael Bay’s sci-fi blockbuster, thefilm’s greatest legacy to the most hardcore cinephiles belongs in the bonus features of the Criterion disc, where Affleck put in a career-best performance.
The ‘Armageddon’ Commentary is the Peak of Ben Affleck’s Career
How didArmageddonend up in the Criterion Collection?It’s an odd but inspired choice that cementedBay’s status as a vulgar auteur, but unfortunately, the Criterion release is currently out of print. After grabbing essential classics likeThe Rules of the Game,Silence of the Lambs, andMalcolm Xoff the shelf, Affleck spotted the high-octane, logically implausible Bay film, which, like most of Bay’s films loathed by critics upon release, has seen a wave of reevaluation amid the last decade of formulaic and bland blockbusters.
Admitting that he was initially surprised that Criterion would releaseArmageddon, Affleck said, perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek manner,“In retrospect, now, I feel like maybe my best work in my career is the commentary on this disc.“The Oscar-winning screenwriter and A-list actor is amused by the fact that people approach him to discuss his iconic performance as a speaker on the commentary trackas much as any movie he’s done. What was the key behind Affleck’s hilarious riffing on theArmageddoncommentary? “I didn’t know any better than to be really honest,” he reflected, never intending to go viral with his wacky antics on the track. Affleck closes out by asking an important question to the camera: “Criterion, when is the 4K [release] coming out?”
Ben Affleck Pokes Fun at ‘Armageddon’ in the Commentary Track
When listening to theArmageddoncommentary track, on its own or synced up to the movie, you quickly realize that it lives up to the hype, particularly wheneverAffleck pipes in to ridicule the illogical circumstances of the plot andBay’s broad characterizationof the heroic oil drillers who somehow learn how to astronauts and the empty suit NASA button-pushers. The track, which also features input from Bay,Bruce Willis, and producerJerry Bruckheimer, is peak Affleck, both charming and witty as well as irreverent.
“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!'“Affleck says, who has no shortage of quips and nitpicks aboutArmageddon’s scientific liberties andoverly jingoistic ideas.Commenting on the blue-collar fetishization of Willis’ character, he quips, “He’s a salt-of-the-Earth guy, and the NASA ‘nerdonauts’ don’t understand his salt-of-the-Earth ways — his rough-and-tumble ways.” Before everyone understood the concept of “Bayhem,” Affleck would call out the gratuitous explosions and vehicles on the screen, remarking that a “random helicopter” exists “for no real reason — just because you’re a big movie, and you’re expensive, and you can.” Additionally, anytimeBilly Bob Thorntonappears on-screen, Affleck performs a hyperbolicSling Bladeimpression.
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The unfiltered nature of theArmageddoncommentary is a relic of a bygone era where celebrities were not self-conscious of their image and didn’t undergo rigorous PR training, as Ben Affleck confirmed in arecentGQprofile.Calling it a “top-five” DVD commentary, the actor-director said that “nobody said anything to me,” in the lead-up to his recording.“I don’t think any of the other people listened to it or gave a f–k until years later when it was played,” he added. His flippant attitude on the track reflected his feelings while on set, embracing the ridiculousness of thisbig, dumb action movie.
It’s impossible to imagine a scenario where any celebrity would go scorched Earth on their own movie in the public sphere today due to our awareness of how quickly things spread online and last forever.Back then, Ben Affleck was naive enough to think that no one would ever hear his commentary track forArmageddon, as DVDs were a brand-new commodity.Even today, Affleck, who is the subject of countless memes and viral paparazziphotos looking bummed out, refreshingly lacks any insecurity about his image. If only we could get Affleck to mock all his bad movies—get him a microphone and let him discussGigli.
The Accountant 2
