’ Armageddon’ Is a Blast From the First

In “Armageddon,” rebellious oil drillers, led by their edgy boss (Bruce Willis), become unlikely astronauts when a giant asteroid speeds toward Earth. They fly to the asteroid and try to blow it up with a nuclear bomb dug into its core. Rated PG-13.

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Critics don’t much like “Armageddon” (complaints about cardboard characters and an amazingly derivative plot--anybody remember “Deep Impact”?), but youngsters are almost airborne over it.

They emerged from a showing in Irvine breathless over the movie’s wild action sequences and even wilder sentimentality. Preteens and teenagers thought “Armageddon” had it all, from high danger to weepy scenes about love, honor and the American way of getting the job done, even on a hurtling rock the size of Texas.

“I was wondering if it was going to be good” because of all the hype, said Lacy Clay, 12, of Irvine. “But it was great. . . . I was crying at the end.”

Sure, the picture has its emotional side (especially the love story between Liv Tyler and astro-driller Ben Affleck), but “Armageddon” also has enough spaceship, space station and asteroid explosions and other calamities to fill two action flicks.

This is one very noisy experience, with every intense scene backed up by sound effects that seem to get louder as the movie goes on. But the nonstop action and escalating noise was the ticket for Manuel Perez, 9, of Santa Ana.

“It [was wonderful] when everything was happening so fast,” Manuel said. And when the drillers-cum-flyboys were on the asteroid? “Really neat.”

The basic plot in “Armageddon” is almost identical to that of “Deep Impact,” down to the save-the-Earth plan of destroying the asteroid with a buried bomb. Gregory Bush, 15, of Irvine noticed how alike the two movies were and wondered why “Armageddon” wasn’t more original. Still, he was a fan.

“It’s better than [‘Deep Impact,’ which came out a few weeks ago] because it was a better story overall and funnier,” he said. “If you only want to see one of them, this is the one.”

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PARENTS’ PERSPECTIVE: “Armageddon” is so vivid and loud, Paula Shakstad of Irvine found it numbing at times. But son Richie, 8, liked most of the flick, and so did she. Shakstad appreciated the humor and how the team of drillers worked together.

“You didn’t think they could do it [because] they seemed like serious, serious losers,” Shakstad said. “I was cheering for them in the end, and so was my son.”

Dennis Heathrow of Costa Mesa also had no complaints as a parent. “Not a great movie, that’s for sure,” he said. “But you can take your kids without worrying or anything. . . . Everyone should be entertained.”