The latest testosterone-saturated blow-'em-up from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay (The Rock; Bad Boys) continues Hollywood's millennium-fueled fascination with the destruction of our planet. There's no arguing that the successful duo understands what mainstream American audiences want in their blockbuster movies--loads of loud; eye-popping special effects; rapid- fire pacing; and patriotic flag waving. Bay's protagonists--the eight crude; lewd; oversexed (but lovable; of course) oil drillers summoned to save the world from a Texas-sized meteor hurling toward the earth--are not flawless heroes; but common men with whom all can relate. In this huge Western-in-space soap opera; they're American cowboys turned astronauts. Sci-fi buffs will appreciate Bay's fetishizing of technology; even though it's apparent he doesn't understand it as anything more than flashing lights and shiny gadgets. Smartly; the duo also tries to lure the art-house crowd; raiding the local indie acting stable and populating the film with guys like Steve Buscemi; Billy Bob Thornton; Owen Wilson; and Michael Duncan; all adding needed touches of humor and charisma. When Bay applies his sledgehammer aesthetics to the action portions of the film; it's mindless fun; it's only when Armageddon tackles humanity that it becomes truly offensive. Not since Mississippi Burning have racial and cultural stereotypes been substituted for characters so blatantly--African Americans; Japanese; Chinese; Scottish; Samoans; Muslims; French ... if it's not white and American; Bay simplifies it. Or; make that white male America; the film features only three notable females--four if you count the meteor; who's constantly referred to as a "bitch that needs drillin';" but she's a hell of a lot more developed and unpredictable than the other women characters combined. Sure; Bay's film creates some tension and contains some visceral moments; but if he can't create any redeemable characters outside of those in space; what's the point of saving the planet? --Dave McCoy