We win, Gracie!
As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- The scene when A.J. uses the Independence Armadillo's mounted gun to blast through the Independence Shuttle.
- Dan Truman: (to General Kimsey) This is one order you shouldn't follow and you FUCKING know it!note
- Colonel Lev Andropov reminding us that Cloud Cuckoo Lander or not, he's still a veteran cosmonaut by repairing the second Armadillo—while it's flying over a gorge in Zero-G—so it can make the landing safely. And he's doing this while clinging to the outside. Bonus points for his Badass Boast prior to all this:A.J.: What the hell are you doing?!Lev: I am the only qualified astronaut here, and I am saving your American asses!
- The scene where the Independence Armadillo, with A.J., Lev, & Bear inside (having survived the Independence shuttle crash), arrives to finish the drilling, when all hope seemed lost.
- "Houston. You're not going to believe this but the other Armadillo has arrived."
- After the world realizes they're saved, there is a shot of a new generation of kids inspired by NASA, representing the future's likely renewed interest in space exploration, running past a mural of President Kennedy, who started the whole thing.
- Harry's telling off of NASA because he doesn't know they were overridden by the government.Houston, you have a problem. See, I promised my little girl I was coming home. I don't know what you people are doing down there, but we got a hole to dig. [cue cheering from Mission Control]
- Moments before, Harry and Sharp officially put Teeth-Clenched Teamwork aside, with Harry delivering some of the most badass displays of Heroic Willpower in Bruce Willis' career;
Harry: I have been drilling holes in the earth for thirty years. And I have never, never missed a depth that I have aimed for. And by God, I am not gonna miss this one. I will make 800 feet.
Sharp: You swear on your daughter's life, on my family's, that you can hit that mark?
Harry: I will make 800 feet. I swear to God I will.
Sharp: Then let's turn this bomb off. - Four words: Harry Stamper's Heroic Sacrifice! When the trigger to the bomb winds up destroyed, the team realize that someone will have to remain on the asteroid and use the remote detonator. At first, A.J. "wins" the draw to be the one to do it, until Harry tosses him into a pod and willingly takes the work in his own hands, even talking to Grace one more time before getting ready...until a fissure happens, jostling him away. But Harry gets back up. He pulls through the chaotic landscape to push the damn switch, and with a final Really Dead Montage, saves the world.
- Even when it looks like Harry's missed his moment, A.J. states his faith in Harry's ability to complete this task with six simple words; "He doesn't know how to fail."
- The destruction scenes of New York City and Paris (while in poor taste in a post-9/11 world for the former, and the 2015 terrorist attack and Notre Dame Cathedral fire for the latter) were definitely the highlights of the film and still look good today.
- Even more awesome was that one of Paris' beloved landmarks was shown to have survived the initial impact was none other than the Arc de Triomphe itself (badly damaged, but still standing triumphantly, living up to it's name).
- The President's speech:''I address you tonight, not as the President of the United States, not as the leader of a country, but as a citizen of humanity. We are faced with the very gravest of challenges. The Bible calls this day Armageddon, the end of all things, and yet, for the first time in the history of the planet, a species has the technology to prevent its own extinction. All of you praying with us need to know, that everything that can be done to prevent this disaster has been called into service. The human thirst for excellence and knowledge, every step up the ladder of science, every adventurous reach into space, all of our combined modern technologies and imaginations, even the wars that we've fought have provided us the tools to wage this terrible battle. Through all the chaos that is our history, through all of the wrongs and the discord, through all of the pain and suffering, through all of our times, there is one thing that has nourished our souls and elevated our species above its origins, and that is our courage. The dreams of an entire planet are focused tonight on those fourteen brave souls, travelling into the heavens. May we all, citizens the world over, see these events through, Godspeed and good luck to you.
