... Battlefield Earth (2000)
With the upcoming third worldwide protest against the cult of scientology's abuses this weekend, it seems timely to review Battlefield Earth. Adapted from a novel by L Ron Hubbard, and championed by actor John Travolta for over a decade. It rapidly gained the infamous ... Read review
In the 30th Century, whenBattlefield Earthis uncovered in a mass grave for bad films by ... more
revisionist cineastes, it is more than likely that it willstillbe the worst science fiction film ever made. John Travolta's $73m pet sci-fi project--an adaptation o...
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The year is 3000. The Earth has been colonised by a nation of alien beings called The ... more
Psychlos. They are a meanspirited, savage and ruthless race of evil monsters. They hunger for profit, they feed of weakness, they live for power and they're determined to strip planet earth of all its valuable resources. Due to their greed and violence theworld has become a barren landscape where humans are turned into slaves and society has regressed into a primitive state. But Jonnie Goodboy Tyler is different. He has left his mountain tribe to seek the truth. He is a man willing to rebel against the system created by the invaders. This is the final struggle for freedom. This is a time for extermination. Prepare for battle it's time to take the planet back.
The bad guys in L. Ron Hubbard's sci-fi opera are deemed to be a pretty dim, unsavoury ... more
bunch--certainly by composer Elia Cmiral, as evidenced by his depiction of their preferred listening in "Psychlos Top 40". This electronic insanity leads nowhere, yet should at least intrigue the ear by the extent to which Cmiral has personally taken on board the chore of programming. Throughout the score there are a number of finely integrated samples and effects, which together with some ethnic instrumentation in the orchestra is emblematic of the human survivors fighting the Psychlos. It's a big, loud movie, and the score delivers in kind. What's pleasingly absent is any form of patriotic anthem, since one would have been misplaced. The album's last third is a never-ending series of crescendos that breach one acoustic plateau after another (eg the breakneck "Dome Explodes" with tongue-in-cheek brass de-crescendos). Subtle it ain't--just like them pesky Psychlos.--Paul Tonks
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L. Ron Hubbard's most famous book may be, as he says in the introduction, pure science ... more
fiction but it is also pure drivel--so much like a third-rate pulp adventure from the 1930s that it is almost unbelievable that it actually dates from 1982. The prose is appalling, the plot riddled with clichés and the depiction of the year 3000 lacks imagination. Here we find Jonnie Goodboy Tyler and his cardboard cut-out allies defending a very old-fashioned vision of the future against the giant alien Psychlos. It's the sort ofFlash Gordonyarn George Lucas so brilliantly used as the starting point for hisStar Warsuniverse but the result is 1050 pages of perhaps the very worst science fiction ever written. If you want great space opera, tryHyperionby Dan Simmons, orNevernessby David Zindell.As a fast moving, simplistic story of good vs. evil, driven by action and corny dialogue in the manner of those old black and white serials, it does the job and is the perfect vehicle for Hollywood producers more concerned with special effects than story. But today's readers, now used to intelligent plotting and characters and stories that actually have something useful and interesting to say, will find Battlefield Earth sadly lacking in almost all areas.--Gary S. Dalkin
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: basic premise is okay Disadvantages: bad acting, too long and dull
77. Battlefield Earth (2000)
With the upcoming third worldwide protest against the cult of scientology's abuses this weekend, it seems timely to review Battlefield Earth. Adapted from a novel by L Ron Hubbard, and championed by actor John Travolta for over a decade. It rapidly gained the infamous status of one of the most expensive flops in cinema history, and you need only look at my rating to see whether I agree.
... ...No. And neither should you. Battlefield Earth is full of holes, it's overblown, too long, too camp, and Barry Pepper is an especially uncharasmatic lead actor. It's a B-movie that somehow walked off the lot with an A-movie budget, and Hollywood has been churning out much better films for a tenth of the cost. The few superficial achievements can't outweigh the mess of a script and over the top direction and editing. Between the bad guys chuckling ... more
77. Battlefield Earth (2000)
With the upcoming third worldwide protest against the cult of scientology's abuses this weekend, it seems timely to review Battlefield Earth. Adapted from a novel by L Ron Hubbard, and championed by actor John Travolta for over a decade. It rapidly gained the infamous status of one of the most expensive flops in cinema history, and you need only look at my rating to see whether I agree.
This film should carry a public service announcement at the start reading, 'Warning - You are now entering a film where all dramatic moments take place at one third normal speed.' If all the unnecessary and tedious slow motion was cut out, it might shave the lengthy two hour runtime down to something more manageable. I should have been more wary after reading about the "special effects that are completely real" on the back of the box. Do they know what a special effect is exactly? Or were all those green laser beams filmed in claymation by Ray Harryhausen? The shame of it is I was genuinely willing to give it a chance. Having seen it about six years ago, my only recollection was of a lacklustre blockbuster; it could have still been a laugh. Rather than the farcical wreck I just watched.
In it's favour the special effects are pretty good. I like the dreadlocked, giant platform booted design of the alien Psychlos, who have taken control of Earth and enslaved it's people to strip mine the planet. Everything has been captured well in terms of picture quality and lighting. There is some occasional good humour. Mostly from scenes with Forest Whitaker and Travolta together, with Whitaker managing one of the best performances in the film (still with pretty poor material). Sadly I'm struggling to find any more compliments.
To get back to the story, we follow the trials of Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper), as he searches for answers to the big questions of life and his mythology. A thousand years after the Psychlos invaded, the human race has become an endangered species. Those that remain free are simple tribes people, without knowledge of the previous days of technology. Flung far away from the Psychlos themselves. After leaving his village, Jonnie soon becomes embroiled in the affairs of a Psychlo named Terl (John Travolta). Terl is the poster boy for frustrated and deluded middle management. If his plan to embezzle his way out of many years more service on Earth ever works, you'll see him on the Psychlo home planet version of The Apprentice. Despite the set-up, any hope for some intriguing and intelligent corporate power games is short lived and glossed over in favour of some manic laughter, shouting, tongue-waggling, and Travolta camping it up. He really knows no limits here. The plot is disappointingly run of the mill, linear and quite laboriously explained to the audience.
The complete lack of attention to detail in the plot is embarrassing. For starters, are we to believe it takes a vastly superior race over 1000 years to mine the planet for what it's worth? Also, in all that time, and despite being based in North America, they never once discovered the gold reserves of Fort Knox. Fragile items like books, left exposed to 1000 years of nature are merely covered with a fine layer of dust. A 1000 year old projector works instantly, but from what electricity supply? Not to mention that a group of savage tribes-people unable to understand the technology of a camera, learn to expertly fly Harrier Jump Jets in under a week. Should I go on?
No. And neither should you. Battlefield Earth is full of holes, it's overblown, too long, too camp, and Barry Pepper is an especially uncharasmatic lead actor. It's a B-movie that somehow walked off the lot with an A-movie budget, and Hollywood has been churning out much better films for a tenth of the cost. The few superficial achievements can't outweigh the mess of a script and over the top direction and editing. Between the bad guys chuckling to themselves about how evil they are, and Pepper being chased on every available set in slow motion, I very much doubt if any viewers will be satisfied.
Trivia: On 9th March 2008, battlefield Earth charted at number 77 on the IMDB's bottom 100 films list. Scoring an average of 2.3 out of 10, from a staggering 27,764 votes. Until recently it had the largest number of votes of all the bottom 100 films. There has been strong agreement about the film since soon after it's release, and thus has been a permanent fixture on the list for years.
Also, for anyone curious what number 78 on the list was. Invasion of the Neptune Men - which I have already reviewed as a double bill with the number 88 movie Prince of Space.
Advantages: None Disadvantages: Too many to list here
...21st century audience.
Alas, Battlefield Earth fails miserably on both counts. Based on a well-known novel with the same name, Battlefield Earth is 21st century film-making at its worst. A flimsy, almost non-existent plot, coupled with uninteresting characters could never be redeemed with a deluge of special effects – but then the film makers don’t seem to have tried to do even this – the effects are mediocre at best.
The film ... ...seen as a sought-after commodity. Battlefield Earth looks as though it was filmed almost entirely in an old quarry – using subtle colour filters to suggest something has happened to the air simply isn’t enough to provide a convincing back drop. In true American style, this is a film about one man’s courage inspiring a ragged group of survivors to over throw their evil captors – oh please.
It’s not so much the cliches ...
LostWitness 10.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Battlefield Earth (DVD)
Advantages: Fantastic action scenes, some great special effects and brilliant sound work Disadvantages: Pretty much everything else, including Travolta's horrific acting and the miserable plotline
...killed off in the film Battlefield Earth.
I really should've seen it coming. The creator of quite possibly the most ridiculous cult of the last couple centuries has spawned a movie that is quite possibly the most ridiculous movie of the last couple years. L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth is a movie that has some excellent action scenes, and some really RIPPING battle scenes, but some of the most godawful logic lapses I've seen to date.
It is ... ...is. Some of them are fairly minor, but many of them are totally inexcusable. For instance, these "man-animals," which are really precious little more than advanced primates, learn how to pilot Harrier planes in under seven days. While they're at it, they also learn how to operate machine guns, SAM launchers, and nuclear devices in that same week. Which would be a feat for us normal humans, but it's especially ludicrous for these dirt people, who ...
Blacknarwhal 06.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Battlefield Earth (DVD)
Advantages: Not bad special effects. Barry Pepper's acting wasn't too bad. Disadvantages: Lack of credibility.
I only watched this movie because my husband thought it would be fun to see a universally slated movie. My first impression - this is sooooo terrible. The only sci-fi movie more ridiculous than this movie is Dark Star and that was meant to be ridiculous. This looked like it was supposed to be taking itself seriously. While, the plot should have been fine, they turned the script into a masterpiece of disbelievability.
The Basic Premise
It's the ... ...are used by the cruel alien race of Psychlos who treat them as animals, believing them to be less intelligent than dogs. Terl (John Travolta) runs the planet, using the 'man-animals' as slaves.
Tyler(Barry Pepper - Enemy of the State) leaves his mountain home and is captured by the Psychlos and put to work. Terl, seeing that he displays intelligence that far exceeds their expectation, decides to teach him the Psychlos' language and knowledge using ...
Rebeccs 06.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Battlefield Earth (DVD)
Battlefield Earth.
============
Introduction
****************
Originally written by L. Ron. Hubbard.
Have read a few of his books and so I thought I'd give the film a go.
The review will be short and concise, so you can probably already guess what I thought of the film.
The Movie.
*************
For over a thousand years Earth has been conquered and ruled over by a race of humanoid beings called the Psychlos.
Free humans live in only the ... ...thousands. But the Psychlos are always in need of new slaves and hunt the remaining humans mercilessly.
They need them to mine and strip the Earth of all its mineral wealth and resources.
Enter our hero, Jonnie, who is restless and leaves the mountains to explore the nearby valley.
However, Jonnie is captured by Terl, the Psychlo security chief for Earth (Played in the movie by John Travolta)
He is taught the Pyschlo language and trained to carry ...
Maximus-Qualitus 14.12.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Battlefield Earth (DVD)
Advantages: So bad its good, some big-budget effects, Travoltas camp performance is unintentionally hilarious Disadvantages: Full of plot holes, dire dialogue, utterly unoriginal and incredibly dumb
I'm a huge fan of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and of terrible films in general, so when I heard that John Travolta's 2000 sci-fi 'epic' 'Battlefield Earth' described as a modern version of Plan 9 From Outer Space I simply had to see it for myself. The film is based on the first half of a thousand-page novel by Church of Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard, in which the Earth has been conquered by a race of 9 foot tall, dredlocked aliens by the (dire) ... ...precious resources for the past thousand years, with humans only surviving in slave camps or in primitive tribes in areas that the Psychlos are unable to reach. Travolta plays Terl, a Psycholo security chief who decides to try and make a quick buck for himself by training a group of or 'man-animals' to mine gold for him, choosing captured tribesman Johnny Goodboy Tyler (played by Saving Private Ryan's Barry Pepper), as his foreman and hooking him ...
Burning_Darkness 03.08.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Battlefield Earth (DVD)
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Advantages: Sci-Fi Disadvantages: Could have been so much better.
BattlefieldEarth.
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~
Originally written by L. Ron. Hubbard.
Have read a few of his books and so I thought I'd give the film a go.
The review will be short and concise, so you can probably already guess what I thought of the film.
The Movie.
~~~~~~~~
For over a thousand years Earth has been conquered and ruled over by a race of humanoid beings called the Psychlos.
Free humans live in only the remotest parts of the planet and number only in the thousands. But the Psychlos are always in need of new slaves and hunt the remaining humans mercilessly.
They need them to mine and strip the Earth of all its mineral wealth and resources.
Enter our hero, Jonnie, who is restless and leaves the mountains to explore the nearby valley.
However, Jonnie is captured by Terl, the Psychlo security ...
In the quest for global domination, in the year 3000, there is no match for the Psychlos led by the all-powerful Terl. The only resistance from humanity comes from a young man called Tyler who decides to take one last stand.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
06/08/2001
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
D 018566
Barcode
7321900185660
Composer
Elia Cmiral
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Audio Commentary, Behind The Scenes Documentary, Effects Featurette, Storyboard Montage
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
DVD Description
It's the year 3000, and Earth is under the dominion of the Psychos from planet Psychlo, a race of nine-foot-tall aliens intent on strip-mining the planet and using the remaining scraps of backward humanity (which they call Man-Animals) as slave labor. Jonnie "Goodboy" Tyler (Barry Pepper) is an ambitious young man who decides to explore the region beyond his home, to learn more about the monsters who have taken over his world. Terl (John Travolta), head of Psychlo Security, is ready to leave the backwater planet, but when he is denied a promotion he schemes to make himself wealthy and powerful. Terl comes across Jonnie and decides the human's above-average intelligence is just what he needs, educating him and letting him loose to mine gold in an isolated region. Jonnie must take this opportunity to try to destroy the Psychlos and free humanity from oppression, with only the help of the other disorganized tribes still existing on planet Earth, and with Terl watching his every move. BATTLEFIELD EARTH is an action-packed sci-fi movie based on the best-seller by L. Ron Hubbard, which Travolta (who both starred in the movie and produced it) had wanted to make into a movie for more than 15 years.
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