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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 7489
Released: January 16, 2001 |
| Our Price: $4.23 |
| Used Price: $1.95 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The security chief for the alien Psychlos, who have conquered the Earth, decides to use human slaves to mine for gold, but a young man decides to challenge Psychlos domination.
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 16-JUL-2002
Media Type: DVD
Description of Battlefield Earth:
When Battlefield Earth was released in May 2000, this inept sci-fi epic qualified as an instant camp classic, prompting Daily Variety to call it "the Showgirls of sci-fi shoot-'em-ups." Other reviews were united in their derision, and toy stores were left with truckloads of Battlefield Earth action figures that nobody wanted. As the film's star and coproducer, John Travolta must have felt an urge to enlist in the witness protection program.
Recklessly adapted from the novel by sci-fi author and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and set in the year 3000, the film is no worse than many cheesy sci-fi flicks, but the sight of Travolta as a burly, dreadlocked alien from the planet Psychlo provokes unintentional laughter from first frame to final credits. As Terl, the Psychlo security chief who conquers Earth and hatches a secret scheme to steal all the gold from Fort Knox (which sits conveniently in wide-open vaults), Travolta hams it up as if he knows he's in a camp-fest. (In a cameo as a long-tongued Psychlo seductress, Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, only adds to the absurdity.) Barry Pepper (the praying sharpshooter from Saving Private Ryan) tries his best to convey charisma as Jonnie, the human slave who leads an uprising against Terl's tyranny, but he's adrift in a foolish plot that makes even smart humans look stupid.
The decrepit look of a dreary future is convincingly established (the ruins of Washington D.C. recall Logan's Run on a grander scale), but in the wake of its ludicrous climax, the best that Battlefield Earth can hope for is a Dune-like fate: it might improve in a longer director's cut--but that's wishful thinking. --Jeff Shannon
Battlefield Earth Reviews:
SO DAMN BAD, YET SO DAMN FUNNY 6.25 OUT OF 10 
2009-12-26 - Battlefield Earth has the reputation of being one of the worst films ever made (9 out of 100 on Metacritic and a 2% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), and it rightfully earns that distinction when you look at from a serious sci-fi film point of view. However, if you look at it from a B-movie standpoint and you can stomach some really stupid films, then it's actually quite fun to watch just to make fun of this monumentally stupid film that promotes Scientology. I guess now I'm among the cult following of people who like this film because it's just so bad it's funny.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: It's the year 3000. 1,000 years previously, Earth was taken over by a race of aliens known as the Psychlos who defeated every military force on the planet in a matter of nine minutes. Our main character is named Jonnie who gets captured by Psychlos and is forced to mine for them under a Psychlo named Terl. Now Jonnie and the rest of the fellow humans around him must survive and find a way to overthrow this alien race to save Earth. The story might not sound bad from my explanation, but wait till you actually see this film (Even though I enjoyed in a stupid fun way, I don't recommend it), because it's loaded with gaping plot holes and plenty of terrible dialogue.
MUSIC: This musical score isn't bad, and for the most part it fits the bill for what a sci-fi flick should have in terms of music. It won't blow you away, but it works.
ACTING: Oh, it's bad. REALLY BAD TO BE EXACT. Barry Pepper tries to salvage his role, but it only takes five minutes of watching this film to realize that no matter how good of an actor you are, you can't save it. John Travolta puts on a stunningly bad performance that's pure comedy gold. He looks like the alien from the Predator films, and he seems to have a bad accent that sounds both American and British simultaneously (It's hard to describe, but you gotta hear it). Oh Forest Whitaker, what are you doing here? You also put on a bad performance, but sadly it's not comical like John Travolta's. For the most part, Barry Pepper is the only passable actor, everyone else just plain sucks, but thankfully in a hilarious manner.
ACTION: This area is mixed. Some action scenes are cool to watch, while others are just plain stupid. By the way, what the hell is up with the weird camera angles, slow motion scenes, and screen wipe scene transition? When stuff is getting blown up, it's fun to watch, until you encounter odd and rather ugly special effects. Sadly, there's not enough action scenes, and this film tries to be story-focused but it ends in a comical disaster.
OVERALL: Unless you can get B-movie joy out of the stupidest films imaginable, do not touch this film. But if you can love B-movies, then give it a rental. Don't even try to take it seriously, because it just won't work. John Travolta was right in some ways by saying this film will gain a cult following. Indeed it has earned a small cult following, but it mostly consists of B-movie fanatics and misguided followers of Scientology.
THE GOOD: Decent music, okay action scenes, Barry Pepper is passable as an actor, and it's pure B-movie fun.
THE BAD: Terrible acting, terrible dialogue, terrible plot, and some parts are just too stupid to like.
Theres always an oddball out there
2009-12-20 - Yes all the other reviews were true, but i like the movie. To be honest i find that John Travolta to be a bit arrogant in real life and i found his character was just a reflection of him. That being said, it was still a good movie. Sometimes you have to watch with your imagination and not you mind.
worth watching 
2009-12-01 - I must admit because of the reviews, which were universally negative, I avoided Battlefield Earth for years. It looked too cheesy even for me. Then one night I gave it a shot. What I saw was a post apocalyptic society being dominated by aliens (Psychlos) that were one wink and a nod from doing away with all of humanity. I am attracted to post apocalyptic story's and end of the world tales. This movie was both rolled into one. I thought John Travolta and Forrest Whitaker performances playing selfish sadistic overlords were excellent. I enjoyed the way the movie portrayed their greed and glee in humiliating underlings which was evidently a character trait in their species.
Yes evil is a bad thing, but it's fun to watch. I enjoyed the evil Psychlos because of their uninhibited greed, their Leering, their non stop gloating, their tendency to betray, their infinity to dominate, their complete lack of compassion and empathy along with their amoral cruelty. There were all kinds of problems with the movie such as the over acting. I am also not fan of the story's author, Ron Hubbard. I did however enjoy the dark humor and greed portrayed portrayed but the Psychlos. A lot of what occurs within the film is ridiculous. But I recommend watching it.
Not quite as bad as it looks 
2009-10-18 - I know, I know...
Gaping plot holes, cheesy lines, ridiculous coincidences, hammy acting, lack of faithfulness to the novel (which, although no classic, was apparently much more sensible than this)....'Battlefield Earth' is certainly not a good movie. However, the reviewers slamming it as the worst movie ever made are wrong. It is certainly deeply flawed, but it does have a certain cheesy attraction.
The biggest problem lies not so much with the film itself, but the fact that it takes itself so seriously. If 'Battlefield Earth' were simply another pulp blockbuster like 'Independence Day', you could probably forgive alot of the stupidity on display here. But this movie so obviously sets out to be something "Big" and important. Check out the "making of" section of the DVD; the cast and crew really do seem to think they're making the next '2001' here. So instead of being able to laugh off the implausibilities in the story, the movie's self-important seriousness forces us to notice them, emphasising over and over again the leaps in logic and cavernous holes in the plot. The gap between the creators' ambitions and the eventual outcome is hilariously wide, and you can only wonder why nobody thought to ask how cavemen can fly a plane in a week, or books and fuel kept for 1000 years are in perfect working order.
Many people bag John Travolta's role, but I actually think his slightly self-conscious hamminess comes closest to what the film should have been. It's Barry Pepper's leaden performance that really drags this film into the depths, making ridiculous scenes even more cringeworthy with his po-faced earnestness. You just have to laugh at his deadly serious attempts to teach cavemen trigonometry, for example. Even worse, the director seems desperate to make a major artistic statement (because this film is going to be the new '2001', remember?), so he employs a variety of tilted angles, extreme close-ups, partial-scene, and other distorted camera effects which are just annoying.
So if you are after a genuine, thought-provoking sci-fi film, then look elsewhere.
However....'Battlefield Earth' is entertaining to an extent, provided you just take it as a cheesy B-grade sci-fi flick and not the big budget flop it was. The movie works alot better if you just surrender to its stupidity instead of fighting it.
This is a great movie! Think about what is happening now! 
2009-08-07 - It doesn't have to be aliens or ETs that shut you out of your world and take over.
It just could be the international bankers, the private FED, and the corrupt US Federal Gov.
Why do you think that they spend so much money to get elected?
How are they going to pay back their "friends" that donated those funds?
Where do you think that money comes from?
That's right! - From you!
Watch this movie again with this perspective in mind, and you will see a whole new world! Yours!
Then go see this 5 minute wonderful clip created on[...] from the movie "V For Vendetta"...
"V's Message for the U.S.A"
[...]
