Of course 'Battlefield Earth' is celebrating its 20th anniversary in this craptastic year. It was little things like this that came up over and over. One scene really made me laugh, though. Some of the performances were good. As Terl toys with his new personal slave, Tyler plots to destroy the aliens and restore the human race to it's former glory. As a Mormon I feel a sense of gratitude to L. Ron Hubbard for coming up with a religion with followers that most people perceive as being bigger weirdos than Mormons. The Psychlo homeworld also was a cool, purple-tinted cross between Blade Runner's L.A. and a twisted version of Coruscant from Star Wars. I think they must have been using a one legged cameraman to film Battlefield Earth because pretty much every single shot in the film leaned to the left or to the right. I won't say too much here, but I guess the buildup in the book made it seem more reasonable and logical. The villains are two Psychlos named Terl (John Travolta) and Ker (Forest Whitaker). I think the movie also suffered where it departed from the novel. Again, I was ripped out of the moment because I was cracking up. Winner of three Worst Picture Razzies somehow, Battlefield Earth is easily the ugliest and sloppiest film ever released on over 3,300 screens. I mentioned earlier that having read the book gave greater insight into what was happening on the screen. Ugly, campy, and poorly acted, Battlefield Earth is a stunningly misguided, aggressively bad sci-fi folly. After being captured, it is up to Tyler to save mankind. Battlefield Earth; Battlefield Earth Review. For such a key part of the film, it should have been handled in a more believable way. Based on L. Ron … One of them is Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (played by Barry Pepper). Terl downloads knowledge of science, mathematics, and the Psychlo languange into Tyler's mind to make him useful. The few humans that are left are either hiding out or kept in cages like animals by the Psychlos. The people around me were going, "Huh?" Synopsis. Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 is a 1982 science fiction novel written by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. The novel has never been considered hardcore, top notch science fiction (at least in my book). Our hero is thrown in with another group of humans who are used in the mines. Tyler decides to ride out of hiding and explore the world in hopes of finding a better place to live. Battlefield Earth review. It is the year 3000. The film contains no evidence of Scientology or any other system of thought; it is shapeless and senseless, without a compelling plot or characters we care for in the slightest. An experiment like that, you pray for a chicken. Their costumes look like they were purchased from the Goodwill store on the planet Tatooine. It's funny misconceptions like these throughout the film that add a much needed spark of humor to the story. In the book, if I remember correctly, other humans besides Jonnie were trained in the learning machine. Battlefield Earth We're committed to diversity in media. (Library books are dusty but readable, and a flight simulator still works, although where it gets the electricity is a mystery.) Fight scenes should have some sense on continuity rather than stringing chaotic scenes together. The visuals are grubby and drab. Sometimes I find it more impressive to see the action happen in real time rather than dragged out. . That was not explained, either. An alien race, the Psychlos, have controlled Earth for a millennium and have all but wiped out the human race. Write a review. Entdecke die Filmstarts Kritik zu "Battlefield Earth - Kampf um die Erde" von Roger Christian: Es gibt Filme, von denen es heißt, man müsse sie selber gesehen haben, um glauben zu … The characters are unkempt and have rotten teeth. The Psychlo ships were well done and properly loud and menacing. Lesen Sie ehrliche und unvoreingenommene Rezensionen von unseren Nutzern. WHAT'S IT ABOUT? It is pretty much glossed over. Humans survive in scattered bands, living like actors auditioning for the sequel to "Quest for Fire." It seemed like a big time rip-off of the final scenes of The Matrix. The visuals are grubby and drab. I thought Forest Whitaker as Ker did an excellent job. Humans are used as animal labor, hence they are called "man-animals" by the Psychlos. When Terl was seething with anger or kicking someone's butt, it was what I envisioned Terl as being. My first gripe is the directing. Within the first 5 minutes of the film, we're thrust into the story without time to get our bearings. As you would expect, there were some impressive visuals in this film. But I think the good outweighed the bad, so I'll throw Travolta into the "Good" category here. In the film, the cavemen have 7 days to find weapons, get harrier jets into working order (after how many decades? We encourage you to read our updated PRIVACY POLICY and COOKIE POLICY. As Terl toys with his new personal slave, Tyler plots to destroy the aliens and restore the human race to it's former glory. The good people of Nag End-On-Sea can rest easy: we've found someone to play King Rat in this year's Christmas panto. Whitaker pulled it off well. Reviewed by Dustin Putman, May 13, 2000. This one almost killed us. He learns Euclidean geometry and how to fly a jet, and proves to be a quick learner for a caveman. With John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Barry Pepper, Kim Coates. That's a bit tougher to swallow, and the audience that I was with did not seem to buy it. It's the year 3000 A.D., and the Earth is lost to the alien race of Psychlos. Plus, much more makeup may have made it more expensive. A third-string Planet of the Apes meets Star Trek, Battlefield Earth is a largely uninspiring sci-fi adventure with a Swiss-cheese plot. They were equally knowledgeable in science, mechanics, and the Psychlo language. 2000 – 117 minutes Rated: (for violence). Did it bias my opinion of the film? Earth has been destroyed and taken over by aliens called Psychlos. Is After Earth Scientology Propaganda? The soundtrack sounds like the boom mike is being slammed against the inside of a 55-gallon drum. The audiobook starts with … In the film, the cavemen grunt, then jump into a harrier and fly into battle. "Battlefield Earth" is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time. That would have been easier to believe than pulling ancient harrier jets out of a military base. The characters are unkempt and have rotten teeth. But in the film, it just seemed like a good way to end the film on a good effect and within two hours. On top of that, there seemed to be endless slow motion scenes of things either blowing up or someone flying through glass. Posted: 10 Feb 2000 8:00 am. But when the characters seem noxious on principle, we wonder if the art and costume departments were allowed to run wild. The story had a few good elements in it. Breathing tubes hang from their noses like ropes of snot. . By Total Film 02 June 2000. Most of the effects were good in the film, but a few were really bad. This movie is awful in so many different ways. How did they repair worn-out parts? (Come to think of it, that was a third of the film.) However, when Travolta did Terl's laugh or some of the other corny stuff, I felt he was hamming things up. A lot of screaming, running, things blowing up, and shooting. No - Battlefield Earth isn't the greatest science fiction cinematic venture ever attempted. And the Psychlo domed city looked great. Movies: Battlefield Earth; In the year 3000, a human slave rises up against the alien oppressors who have colonised a post-apocalyptic earth. Two decades later, the legacy of Battlefield Earth is defined by cast and crew apologies, critical reviews that feature olympic-level insults, and a 3% Tomatometer score. This is a film I was looking forward to. Some of the shots of the ruined cities were really effective. This movie will never be considered a top sci-fi film, but hopefully you'll get some entertainment out of it.