Directed by Roger Christian. Battlefield Earth; Battlefield Earth Review. As for other complaints, some of the action scenes got a bit tedious. His character is a little dim witted, gruff, opportunistic, and a bit of a yes-man. One human named Johnny (Barry Pepper) decides to fight and take his planet back. Some movies run off the rails. Scientology guru L. Ron … For stunning displays of stupidity, Terl takes the cake; as chief of security for the conquering aliens, he doesn't even know what humans eat, and devises an experiment: "Let it think it has escaped! "Battlefield Earth" is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time. Jun 1, 2013. After discovering ancient ruined cities, he is soon captured by a Psychlo slavemaster and taken to their domed mining base. In the year 3000, Earth has been ruled by an alien race, the Psychlos, for a millennium. That's generally because a book is not constrained by time or budget. Hiring Travolta and Whitaker was a waste of money, since we can't recognize them behind pounds of matted hair and gnarly makeup. CAVEMEN. Its eventual destruction was impressive as well. 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. It was a nice touch. As Terl toys with his new personal slave, Tyler plots to destroy the aliens and restore the human race to it's former glory. Breathing tubes hang from their noses like ropes of snot. 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. The Psychlo ships were well done and properly loud and menacing. Battlefield Earth is often considered to be one of the worst films ever made. Battlefield Earth - It is the year 3000. 2020 has thrown a lot our way: a pandemic, economic shutdowns, a draining presidential election and now a retrospective edition of John Travolta's signature stink bomb. The book also gave me much more insight into the background behind the characters, the situations, and the story as a whole. They come up with a plan to use the "man animals" to mine the gold for them. After discovering ancient ruined cities, he is soon captured by a Psychlo slavemaster and taken to their domed mining base. Anyway, the scene was done in slow motion with things exploding all around Tyler. Terl and Ker have discovered a recently uncovered vein of gold, but they are unable to recover it. It's the Holy Grail of Hollywood crap from the decade if not beyond and is quite possibly "that which we do not speak of" among scientologists. The gold is near uranium and the radiation from it causes their "breath gas" to explode. Overall, I liked the movie. It's funny misconceptions like these throughout the film that add a much needed spark of humor to the story. In the year 3000, man is no match for the Psychlos, a greedy, manipulative race of aliens on a quest for ultimate profit. But I think the good outweighed the bad, so I'll throw Travolta into the "Good" category here. He can't be reported to his superiors because (I am not making this up) he can blackmail his enemies with secret recordings that, in the event of his death, "would go straight to the home office!" Image . (Come to think of it, that was a third of the film.) I always thought they were much more alien in appearance based on the novel. I thought it was a good, mindless sci-fi flick with a lot of effects and action. Synopsis. A third-string Planet of the Apes meets Star Trek, Battlefield Earth is a largely uninspiring sci-fi adventure with a Swiss-cheese plot. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (called “Greener” by his friends) is essentially a Y3K caveman. There wasn't a lot of choreography among it all. There are some funny parts where the Psychlos (and the humans) have a total misinterpretation of mankind and its past. Latest Videos Articles Reviews Images. Based on L. Ron … Updated: 7 Oct 2020 9:02 pm. When his character went from being a caveman to being educated, you saw Pepper's mannerisms and speech change while at the same time his overall personality didn't change. I know slow motion is supposed to trigger an "oooh" or an "ahhh" reaction in the audience, but it became tedious. Start your review of Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000. They looked a little TOO human. Apr 1, 2018. As Terl toys with his new personal slave, Tyler plots to destroy the aliens and restore the human race to it's former glory. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Dec 21, 2013. Some of the shots of the ruined cities were really effective. After all, the dog had the man driving him around, therefore he must be in charge. This is a film I was looking forward to. Is After Earth Scientology Propaganda? It's not merely bad; it's unpleasant in a hostile way. With all of that said, on the 20th anniversary of the film’s release, we look back and provide some insight into how Battlefield Earth came to be, and why it’s almost charming in its scrappiness. Within the first 5 minutes of the film, we're thrust into the story without time to get our bearings. The plot. Battlefield Earth (2000) Directed by Roger Christian Cast: John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates, Sabine Karsenti, Kelly Preston. Jonnie eventually gains the attention of the evil Psychlo security officer Terl, played by John Travolta, and his assistant Ker, played by Forrest Whitaker. I think the movie also suffered where it departed from the novel. This movie is awful in so many different ways. That's a bit tougher to swallow, and the audience that I was with did not seem to buy it. He also composed a soundtrack to the book called Space Jazz. 1 / Audio . Battlefield Earth Kampf um die Erde (Originaltitel: Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000) ist ein US-amerikanischer Film aus dem Jahr 2000 nach der Romanvorlage Kampf um die Erde des Scientology-Gründers L. Ron Hubbard. Regie führte Roger Christian, produziert wurde der Film u. a. von John Travolta, der auch eine der Hauptrollen spielte. . The characters are unkempt and have rotten teeth. It would have been able to be closer to the book. We're updating our reviews to better highlight authentic stories and accurate, diverse representations. . As for makeup effects, the Psychlos looked decent, but I think they could have been better. However, I think the film could have been better with a little different take on a few key points. The people around me were going, "Huh?" Jonnie eventually gains the attention of the evil Psychlo security officer Terl, played by John Travolta, and his assistant Ker, played by Forrest Whitaker. Humans are used as animal labor, hence they are called "man-animals" by the Psychlos. Terl and Ker have discovered a recently uncovered vein of gold, but they are unable to recover it. Reviewed by Dustin Putman, May 13, 2000. A lot of screaming, running, things blowing up, and shooting. I thought Forest Whitaker as Ker did an excellent job. Under that scenario, you believe they have a chance. The novel has never been considered hardcore, top notch science fiction (at least in my book). Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 is a 1982 science fiction novel written by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. Where did they find fuel? Fight scenes should have some sense on continuity rather than stringing chaotic scenes together. How did they repair worn-out parts? The visuals are grubby and drab. An alien race, the Psychlos, have controlled Earth for a millennium and have all but wiped out the human race. When Terl was seething with anger or kicking someone's butt, it was what I envisioned Terl as being. The Psychlos can fly between galaxies, but look at their nails: Their civilization has mastered the hyperdrive but not the manicure. He can only do this, though, by playing Terl's game and rallying the other humans to unite. FIGHTER JETS. It is pretty much glossed over. As of December 2020, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film had a score of 3% based on 152 reviews, with an average rating of 2.77/10. In the book, it has more impact because you're given more backstory. Previous Next Show Grid. The soundtrack sounds like the boom mike is being slammed against the inside of a 55-gallon drum. By Total Film 02 June 2000. As for John Travolta as Terl, I wavered between liking his performance and cringing from it. Let me start out by saying that I read the book long before the movie came out and I enjoyed it. Battlefield Earth Review . 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. Very obvious bluescreen work. In the book, if I remember correctly, other humans besides Jonnie were trained in the learning machine. Ugly, campy, and poorly acted, Battlefield Earth is a stunningly misguided, aggressively bad sci-fi folly. The director, Roger Christian, has learned from better films that directors sometimes tilt their cameras, but he has not learned why. And, as we all know, the book is always better than the film. This one almost killed us. I'll get more into this later. 2000 – 117 minutes Rated: (for violence). Soon they leave the wilderness and prowl through the ruins of theme parks and the city of Denver. And the Psychlo domed city looked great. Letterman fans laugh at that line; did the filmmakers know it was funny? Toward the end, one of the humans gets on the radio and warns Jonnie that the Psychlos are "on the way fast!" Movie Review. . I am not against unclean characters on principle--at least now that the threat of Smell-O-Vision no longer hangs over our heads. Previous Next Hide Grid. Winner of three Worst Picture Razzies somehow, Battlefield Earth is easily the ugliest and sloppiest film ever released on over 3,300 screens. "Battlefield Earth" is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time. The ruins have held up well after 1,000 years. They come up with a plan to use the "man animals" to mine the gold for them. Their costumes look like they were purchased from the Goodwill store on the planet Tatooine. 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