|
Actors: Kim Coates, Sabine Karsenti, Barry Pepper, John Travolta, Richard Tyson, Forest Whitaker
|
|
| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Battlefield Earth |
|---|
Giant Rastafarrian corporate drone aliens are stuck on a hick backwater planet called Earth. Chief bad guy alien John Travolta tries to make a bit of extra money by exploiting the local slave labor force (humans) to mine gold for him. He underestimates the hero who goes from being an illiterate yahoo to leader of a resistance that destroys the alien homeworld.
This is one the of worst movies ever made. It is a train wreck of a film. It fails spectacularly on every level. The premise is weak. The dialogue is laughable. The acting is atrocious. The cinematography is clumsy. The special effects are sophomoric.
Pulp Fiction ressurected John Travolta's career. I am surprised that this miscarriage of a film didn't kill it again.
--Greg Careaga, Resident Scholar
|
The story is about aliens who killed off most of the humans and took over the planet for its resources. It is how one man takes on the aliens and figures out how to destroy them and take back earth for humans. Does not follow the book at all.
--Ed Phillips, Resident Scholar
|
This is a cheap [:-(] movie based on a GREAT book. It tells us the story of the year 3000, in which a giant humanoid aliens have conqured the earth. A small group of humans survived, and now, a thousand years after their defeat, the humans strike back, and defeat their alien conquerors.
The film by itself is not THAT bad, but the special effects are pathetic... they were probably low on budget.
--Dimitri Melamoud, Resident Scholar
|
Not as bad as its reputation has it, but still pretty bad at that. John Travolta is physically striking but also laughable as the head of the villainous Psychlo race (mmm…could that be Psychos with an L? Naw!) who have taken over a futuristic Earth and made slaves of humans. Barry Pepper is the leader of the good ole boys who help restore order. Every science-fiction film imaginable, from Planet of the Apes to Goldfinger is ripped off shamelessly, plus the film contradicts itself on many occasions: the characters have maintained phrases like “piece of cake” to show how even a thousand years later remnants of the language of twentieth-century humans remain, but on the other hand they refer to the parliament buildings as places where our “great tribes” used to meet. Which is it gonna be folks, a last dying gasp of our race or a new beginning? I somehow managed to enjoy it, perhaps because it was honestly bad fun, or because it had great art direction, but it's still a boring mess that can only be a appreciated at a camp-movie night party. Barry Pepper tries to be a star but only emerges as a poor man's Matthew McConaughey (and boy do I mean, poor), and Forest Whitaker looks like the love child of Tina Turner and the Cowardly Lion.
--Bil Antoniou, Resident Scholar
|
| Analysis of Battlefield Earth |
|---|
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzle - 60%
**Fantasy or Science Fiction?**
- science fiction story
Repressive Society
Yes
Repression:
- locks you away
- escape from prison
Invasion from human defender POV?
- overt invasion (very visible of monsters/aliens)
War and Invasion
Yes
Who's being repressed/enslaved?
- humans are slaves
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- slave
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
Body type
- average (man)
Events of movie makes character more...
- tougher
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male Alien
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Intelligence
- Average Intelligence
Physical condition
- bulging muscles
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Setting
Earth setting:
- distant future
- Over controlled society
- Post-disaster
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Tone of movie
- boring
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
Kinds of F/X
- exotic spaceships
- exotic aliens
- exotic big cities
Is this movie based on a
- book
|
|
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
|
