Today’s quick review: Battlefield Earth. In the year 3000, sadistic aliens known as Psychlos have taken over Earth, driving humanity to the brink of extinction and rendering them nothing more than primitive hunter-gatherers. When Jonnie (Barry Pepper) ventures from his home and is captured by the Psychlos, he uses his unusual intelligence to lead a revolt of human slaves against Terl (John Travolta), the treacherous Psychlo in charge of the planet.
Battlefield Earth is a sci-fi action movie based on the novel by L. Ron Hubbard. Battlefield Earth extrapolates a distant future where aliens rule what’s left of the Earth and the surviving humans live as savages or as slaves. Decent production values and a viable sci-fi premise give the movie some potential, but they are let down by over-the-top acting, spurious plot logic, and tonal issues, resulting in a movie that mostly misses the mark.
Battlefield Earth is a hard movie to take seriously. The setup belongs to a science fiction epic, dealing with humanity’s attempts to pick itself up by its bootstraps in a fight against a much more technologically advanced foe. But the execution is oddly comical, with generically primitive humans, cartoonishly selfish aliens, and gags about human culture and modernity that come at the expense of the setting’s credibility.
The sort of irreverent take on alien occupation that Battlefield Earth flirts with could be the basis for an entertaining comedy, but it’s not clear that this is what the movie has in mind. The gags that are meant to be funny fall flat, while the exaggerated acting and extreme leaps of plot logic turn otherwise serious moments into parodies of themselves. The movie has elements of epic, parody, and popcorn action, but not in any discernible pattern.
Watch Battlefield Earth only if you’re a fan of the sillier side of the science fiction genre. Flaky acting and direction sharply limit its effectiveness as a drama, an epic, or even an action romp. What it does manage to achieve in these areas is not novel or interesting enough to set it apart from other films. Battlefield Earth has more luck as a comedy, but even then the unintentional nature of much of the humor makes it a surreal watch.
For a more iconic reversal of human civilization, try Planet of the Apes. For a more inventive tale of post-apocalyptic survival, try Reign of Fire. For more thoughtful science fiction set in a decimated Earth, try Logan’s Run. For a similar caliber of acting, writing, and direction, try In the Name of the King. For a better use of John Travolta’s talents, try Face/Off.
2.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 4.5 for a decent premise hurt badly by the way it is realized.