Movie Reviews
Battlefield Earth
28 Sep 2000
Battlefield Earth is a labour of love for co-producer John
Travolta. While he insists that there are no religious overtones
(and that seems true enough), he was obviously keen to adapt
a science fiction novel by his guru, the late L. Ron Hubbard.
Hopefully, he enjoyed making the movie a lot more than I enjoyed
watching it.
Battlefield Earth is the story of ... oh, I don't know. The
convoluted script (by Corey Mandell and David J. Shapiro),
the disjointed editing and Roger Christian's messy direction
combine to make it difficult to work anything out. Something
about Earth being all but destroyed by a group of monstrous
aliens called the Psychlos, and the remnants of humanity left
hiding out in primitive tribes. Presumably, when Hubbard wrote
this in 1982, it wasn't such a cliche. (OK, it was, but why
quibble?)
Fortunately for Travolta, he is unrecognisable as Terl, the
Psychlo security chief, who strip-mines planets and rounds
up "man-animals" for slave labour. Yep, this guy's
evil, and uses a pseudo-English accent to prove it. Perhaps
this is nitpicking, but what message is Hollywood trying to
give us when every "superior" alien race is comprised
of vicious, power-hungry savages? Most of their great technology,
it seems, is used to either cause mass destruction or make
nifty holograms. They don't even seem so intelligent; the
Psychlos we meet behave like humans, only without the redeeming
qualities.
Terl and his assistant, Ker (Forrest Whitaker), constantly
prove themselves to be especially dopey. But that's not Terl's
main problem. Looking ridiculous in dreadlocks and leather
padding, with that ridiculous voice, he has no sense of menace.
The only time when Travolta's performance almost works is
when he plays it for laughs, reminiscent of Tim Roth's wonderfully
foppish villain in Rob Roy. But while this manner was perfect
for an upper-class rogue, it is less appropriate for a terrifying,
nine-foot-tall, alien monster.
Barry Pepper - as the usual rebellious but sharp-minded young
guy who tends to save the world - doesn't make such a goose
of himself, but struggles with his material. Still, despite
what some critics have said, it's not the worst sci-fi film
in town. At least, not with Supernova around.
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