RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Battlefield Earth
Battlefield Earth

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Battlefield Earth (2000)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
2 %
Tomatometer
Template Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:121

Fresh:3

Rotten:118

Average Rating:2.3/10

Consensus: Ugly, campy, and poorly acted, Battlefield Earth is a stunningly misguided, aggressively bad sci-fi folly.

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: In the year 3000, there are no countries, no cities... Earth is a wasteland. And man is an endangered species. A millennium ago, vicious Psychlo aliens swept down from the skies and wiped out... In the year 3000, there are no countries, no cities... Earth is a wasteland. And man is an endangered species. A millennium ago, vicious Psychlo aliens swept down from the skies and wiped out Earth’s entire defense force in nine minutes. Now, the handfuls of surviving humans are either used as slaves, stripping the mineral resources from the planet for use by the Psychlo race, or hiding out in remote mountain villages, primitive and cut off from the rest of humanity.

One of the most powerful figures on this new Earth is Psychlo Chief of Security Terl (JOHN TRAVOLTA), a brilliant and monstrous alien who believes he was destined to conquer galaxies.

What he does not know is that one human, Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (BARRY PEPPER), is about to put a kink in his plan to exploit Earth’s human slaves for his own personal gain. A hunter who sets out to make life better for his people, Jonnie is captured and made to work as a slave in one of the Psychlos’ mines. It is here that his journey really begins – a grand adventure that will lead him to discover places and things he never knew existed.

Terl holds every advantage, with the massive strength of invincible Psychlo machinery and the vast Psychlo empire behind him. Jonnie is an insignificant animal to Terl, but he is about to turn the tables, and unleash his unfailing hope in a final showdown for the future of Earth. [More]

Starring: John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates

Starring: John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates, Sabine Karsenti, Richard Tyson, Kelly Preston, Michael Byrne, Jim Meskimen, Christian Tessier

Director: Roger Christian

Director: Roger Christian
Screenwriter: Corey Mandell
Producer: Jonathan D. Krane, Elie Samaha, John Travolta
Composer: Elia Cmiral

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 12

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Battlefield Earth

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Travolta, it seems, had wanted to star in a film of Battlefield Earth since first reading the novel in 1982. Only the all-seeing L Ron knows why.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It doesn't help that the film's premise, which sees stoneage cavemen turn into ace fighter pilots with only a week's training, is as naive as that of the 1939 serial Buck Rogers.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
12/02/02
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Sight and Sound

You never care about anyone as they give their lives to save humanity. Ho hum. That's the worst crime in this otherwise so-bad-it's-good mess.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

A botched adventure that looks suspiciously like any number of other sci-fi tales you will have seen, and pales instantly by the comparison.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Anwar Brett
Anwar Brett
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A disaster of epic proportions.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie is so outrageously, spectacularly, unbelievably bad that we stare at it with some sort of appalled curiosity. It fails on so many levels that it's fascinating, although not so much that I'd sit through it again.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

There's really only one way to summarize my sheer hatred for what is possibly one of the worst movies I've ever seen. And it's through a list.

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

"Battlefield Earth," based on a crappy 1982 sci-fi novel by cult religion dips#*t L. Ron Hubbard, is so inept and pathetic that it should forever end any questions about the validity of Hubbard's manufactured religion of Scientology.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment 2 Comments
04/12/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Pretty much the Showgirls of sci-fi shoot-'em-ups.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 1 Comment
03/26/09
Dennis Harvey
Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
03/10/09
Steve Ryfle
Steve Ryfle
Hollywood.com

If you are looking for something to hate and despise, get thee to this movie.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Sacramento News & Review

A folly so supreme that it occasionally inspires awe, in the sense that so many people spent so much time and money on it without ever realizing how awful it is.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

This 117-minute adaptation of an 800-page SF adventure for teenagers seems like a miscalculation on multiple levels.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/06/07
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader

Watching Battlefield Earth is to a movie-watching experience what having a yeast infection is to having sex.

Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com | comment Comment
04/06/06
Mark Bourne
Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com

Place it next to The Omega Code and The Omega Code shines.

Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS) | comment Comment
02/09/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

John Travolta will forever be haunted by this sci-fi travesty based on L. Ron Hubbard's novel.

comment Comment
10/25/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

Blame this mess on Travolta.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
06/23/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

Robin did not review "Battlefield Earth"

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
06/11/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Scientologist or not, this is as inane as summer blockbusters get.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

If this is what we have to look forward to in the year 3000, count me out.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Battlefield Earth

September 24, 2009: How Bad Can It Get? RT's Worst of the Worst List Will Tell You!
Over the last decade, we've collected reviews for thousands of movies. Most films, even profoundly mediocre ones, can expect to receive at least cursory support from the... More...

June 15, 2009: Friedman Blames Scientologists for Firing Opens in new window
Did Roger Friedman lose his Fox News gig because he angered Scientologists? That's what Friedman and his attorney are alleging. More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
95% 95% Star Trek
67% 67% Bruno
47% 47% My Sister's Keeper
66% 66% Is Anybody There?
82% 82% Thirst

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
68
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
63
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
  • Rachel McAdams Debunks Spider-Man 4 Rumor Source: Entertainment Weekly
117
  • Avatar: Gambling on Film's Future Source: Los Angeles Times
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
127
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
67
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
46
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
34
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
28
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Battlefield Earth at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Battlefield Earth at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.