Rating: Summary: Battlefield Bust...I'm being generous w/3 stars Review: Simple plot or story: Aliens invade earth stripping it of it's precious mineral resources,along with other planets, while enslaving the torn and tattered remnants of humanity belonging to a wasteland earth...Except there's one human hero willing to stand up to the invaders...Sounds familiar? I won't even start to name off the multitude of science fiction films and stories this ill fated film borrows from which is based on a novel by author and scientology guru Ron L. Hubbard.From the over indulgent(non-intentional) comedic acting by Travolta to the annoying screen wipes or fades between scenes a la George Lucas style, the only saving grace-like qualities of the film are found in the undeniably grand special f/x and fighting/battle action sequences.Those who paid good theatre ticket money to see this film I'm sure felt very cheated. However, as a nothing-better-to-do-on-a- Saturday rental it's tongue and cheek entertainment at it's mediocre best;Though some would beg to differ that there is something better to waste their time on... P.S. --One last jab at the film regarding rip-offs,after seeing the alien species,; Can you say Klingon ?
Rating: Summary: Definately a Rental Review: Having never read the book I can't attest to how closely the movie follows, but having seen a movie before I know that this one was horrible. It was a seventies screenplay dropped into 90's special effects. I find it an insult to the audiences' intelligence that Hollywood believes any script should be put on the screen as long as it has top-notch computer animation. What a flop. After watching it I was not surprised it only lasted two weeks in the theaters.
Rating: Summary: The movie by another name Review: The only thing this movie had in common with the book was the title, and the name of a few characters. That, and a planet was blown up. The whole book was rewritten for the movie. Not once did it follow the book. Utter trash, garbage not worth the film stock it was shot on. Give it another name, and remove the Psyclo reference and it is a B movie. As it is, anyone who enjoyed the book will not be disapointed, you will be enraged!
Rating: Summary: GOOD EFFECTS !!! Review: THIS MOVIE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN AT LEAST 3 1/2 STARS.THE EFFECTS ARE REALLY GOOD.IF YOU LIKE SCI-FI MOVIES THEN THIS MOVIE IS FOR YOU.FOR TRAVOLTA FANS THIS MOVIE IS FOR YOU AS WELL,JOHN TRAVOLTA LOOKS REALLY COOL.I THOUGHT HE'D NEVER BE IN A MOVIE WITH THAT KIND OF CHARACTER.THIS IS A REALLY GOOD FLICK MAYBE IT COULD OF BEEN BETTER BUT THIS MOVIE GOT 4 STARS OUT OF ME.BUY THIS MOVIE IT'S A CLASSIC SCI-FI. HOW MUCH GOLD DOES "FORT KNOX" REALLY HAVE !!!
Rating: Summary: Battlefield Earth Review: Well it gets a 1 star rating as thats the lowest I can give, but that said there is nothing "star" about this film at all. I bought it in the US last month along with X Men and the Patriot .... The reason I bought it was because the reviews were so good - so much for reviews. The basic story is of simple earthlings taking over from some aliens who had invaded the planet, and was remeniscent of "Planet of the Apes" type movies years ago. The film was boring and predictable, with a few of the special effects the only thing worth watching. If this film really brought fame back to John Travolta it shows how far he must of fallen. My advice is to save your money, and if there's a sequel - forget it.
Rating: Summary: It would be nearly impossible to make a worse movie Review: I have seen many bad movies, including all the critics standby's (like Showgirls and Ishtar). This movie is, in my opinion, the absolute poorest excuse for a movie that I have ever seen. B movies get some credit for generally being farsical, this movie tries to take itself seriously. I frankly don't care what the actors or director have to say about it (unless it's something in the way of an apology). As a Sci-Fi fan, I took it on myself to see the movie when it was in theaters. But unless torture is involved, I'm not going to see it again.
Rating: Summary: A Complete Multimedia Package Review: I liked the movie when it was in the theaters, but the DVD is even better. That's because of the commentary with Roger Christian and his set/costumes designer and the other extras you get on the DVD. Not only do you get an incredibly clear copy of the movie (much clearer than the one in the theater where I saw the original) you get very detailed commentary by the people who made the movie. For example, Christian explains why he chose the lighting and camera angles he did for each scene, how he managed to put it all together for such a modest sum of money compared with other films of this type (a shockingly modest sum, actually) and what he was trying to show -- scene by scene. Plus, you get a "director's cut" version of the movie, with some scenes taken out and others added to improve the character development. As a complete DVD package this is top notch. Ben
Rating: Summary: This DVD needs a zero star option Review: As a lifelong fan of science fiction and as one who has often enjoyed a badly made film as camp comedy, I chose to ignore the chorus of critics who bombed Battlefield Earth, and saw it on the big screen. That may have been a mistake, but maybe not. "You had to be there," I guess. Watching it, I began to think that, maybe, I was at a unique, spectacularly bad event, like being on board the Titanic's maiden voyage. Watching it grind through absurdity after absurdity, I was, finally, riveted to my seat. I stayed through the credits, awestruck at the costly and historic disaster which unfolded before me. This is the worst movie of any genre ever made, without any doubt. More than that, there will never be another film made that is this bad--not possible, can't be done. That makes this stinker really, really special. Rent it, get seriously drunk and then watch it--it'll be easier to forget that way. Just don't buy it.
Rating: Summary: BIG DISAPPOINTMENT! Review: I read the novel about 15 years ago and thought it was one of the best Sci-Fi books that I have read. The movie is a big disappointment from the book much like the movie DUNE. I guess it is just hard to convert a novel of over thousand pages into a two-hour film. For ones who have seen the movie and was disappointed, read the book, it is excellent.
Rating: Summary: Loved the movie, love the commentary Review: This movie is really very fun. It's a classic sort of story, in that the bad guys are really bad, and the good guys are really good. This handling of good versus evil reminded me of really old stories which I have read, such as The Odyssey. There is no question about who the bad guy is. He's wearing the black hat. It's unusual, I think, in modern stories, but I found it satisfying. The visuals are very comic-book like, and quite compelling. Dark and dreary, reminiscent of The Matrix, but not quite as stark. It starts of with a very dead sort of feel to it, but becomes more lively throughout the film. The odd camera angles continue throughout the entire film. During the commentary, the director explains that they had some scenes not filmed at unusual angles, but they ended up cutting them all. The effect was great. The story is about a skewed bad guy with skewed thoughts, and so the scenery, the music, everything is a bit skewed. The music was great - it supported the film but did not overwhelm it. At times the music seemed to be laughing along with the audience, a sort of "Ha Ha" when the bad guy got hurt or something went wrong for him. I thought it was great, and it really appealed to my kids. The acting was top notch. Ker was so loveable and fallable and "human" (for a Psychlo, that is). Terl was really hysterically bad. There was a subtle sort of sneering insidious element to him that was played, I thought, exceptionally well by Travolta. I can honestly say that this was a unique character... I never saw any character even remotely like Terl in any movie before. I have seen plenty of DVD's with commentary, but this one was different in that every scene was commented on, scene by scene, throughout the whole movie. It was really fun to be "watching the movie with the director" as he explained the various challenges and what went on behind the scenes. One unique positive point about this movie is that, although it is an action movie with plenty of violence, there is no gore. No one is shown dying or dead. There isn't any profanity, unless you count the word "Crap" which is only uttered by the Bad Guy. No sex, no nudity, nothing along those lines at all. As a parent, these points are a definite plus. The kids gave this one 5 stars, by the way. They've watched the DVD several times now. Highly recommended to all science fiction/ action fans.
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