Quartile rating: 3.5/10 · 1 rating
In the year 3000, man is no match for the Psychlos, a greedy, manipulative race of aliens on a quest for ultimate profit. Led by the powerful Terl, the Psychlos are stripping Earth clean of its natural resources, using the broken remnants of humanity as slaves. What is left of the human race has descended into a near primitive state. After being captured, it is up to Tyler to save mankind.
Battlefield Earth is widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made. The plot is incoherent and riddled with logic failures, the acting is broadly cartoonish with John Travolta delivering an infamously over-the-top performance, and the ending is abrupt and unsatisfying. Cinematography gets a marginal bump for its distinctive (if misguided) use of extreme Dutch angles throughout, which at least creates a visually memorable — if nauseating — aesthetic. Novelty scores average as the alien-invasion premise is derivative pulp sci-fi, though the Scientology-adjacent source material gives it a singular cultural infamy. Overall a landmark of cinematic failure.