http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-Battlefield_earth_poster.jpg
[[caption-width:200:[-[[{{Warhammer40000}} In the]] [[PowZapWhamCam off-center]] [[{{Wallbanger}} dumbness]] [[{{Warhammer40000}} of the comparatively near-future, there is only]] [[{{Narm}} narm]]!-] ]]

-->''"Some movies run off the rails. This one is like the train crash in ''TheFugitive''. I watched it in mounting gloom, realizing I was witnessing something historic, a film that for decades to come will be the punch line of jokes about bad movies."''
-->--[[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000512/REVIEWS/5120301/1023 Prescient words]] from '''RogerEbert'''

The film version of L. Ron Hubbard's ScienceFiction novel ''BattlefieldEarth'' was released in the U.S. in the year 2000, directed by Roger Christian and starring John Travolta as Psychlo leader Terl. Travolta had wanted to do the film for a long time, but had trouble securing money for it because of studios' apprehension to bankroll the film due to its connections with the Church of Scientology. He later poured most of his own money into the project and signed on as a co-producer, and the rest...well, is history.

''Battlefield Earth'''s film adaptation probably isn't ''the'' worst film ever made, or ''maybe'' not even the worst science fiction film ever made. Many (not all) would even say that it was the ''Look Who's Talking'' films, and not ''Battlefield Earth'', that were the true low point of John Travolta's career. However, if you were to come up with a graph of money spent on a film against general crappiness, ''Battlefield Earth'' would be a spike.

Seriously, don't watch it, ever, unless you're very drunk, very stoned, trying to prepare yourself to resist [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique interrogation by Jack Bauer]], have an [[MisaimedFandom intense, fanatical desire]] to prove the critics wrong, are an OT-8 Scientologist, or are using the film as a grueling endurance-based rite of passage. It's that bad... unmodified, that is. Download some AlternateDVDCommentary (hint: {{Rifftrax}}) and this turkey can [[SoBadItsGood actually be entertaining]].
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!!The ''Battlefield Earth'' film uses the following tropes:
* AboveTheRuins: One of the final shots is of the humans digging their way out of the demolished Psychlo base right after dawn.
-->'''[[{{Rifftrax}} Bill Corbett]]:''' Look at what we've won, it's ''glorious!''
* AcceptableTargets: Lambasting the film is easy, as there are few people on the planet willing to defend it.
* AdaptationDecay: The plot, heroes, and villains got ''dumber'' in the film version--at least the PlanetLooters in the book didn't somehow overlook Fort Knox. ''Fort 'Effing Knox''.
* BigNo: Most of Jonny's lines involve him [[LargeHam violently expressing his grief]] over someone/something. Most people get away with one of these per movie.
* BileFascination: The movie is regularly in the top (bottom?) 10 of most filmgoers' "worst movies of all time" lists.
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Suspiciously clean buckskins (Travolta didn't want the move to look too grimy), for the first act, anyway. The Psychlos, though irredeemably evil, are nice enough to give the man-animals jumpsuits after capture.
* CatchPhrase: "Piece of cake!", "Leverage!"
** In the director's commentary, Roger Christian explained that "piece of cake" has become a tribal saying the meaning of which has been lost to history. That's... nice.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: We're not talking about the Psychlos here. The film was developed by Franchise Entertainment, a company that helped stars finish their pet projects...and ''also'' liked to "overestimate" budgets for said films. ''Battlefield Earth'' was a 75 million dollar movie that actually cost 44 million dollars to make. Franchise went bankrupt after a fraud investigation, which came about due to the spectacular failures of films like ''Battlefield Earth''.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Brilliantly ''subverted.'' Actual quotes from the back of the DVD case:
-->"...an explosive and highly-entertaining movie that will leave you exhausted!"
-->John Travolta stars "[i]n a role as you've never seen him"
* DidNotDoTheResearch: It's actually more difficult to find some place in the movie where they ''did'' the research.
** In the words of Jake Cremins of [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Battlefield_Earth_2000.aspx?Page=7 the Agony Booth]]: "This is like those old 'What's Wrong With This Picture?' puzzles where the cowboy is riding a giant fish, except that there's not supposed to be anything wrong with it. Also, it cost $73,000,000."
* DoingItForTheArt: A big reason that trope [[TropesAreNotGood isn't automatically a good thing]].
* DomedHometown: The Psychlo outpost is one of these, because of the whole "exploding breathe-gas" thing. In a shocking subversion, its more of a pyramid...which doesn't stop the characters from referring to it as a dome.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: ...except this time [[spoiler: Psychlo is reduced to, appropriately enough, a cloud of noxious gas]].
* EvilLaugh: There's enough "normal" Evil Laughter and fake, mocking laughter to fill a half-hour sitcom, not to mention Forest Whitaker's hearty chortles and some disturbingly fey laughter by Travolta. The Psychlos are a merry bunch.
* FetishFuel: The lone Psychlo female that appears is noteworthy for her three-foot-long tongue. Though a [[FridgeLogic bit of thought]] about the obvious drawbacks makes it more of a FetishRetardant.
* FranchiseKiller: Originally intended to be the first of two films.
* HeroicSacrifice: When That Guy (not [[ThatGuy the troper]]) blows up his own ship to destroy the "dome," or when That Other Guy detonates the nuclear bomb. Their sacrifices would probably be more heroic [[RedShirt if their characters, much less their names, were in any way memorable]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sort of. Though he doesn't actually die, Terl [[spoiler: [[strike:gets his arm blown off]] ''blows off his own arm'' with the exploding collar he used on Jonny's girlfriend. And in the end he's put in a cage in Fort Knox, surrounded by gold. It's ironic, y'see, because he put Jonny in a cage and started the whole scheme to get gold...[[SoYeah well, you get it]].]]
* HoYay: One of Jonny's followers spends much of the movie looking soulfully at his leader. Jonny even cuts off a lock of his hair for him, and he wraps it around his fist as a sort of talisman. There's arguably more chemistry between the two than between Jonny and his [[TokenRomance designated love interest]].
-->'''Bill Corbett:''' "What the hell are they doing to each other out of camera range?"
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: The only marksmanship any Psychlo has ever exhibited was when Terl shot up a herd of stationary cattle.
** The fact their guns are held upside down so as to be impossible to aim probably contributes.
* IncrediblyLamePun: The movie's tagline is "''Prepare to go Psychlo''", which confirms suspicions that it hates its audience.
* IncrediblyObviousBug: So obvious even the ''cavemen'' can spot them.
* ItGotWorse: The movie itself. Every time you sit and think, [[TemptingFate "There's no way this movie could get worse,"]] it does.
* JustPlaneWrong: Oh, so many examples. Let's review:
** The Harrier jets are working 1000 years from now.
** So is the fuel.
** And the missiles.
** Clinically retarded cavemen are able to learn how to fly them in a week or two.
** Without flight suits.
** Despite pulling off stunt dogfighting ripped straight from ''StarWars''.
** Against alien aircraft that similar planes ''couldn't defeat'' 1000 years ago.
** And the cavemen forget about the cannons the planes have in addition to missiles...actually, that last one isn't that unbelievable.
* LargeHam: John Travolta. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cThdJ0mYbo In a big way. (Spoilers)]]
-->'''Terl:''' While you were still learning how to ''spell your name'', ''I''...was being trained...'''''to conquer galaxies!'''''
* MoneyDearBoy: Forest Whitaker.
* {{Motifs}}: Nauseating camera angles, lurid blue or purple coloration, people dressed like cavemen hooting like howler monkeys, and a blatant disregard for the audience.
* {{Narm}}: Oh, where to begin? That all the remnants of civilization are apparently all Scientologist? That the alien leader thinks the ideal food to humanity is raw rat meat? That gold is not only the most valuable material to this alien race militarily, but that their sweep of the planet somehow missed Fort flippin' Knox? Hell, let's just call the entire movie a {{Narm}} and be done with it.
* OffscreenTeleportation: About the only way nine-foot-tall aliens can sneak up on people.
* OnlyAFleshWound: Turns out that Psychlos can experience impromptu amputations without any bleeding, pain, or acting skill beyond a [[DullSurprise "duh..." expression]].
* PowZapWhamCam: Notoriously used to the point of excess. In the words of RogerEbert: "The director, Roger Christian, has learned from better films that directors sometimes tilt their cameras, but he has not learned why."
* RagnarokProofing: To an ''even dumber'' extent than the book. The ruins of Denver look like they've only been abandoned for a year or so, with readable books instead of piles of dust. Then there's Fort Hood, which has ''working flight simulators'' that are actually bucking about and making noise when the cavemen come in. Then there are the [[JustPlaneWrong working Harrier jets...]]the working [[strike:nuke]] [[NuclearWeaponsTaboo BIG FIRE]]...the working Stinger missiles...and then your brain shuts down.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: In one of the film's "highlights," a caveman-pilot who runs out of missiles ejects just before ramming a Psychlo fighter, completely overlooking the aircraft's 25mm cannon.
* RefugeInCool: The only possible justification for the many flaws in the story.
* RubberForeheadAliens: Imagine The [=Coneheads=] with dreadlocks, furry hands, codpieces, and limb extensions.
* SequelHook: Terl is alive, and the human victors face an unknown future after winning a [[CrapsackWorld ruined planet]]. Fortunately, the movie's anti-performance means that there's [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough no way there will be a sequel...]][[YouJustHadToSayIt right?]]
* SlowMotion: Roughly a fourth of the film consists of slow-mo shots of Psychlos lumbering around shooting at people, Jonny running away from Psychlos shooting at him (complete with [[BulletTime Matrix-esque]] clouds of debris and shrapnel), or Jonny shouting...[[BigNo well, guess]]...after someone dies.
* SoBadItsHorrible: RogerEbert describes the film "...like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time... something historic, a film that for decades to come will be the punch line of jokes about bad movies."
* SpaceOpera: ...with terrible actors, cheap sets, and lousy music. Call it a "Space Flop-era".
* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: In record time too, and from scratch. Luckily, they ''did'' have an UpgradeArtifact to instantly train everyone, and...[[WallBanger oh yeah, they forgot they had it]].
* UnfortunateImplications: Forest Whitaker's [[EthnicScrappy buffoonish, boot-licking]] interpretation of Ker. Hard to believe this is the same guy who did ''TheLastKingOfScotland''.
* UpgradeArtifact: Used so our hero can become an InstantExpert without going through a TrainingMontage. Famously ''[[WallBanger not used]]'' to help the rest of humanity prepare for the revolution, despite the fact that having them do just that was a key plot point in the book.
* VillainBall: Held by the Psychlos' leader, Terl. Teaching your slaves [[InstantExpert everything to know about your civilization in an instant]] can only end badly, ''especially'' if you're supposedly doing it to help [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer their planet]]. Introducing your pet human to inspiring documents from the American Revolution will only make things worse. Holding your pet human's girlfriend hostage just [[ItsPersonal makes things personal]]. Abusing your henchman only serves to set up the HelpFaceTurn in the final act. And not launching an all-out crackdown when the man-animals rebel and attack with air support? You [[TooDumbToLive deserve to die]]. Terl's so stupid he doesn't even notice [[spoiler: an exploding collar Jonny straps to his arm in a melee, and proceeds to amputate his own limb when he triumphantly hits the detonator.]] His ([[DullSurprise non]])reaction shot is priceless. He appears to read the BizarroUniverse inversion of the EvilOverlordList, telling him exactly what to do ''wrong''.
* WallBanger: So, so many, from the villains to the heroes to the premise to the fact that the film even got greenlit.
* WhatAnIdiot: Can be easily applied to Terl. And probably the rest of the characters. Then if one is feeling nasty, it may further be applied to the film's actors, crew, the ''book's'' author, and ''especially'' the religion the book's author founded.
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!!The {{Rifftrax}} has examples of:
* CrowningMomentOfFunny
* LaughTrack
* RunningGag: Many jokes about Scientology.
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