History Film / BattlefieldEarth

* RubberForeheadAliens: Imagine The Coneheads with dreadlocks, furry hands, codpieces, limb extensions, and breathing tubes that look like rivets of snot dangling from their nostrils. TheNostalgiaCritic described them as "Jamaican Klingon clowns."

* RubberForeheadAliens: Imagine The Coneheads with dreadlocks, furry hands, codpieces, limb extensions, and breathing tubes that look like rivets of snot dangling from their nostrils.

Because of the film's badness, it makes for excellent SnarkBait. Aside from the expected {{Rifftrax}} treatment, the AgonyBooth has since compiled [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Battlefield_Earth_2000.aspx an extensive multi-reviewer recap of the film]], and TheNostalgiaCritic [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/16754-battlefield-earth used it]] as the subject of his [[MilestoneCelebration 100th video review]].

!!TheNostalgiaCritic review contains examples of:
* MilestoneCelebration: DoubleSubversion. It starts off as a clip show recapping his recap of ''CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'', but then Ma-Ti and past!Critic goad him into doing the actual review.
* SanitySlippage:
-->'''NC:''' "I'm this close to cracking!"
* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: When the Critic expresses his anger at the film to Terl (played by Spoony), Terl tells him not just to say he's displeased with the film, but also show it, using high-pitched screaming ("I'm ''REEEEEALLY'' angry!") and [[MilkingTheGiantCow exaggerated hand gestures]].
* WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties: After his fast-forward FreakOut, the Critic throws up one of these cards as he bludgeons himself with a hammer in order to "be in the right mindset" for watching the rest of the film.

After MGM and Fox Studios turned down offers to distribute the film, it was eventually picked up by Franchise Pictures, a company known for helping stars rescue their troubled pet projects. However, the company was also notorious for [[HollywoodAccounting overstating those films' budgets]]. ''Battlefield Earth'' was reported to have cost $75 million to make, but the actual costs were closer to $44 million. It would only gross $21 million over its lifetime in the United States (and only an extra $8 million overseas), making it one of the most expensive flops in movie history.

* AdaptationDecay: The plot, heroes, and villains got ''dumber'' in the film version--at least the gold-hungry PlanetLooters in the book didn't somehow overlook Fort Knox. ''Fort 'Effing Knox''.

* BileFascination: The movie is regularly in the top (bottom?) 10 of most filmgoers' "worst movies of all time" lists.

* FridgeHorror: Think about it: You're sitting around, minding your own business and all of a sudden unidentified alien spacecraft come shrieking down from the sky and in less time than it takes you to make a sandwich all resistance is utterly crushed and you're either dead or enslaved, never to see your friends or family ever again. In a competent film this would be among the scariest of nightmare scenarios!
* HeroicSacrifice: When That Guy (not [[Tropers/ThatGuy the troper]], or [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses the one with the glasses]]) 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]].

* HumansAreMorons: The belief of Terl and the Psychlos is that the so-called "man-animals" are too stupid to tie their own bootlaces. Considering the fact that all of the Psychlos, Terl included, appear to have been issued an individual IdiotBall at birth, this arguably comes a form of unintentional HypocriticalHumor.

** And let's not forget the Psychlos teaching the humans how to work their aircraft, weaponry, and speak their language. Gee, [[SarcasmMode there's nothing that could]] ''[[SarcasmMode possibly]]'' [[SarcasmMode go wrong with this, is there?]]

** Barry Pepper, the guy who plays Jonny veers wildly between LargeHam and DullSurprise.

-->'''Psychlo Leader:''' [[LargeHam Endless options for renewal!]]

* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: In record time too, and from scratch. Luckily, they ''did'' have an UpgradeArtifact to instantly train everyone, and...[[DarthWiki/WallBanger they forgot to use it]].

** Semi-averted with the alien who built the InstantExpert machine. The book calls the race Chinkos, and you suddenly realize the entire race is a caricature of the Chinese. The movie changed the race to Clinkos and kept its role minimal, except for the fact the Clinkos ''still'' have offensive Asian stereotypical behavior.

!!The NostalgiaCritic review contains examples of:

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Certainly nothing in the movie itself (apart from the rampant {{narm}}), but screenwriter J.D. Shapiro's [[http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/penned_the_suckiest_movie_ever_sorry_MdXedZpTMWJmfpw80Xc7aO/0 apology letter]] is hilarious. As is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WyuRr_Z81k his acceptance speech]] after receiving the "Worst Film of the Decade" Razzie award.

* [=~Hey, It's That Guy!~=]: So you've got JohnTravolta, Barry Pepper, and Forest Whitaker all in the same movie together. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong How bad could it be]]? [pause] Oh, right...

* 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...

----

[[caption-width:200:[-[[{{Warhammer40000}} In the]] [[DutchAngle 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 [[TakeThat 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'''

Critical reaction to the film was almost unanimously negative – Jon Stewart's description of it as "like a cross between StarWars and the smell of ass" being typical – with reviewers attacking the shallow characterization, disjointed editing, hammy acting, plot holes and logic failures galore. Notably, at the 30th {{Golden Raspberry Award}}s it received the Worst Film of the Decade Award. J.D. Shapiro, the original screenwriter[[hottip:!:his script was extensively rewritten]] accepted the award, and later wrote [[http://www.deadline.com/2010/03/battlefield-earth-scripter-pens-apology/ an apology]] to people who saw the film.

* ChewingTheScenery / WorldOfHam: Every. Single. Psychlo.

-->John Travolta stars "[i]n a role as you've never seen him"
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Certainly nothing in the movie itself (apart from the rampant {{Narm}}), but screenwriter J.D. Shapiro's [[http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/penned_the_suckiest_movie_ever_sorry_MdXedZpTMWJmfpw80Xc7aO/0 apology letter]] is hilarious. As is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WyuRr_Z81k his acceptance speech]] after receiving the "Worst Film of the Decade" Razzie award.

* DiscretionShot: At one point, a human gets his head exploded by a prisoner collar. The scene cuts away from showing the actual explosion to show other character's reactions to it.

* 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. (Makes you either wonder what gas they're breathing, or think that's why their air is so volatile.)

* HeroicSacrifice: When That Guy (not [[Tropers/ThatGuy the troper]], or [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses the one with the glasses]]) 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]].
* HeyItsThatGuy: So you've got John Travolta, Barry Pepper, and Forest Whitaker all in the same movie together. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong How bad could it be]]? [pause] Oh, right...

* {{Homage}}: When Jonny is first shot, he falls through several glass panes similar to ''BladeRunner,'' [[SoftGlass taking no lasting damage.]] Later at the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy, Jonny runs in slow motion through a bunch of pillars as they are shot, just like how Neo ran through the government lobby in ''TheMatrix.''

-->'''Bill Corbett:''' "What the hell are they doing to each other out of camera range?"

** The Harrier jets are working 1000 years from now.

** Against alien aircraft that similar planes ''couldn't defeat'' 1000 years ago.

* LargeHam: John Travolta. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cThdJ0mYbo In a big way. (Spoilers)]]

* MadeOfExplodium: The atmosphere on the Psychlo's homeworld gets set ablaze by a single nuclear bomb. The resulting explosion rips the ''entire planet'' apart -- crust, mantle, core and all.

* NeverSayDie: The Psychlos are really fond of the word "Vaporize", {{Narm}} be damned.

* 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.

* RubberForeheadAliens: Imagine The [=Coneheads=] with dreadlocks, furry hands, codpieces, limb extensions, and breathing tubes that look like rivets of snot dangling from their nostrils.

* SmugSnake: Terl, ''in spades.''

* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: In record time too, and from scratch. Luckily, they ''did'' have an UpgradeArtifact to instantly train everyone, and...[[WallBanger they forgot to use it]].

* UpgradeArtifact: Used so our hero can become an InstantExpert without going through a TrainingMontage. Infamously ''[[WallBanger not used]]'' to help the rest of humanity prepare for the revolution, despite the fact that having them do just that [[AdaptationDecay 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 / FridgeLogic:
** The utterly bizarre idea that the Psychlos hold of the "man-animals" being used as slave labor is laughable to them, when there are remnants of human civilisation ''absolutely everywhere'' that people obviously built. Furthermore, if the Psychlos think humans are completely useless (as most of them do), then why keep them alive when they obviously have no qualms about killing them?
** If the Psychlos were able to wipe out humanity's entire military without a problem, ''why in the hell'' would they not be able to take out a force of '''god damned cavemen''' that is less than one millionth of the combined military forces of Earth, when the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Psychlos has continued to advance over the thousand year interim? That's not even getting into the fact that [[JustPlaneWrong the Harrier Jets, their fuel, their missiles, and their onboard computer systems still magically work after sitting around for over a millennium.]]

** Gold is apparently the rarest and most valuable material in the universe. Aside from the economics fail of assuming gold has intrinsic worth (it's largely valuable because our ancestors liked shiny things, actually), there are dozens of rarer elements. Not only does gold have no intrinsic worth, but the reason for its economic strength is both because [[EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry people like shiny things]] and because of how practically useless it is. Back in the day when societies were using metals like iron and bronze for important things like weapons and armor, a soft metal like gold was worthless except for decoration and, eventually, currency.

*** The book this thing is based on makes a little more sense: Psychlo is actually in an AlternateUniverse, where the laws of physics are different. [[VoodooShark And yet they're the same enough to let them develop technology that affects creatures from our universe, who probably have different brains, given that ours developed the way they do because the laws of physics work the way they do]][[hottip:* :Wait, that's a problem in all AlternateUniverse works, [[DoubleStandard but this one is exceptionally horrible, so nobody cares]].]]...
** Earth looks mildly run down after a thousand years of utter neglect. In actuality, almost no recognisable structures would remain; corrosion of their supporting metal frameworks would have caused every single reinforced concrete structure to collapse long before.

** When in the Psychlo's "dome", humans need breathing filters because the Psychlo atmosphere is toxic to them. Yet when Jonny tries to escape via an underground sewer, the air is perfectly breathable.

* {{Narm}}: Pretty much everything said by the Psychlo.

* ExecutiveMeddling: It's been pretty much stated that John Travolta was in charge of everything.

* 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.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Good God, Barry Pepper, what have they done to you? You too, Forest Whitaker?

** The guy who plays Jonny veers wildly between LargeHam and DullSurprise.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sort of. Though he doesn't actually die, Terl [[spoiler:[[strike:gets his arm blown off]] ''[[ExplosiveStupidity 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.]] As TheNostalgiaCritic points out, the movie isn't exactly subtle about pointing this out at the end.

* HypocriticalHumor: As TheNostalgiaCritic notes, Jonny delivers his stirring speech about how humanity has enough problems "without having to fight each other over food" having just beaten the crap out of someone over food.

** You'd THINK that no one could top Travolta's hamminess in this, right? Well, although [[YourMileageMayVary you may disagree]], the Nostalgia Critic's review proves [[TheSpoonyExperiment there's someone closing the gap]].

* HumansAreMorons: The belief of Terl and the Psychlos is that the so-called "man-animals" are too stupid to tie their own bootlaces.

--> '''Terl (JohnTravolta)'''. [[SmugSnake Narcissistic and incompetent]]. Works for a vile, money-hungry organization, bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]], which is responsible for all kinds of cruelty towards innocent human beings. In this movie, however, he plays an alien named Terl.

* SequelHook: Terl is alive, and the human victors face an unknown future after winning a [[CrapsackWorld ruined planet]]. Several sequels were planned, to cover the entirety of the book. Between the production company tanking for fraud and the movie sinking like a Titanic that hit an iceberg made of high explosives, the chances of the sequels showing up is delightfully ''nil''.

* ChewingTheScenery / WorldOfHam: Every. Single. Psychlo. See the quote from Terl.

----

*** The book this thing is based on makes a little more sense: Psychlo is actually in an AlternateUniverse, where the laws of physics are different. [[VoodooShark And yet they're the same enough to let them develop technology that affects creatures from our universe, who probably have different brains, given that ours developed the way they do because the laws of physics work the way they do]][[hottip:* :Wait, that's a problem in all AlternateUniverse works, but this one is exceptionally horrible, so nobody cares.]]...

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sort of. Though he doesn't actually die, Terl [[spoiler:[[strike:gets his arm blown off]] ''[[ExplosiveStupidity 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.]] As [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses The Nostalgia Critic]] points out, the movie isn't exactly subtle about pointing this out at the end.

* HypocriticalHumor: As [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses The Nostalgia Critic]] notes, Jonny delivers his stirring speech about how humanity has enough problems "without having to fight each other over food" having just beaten the crap out of someone over food.

* AdaptationDecay: The plot, heroes, and villains got ''dumber'' in the film version--at least the gold-hungry PlanetLooters in the book didn't somehow overlook Fort Knox. ''Fort 'Effing Knox''.

* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Suspiciously clean buckskins (Travolta didn't want the move to look too grimy), for the first act, anyway. The Psychlos, though [[CardCarryingVillain irredeemably evil]], are nice enough to give the man-animals jumpsuits after capture.
* CatchPhrase: "Piece of cake!" by the humans, "Leverage!" by Terl and the Psychlos. 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.

* CoversAlwaysLie: Brilliantly ''subverted.'' Actual quotes from the back of the DVD case:

* DomedHometown: The Psychlo outpost is one of these, because of the whole "exploding breathe-gas" thing. In a shocking subversion, it's more of a pyramid...which doesn't stop the characters from referring to it as a dome.

* 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. (Makes you either wonder what gas they're breathing, or think that's why their air is so volatile.)

* 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.

* HeroicSacrifice: When That Guy (not [[Tropers/ThatGuy the troper]], or [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses the one with the glasses]]) 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]] ''[[ExplosiveStupidity 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.]] As [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses The Nostalgia Critic]] points out, the movie isn't exactly subtle about pointing this out at the end.

* 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]].

* LargeHam: John Travolta. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cThdJ0mYbo In a big way. (Spoilers)]]

* MadeOfExplodium: The atmosphere on the Psychlo's homeworld gets set ablaze by a single nuclear bomb. The resulting explosion rips the ''entire planet'' apart -- crust, mantle, core and all.

* 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...

* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: In record time too, and from scratch. Luckily, they ''did'' have an UpgradeArtifact to instantly train everyone, and...[[WallBanger they forgot to use it]].
* UnfortunateImplications: Forest Whitaker's [[EthnicScrappy buffoonish, boot-licking]] interpretation of Ker. Hard to believe this is the same guy who would eventually win a Best Actor Oscar for ''TheLastKingOfScotland''.

* 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''.

** The utterly bizarre idea that the Psychlos hold of the "man-animals" being used as slave labor is laughable to them, when there are remnants of human civilisation ''absolutely everywhere'' that people obviously built. Furthermore, if the Psychlos think humans are completely useless (as most of them do), then why keep them alive when they obviously have no qualms about killing them?
** If the Psychlos were able to wipe out humanity's entire military without a problem, ''why in the hell'' would they not be able to take out a force of '''god damned cavemen''' that is less than one millionth of the combined military forces of Earth, when the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Psychlos has continued to advance over the thousand year interim? That's not even getting into the fact that [[JustPlaneWrong the Harrier Jets, their fuel, their missiles, and their onboard computer systems still magically work after sitting around for over a millennium.]]

*** It has recently (within the past century or so) become useful as an electrical conductor. However, there are better candidates for many purposes (like platinum) that see less use precisely because they're even rarer.

*** On a related note, the Psychlos have eyes, which means the Planet Psychlo must orbit a light-producing star. Stars give off radiation. Lots and ''lots'' of radiation. ''How'' has Planet Psychlo avoided exploding for the last few billion years?
*** The book this thing is based on makes a little more sense: Psychlo is actually in an AlternateUniverse, where the laws of physics are different. [[VoodooShark And yet they're the same enough to let them develop technology that affects creatures from our universe, who probably have different brains, given that ours developed the way they do because the laws of physics work the way they do]][[hottip:* :Wait, that's a problem in all AlternateUniverse works, but this one is exceptionally horrible, so nobody cares.]]...

** When in the Psychlo's "dome", humans need breathing filters because the Psychlo atmosphere is toxic to them. Yet when Jonny tries to escape via an underground sewer, the air is perfectly breathable.

** On another note, J. David Shapiro's first draft for the film. [[WagTheDirector But]][[ExecutiveMeddling...]]

* 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''.

Critical reaction to the film was almost unanimously negative, with reviewers attacking the shallow characterization, disjointed editing, hammy acting, plot holes and logic failures galore. Notably, at the 30th {{Golden Raspberry Award}}s it received the Worst Film of the Decade Award. J.D. Shapiro, the original screenwriter[[hottip:!:his script was extensively rewritten]] accepted the award, and later wrote [[http://www.deadline.com/2010/03/battlefield-earth-scripter-pens-apology/ an apology]] to people who saw the film.