Review

A putrid, steaming, galactic-sized mound of Limburger cheese, Battlefield Earth is one of the most embarrassing movies we've ever suffered the indignity of sitting all the way through. Travolta conceived and produced this sci-fi dud, based on the thinly veiled Scientology manifesto by L. Ron Hubbard. Travolta also takes the vanity spot, starring as the arrogant leader of an alien race who've invaded Earth with the intent to strip-mine the planet dry. He's stunningly bad. Co-star Pepper makes for a likable hero, the reluctant leader of a scraggly band of rebels living in the wasteland. Decent visual effects are undercut by a decrepit production design, arrhythmic editing and murky cinematography (and the cameraman obviously saw The Third Man way too many times: nearly every shot in the movie is unnecessarily tilted). This is disjointed, tedious and every bit as bad as its reputation. We saw it so you don't have to, but if you're up for a dare....

 -- Steven D. Segal