Posted by admin on August 24, 2011 in Clip Art ·
| Cast: |
| John Travolta… |
…Terl |
| Barry Pepper… |
…Jonnie Goodboy Tyler |
| Forest Whitaker… |
…Ker |
| Kim Coates… |
…Carlo |
| Sabine Karsenti… |
…Chrissie |
| Richard Tyson… |
…Robert the Fox |
| Michael MacRae… |
…District Manager Zete |
| Michael Byrne… |
…Parson Staffer |
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- Directed by: Roger Christian
Written by: Corey Mandell and J.D. Shapiro
Rated PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 57 minutes
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| Travolta’s Pet Bomb |
 Being a natural-born slacker whose indolence often lies in satiety, my recollections of high school don’t beget fond memories of grand academic achievement, skilled athletic accomplishments, or a highly pervasive social life. No, my most cherished memories consist of those rare, spontaneous moments of bumptious rebellion; a seeming necessity for me during my otiose adolescent existence. The most fond of remembrances is of any class where a film or video was displayed to further boost the intellectual capacity of those hard-working students impelled to acquire the most extraneous of knowledge. My fellow underachievers and I would compete to see who could garner the biggest laughs using our respective wisecracks at the educational photoplay we were witness to.Why do I bring this up in a movie review, you ask? Simply because “Battlefield Earth” is a film that not only evokes the same merciless potshots I cruelly fired at those teaching videos, but actually earns such responses. (The content of those cinematic teaching tools may not have held my attention back then, but at least their intentions were certainly laudable.)John Travolta’s pet project for years, “Earth” is the kind of movie where finding something to distract you from what’s on the screen begins like an innocuous game, becomes more a necessity at about the midpoint, and subsequently transcends into the search for a tonic oasis in the most arid of cinematic deserts. Directed without a distinct vision and edited with complete disregard for an audience’s inherent need for comprehension, this is the kind of movie that could drain the life out of the most indefatigable of film lovers.Based on the book by Scientology guru L. Ron Hubbard, the story is a “saga of the year 3000″ we are told by the opening credits. A race of alien beings known as Psychlos have taken over Earth and have enslaved those earthlings not killed in the confrontation preceding the takeover. John Travolta leads the group of evil nine-foot-tall aliens who utilize a breathing device that curiously resembles an abundance of snot secreting from their gaping nostrils. The captive humans (referred to as “man animals” by the Psychlos) are unable to fight back, until a ferocious young rebel named Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper) ignites the survivalist spirits trapped deep inside the imprisoned men. It all leads to a showdown between good and evil, freedom and captivity, the proverbial Davids binding together against the omnipotent Goliaths, and so on and so forth.The movie wants to come off as another Star Wars-type series, going so far as to leave the ending open for more sequels to be spawned from. Where the Star Wars films had clearly defined elements that permeated the imagination of the viewer, “Battlefield Earth” seems to implode on the screen. The villains aren’t menacing, the heroes aren’t engaging, and even the look of the movie is especially uninspired. (Released in 1981, John Carpenter’s “Escape from New York” had a much more fascinating visual style.)After “Broken Arrow” and “Face/Off,” John Travolta continues to demonstrate his infelicity in portraying a villain. (He was able to pull off the gimmick in “Face/Off” which made that film work, despite his inherent lack of a threatening demeanor. He is just too nice a guy, I guess.) Barry Pepper (“Saving Private Ryan”, “The Green Mile”) showers his dialogue with an unusual conviction that I did admire, yet like everything else in this misguided effort, his performance gets sucked into the mire of mediocrity.Essentially, “Earth” is the cinematic equivalent of watching your favorite sports team get pummeled into oblivion. Not only is there nothing to enjoy, but there is nothing to appreciate. Unless of course, I can count my newfound appreciation for the educational videos my high school teachers were so very generous enough to bestow upon me. I have some catching up to do. |