--- title: "Battlefield Earth: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/battlefield-earth/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/battlefield-earth" critics_score: 17 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Battlefield Earth (2000): what the critics said Critics' score 17 from 13 reviews: 0 positive, 0 mixed, 13 negative. The consensus on Battlefield Earth is uniformly negative: all thirteen reviews reject it, with criticism centred on confused storytelling, overplayed performances and action that becomes tedious rather than exciting. Praise is scarce and largely confined to the visuals or the possibility of camp amusement. Total Film finds something to appreciate in the creature designs and visuals. Sight and Sound singles out Travolta and Forest Whitaker’s blustering alien double act as the one element worth noting. The differences concern what, if anything, survives the muddle, rather than whether the film succeeds. Variety regards the overall look as a pleasure, while other reviews find the effects patchy or the images grubby and unclear. Travolta’s excesses similarly register as camp interest for some and an embarrassment for others. The spread remains narrow and entirely negative, with repeated complaints about ludicrous dialogue, dated science-fiction conventions and a plot whose logic fails to hold together. ## Sight and Sound — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film muddy, silly and tedious, a failed big-budget sci-fi effort that fails to match earlier genre classics like Planet of the Apes. The one element singled out for note is the campy double act between Travolta and Forest Whitaker as the blustering alien villains. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/301) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The review calls the film a plodding and boring adaptation whose loud but unclear message gets lost amid violent action and effects. It singles out the overplayed bombastic performances by Travolta and Whitaker as the sneering alien villains. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/battlefield-earth) ## Los Angeles Times — Robin Rauzi Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2000. A wholly miserable experience stuck in a dated 1970s vibe, with ludicrous dialogue, patchy effects, and an embarrassing campy performance from Travolta. In the post-apocalyptic genre it makes "Waterworld" look like a masterpiece. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-12-ca-29107-story.html) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2000. A pitiful excuse for an entertainment and the "Showgirls" of sci-fi, with a doomed campy effort from Travolta amid violence and poor effects. It functions neither as propaganda nor allegory but invites global derision. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/05/22/cookie-monsters) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 2000. The critic sees it as silly space-panto entertainment rather than a serious blockbuster, with predictable old-fashioned plotting and stupid decisions. He singles out the creature designs and visuals for praise amid the overall failure. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/battlefield-earth-review/) ## Variety — Dennis Harvey Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2000. An insta-camp idiot's delight and bombastic frantic "dream project" that pushes audience goodwill to the breaking point and is too dumb even for popcorn viewers. The overall look is its one non-guilty pleasure amid cliched dialogue and chaotic action. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/battlefield-earth-1200462322/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic calls it a disaster of epic proportions and a dubious vanity project with an outmoded B-movie setup. He singles out the ropey script, muddled direction that rips off other films, and lack of anything to take seriously. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/battlefield-earth-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2000. The film is awful in countless ways and unpleasant in a hostile manner, with grubby visuals, noxious characters, and a shapeless senseless plot. It is historic as a punch line for jokes about bad movies for decades to come. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/battlefield-earth-2000) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2000. The critic calls the film a staggeringly inept contender for the worst movie ever made, a surreal atrocity adapted from L. Ron Hubbard's novel that is uniquely terrible in its execution. Travolta's performance as the alien heavy is singled out as particularly embarrassing and career-damaging. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/battlefield-earth-1798192375) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 2000. The critic describes the film as a journey into the heart of rubbish and a full-throttle adventure into the hyper-space of drivel. He notes that it incinerates what is left of Travolta's reputation and takes Forest Whitaker down with him. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/jun/02/culture.reviews) ## The New York Times — Elvis Mitchell Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2000. An amateurish picture that may be the worst movie of the century, like the most expensively mounted high school play of all time. It has the musty feel of old sci-fi pulp with ludicrous elements and no compelling logic. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/12/movies/film-review-earth-capitulates-in-9-minutes-to-mean-entrepreneurs-from-space.html) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). The critic dismisses the film as unadulterated rhubarb that looks expensive but is disproportionately violent. Travolta relishes playing the villainous alien without regard for his fan base, while Barry Pepper leads the human rebellion. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/battlefield-earth-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Collider — Collier Jennings Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 11 May 2025. The critic concludes that Battlefield Earth remains one of the worst films ever made, with flaws that have only become more pronounced over time. They single out the over-the-top acting, nonsensical plot, and relentlessly Dutch-angled cinematography for particular criticism. [Read the review](https://collider.com/battlefield-earth-worst-movie-25-years/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/battlefield-earth.md