I'm not sure how close this is to the book by L.Ron Hubbard, I'm assuming its not very close at all, because quite a lot of the stuff in the film, would SURELY not escape the notice of the original writer, but might slip by the hurried screenplay writer.<br /><br />A lot of the points have already been covered, but I'll recap the stupidity and some derivative aspects of the film of the film from my point of view 1). 1000 year old Harriers in perfect working condition 2). people learning to fly them in a simulator in a week 3). The ships look pretty much a rip-off, of the dropships in Starship Troopers. 4). Music during the film sounds like you've heard it before 5). The Psychlos (inspired name!) coming across as the most stupid aliens to conquer a world. 6). 1000 years and they still haven't finished mining the planet! 7). The assumption by the Psychlos that man (i.e. man animals as they call us) is weak and stupid and can't mine or do anything constructive, yet there is still the evidence of everything man built after the invasion. Who did they think built the skyscrapers... cats? 8). Buildings remain, though surely they would crumble long before 1000 years with no maintenance, and the cities would be overgrown as the grass and trees reclaim the earth. 9). Military bases still having power, surely the Psychlos would have destroyed any and all bases to ensure of no uprising?<br /><br />If the film had been better, Travoltas performance might have seemed good, but in comparison to the rest of the movie, his performance is just another 'highlight' of tedium.<br /><br />Just so we are clear, this is NOT the worst movie in the world, but Travolta and co sure tried hard to make it the worst one!<br /><br />The story flips to and fro, with Terl making ludicrous choices that only serve to help the hero of the film.<br /><br />Its called Battlefield: Earth, but it might as well have been called Battlefield: USA, because we don't ever get to feel the scope of the destruction of the planet that the title suggests it should.<br /><br />Some of the special effects are good, others are worse than Television effects in their execution.<br /><br />I still can't decide if I think the Psychlos look is daft or inspired, but definitely not one of Patrick Tatopolous' finest hours (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla etc).<br /><br />Frequently, John Travoltas character (Terl) constantly refers to Forest Whittakers character as being stupid, yet its Terl that makes all the daft choices that enable the hero to succeed!<br /><br />The only good thing is this film didn't harm Travolta, because it would have been a shame to see him go down again after his resurgence after Pulp Fiction, I think Hollywood saw it as his one indulgence.<br /><br />The film cost $80 million to make, and you have to question where the money went, because it certainly wasn't lots of mesmerising locations.<br /><br />I'd be interested to know if the book is as bad as this, if its not, the scriptwriter needs taking out back and shooting, and then make sure they've got plenty of ammo, because they then need to hunt down every person that thought the script was good and worth filming.<br /><br />A premise so utterly wasted, you feel flushing the money down the toilet would have been a more worthwhile use instead of spending it on this film.<br /><br />Coming next week, Battlefield: Earth special edition...... you get a copy of Annie in the box instead!