The science fiction genre is the most volatile in the entertainment industry. When a movie is good, it can break records and inspire countless others to try to go out and do the same. Despite stumbling out of the box a bit, Christoper Nolan’s Interstellar is still just as relevant as it was a decade ago, with fans and filmmakers alike singing its praises for bringing emotion to a genre typically devoid of it. However, for every Interstellar, there’s another movie that does far more harm than good. 2025’s War of the Worlds certainly fits that description, as it’s a lazy adaptation of a great story.
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As soon as War of the Worlds landed on its streaming home, many started referring to it as the “worst sci-fi movie ever made.” It’s difficult to argue with that sentiment, especially since clips of Ice Cube reacting to an alien invasion in a bunker go viral every few weeks. But the War of the Worlds hype train is full of countless prisoners of the moment, who seem to forget that the worst sci-fi movie of all time just recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
It’s Been 25 Years Since the Sci-Fi Genre Hit Its Low Point
In the late 1990s, John Travolta found himself at the top of the Hollywood mountain, being able to drag projects out of development hell. One of his missions involved adapting L. Ron Hubbard’s 1982 novel Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000. Since the source material was so dense, Travolta thought that a duology would do the trick, so he got a crew together to film the first film, simply titled Battlefield Earth. By summer 2000, it was ready for the world to see, and while it didn’t light up the box office by any stretch of the imagination, it certainly sparked more than a few conversations.
Battlefield Earth takes place in the year 3,000, a millennium after an alien species known as the Psychlos arrived on Earth and conquered it. Humans are no longer intelligent, having lost all of their skills and knowledge over the years. The Psychlos mostly use the Earth’s inhabitants as slave labor, wanting to mine all of the gold on Earth, since it’s just as valuable across the galaxy as it is on the lowly planet. However, that doesn’t sit right with the humans, namely Jonnie, who gets a major upgrade courtesy of the Psychlos, and they decide to start a rebellion. That’s when Battlefield Earth really jumps the shark, going from a misguided adaptation to the disaster of a generation.
Battlefield Earth Doesn’t Even Try to Be Believable by the End
Once Jonnie helps humanity get its head on straight and reads the Declaration of Independence, the Psychlos find themselves in the fight of their lives. The humans launch attacks using fighter jets, which they somehow know how to pilot, and have their former oppressors right where they want them. The freedom fighters even send a nuclear missile through a portal to blow up the Psychlos’ home planet, ensuring they don’t come looking for more.
The ending of the movie has to be seen to be believed, as it takes so many swings and misses every time. For that reason, there will probably never be another movie like Battlefield Earth. But there is something to be said about how entertaining it is. It’s impossible to find dialogue as clunky and action as mind-boggling anywhere else. That’s why it’s important to give credit where credit is due whenever another movie tries to come for the title of worst sci-fi movie ever.
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