Subject: Review: Starship Troopers (1997)

From: Jamie Peck <[email-masked]>
Date: 2 Nov 1997 19:29:17 GMT

STARSHIP TROOPERS

RATING: *** (out of ****) 

TriStar / 2:09 / 1997 / R (violence, gore, language, gore, violence,
sex, gore, nudity, gore, violence)
Cast: Casper Van Dien; Dina Meyer; Denise Richards; Patrick Muldoon;
Jake Busey; Neil Patrick Harris; Clancy Brown; Michael Ironside; Seth
Gilliam
Driector: Paul Verhoeven 
Screenplay: Ed Neumeier 

Casting "Doogie Howser" star Neil Patrick Harris as mind-reading
military intelligence is only one of the guilty pleasures of "Starship
Troopers," a hugely entertaining, mega-budgeted sci-fi yarn directed
by Paul Verhoeven, who's making quite a recovery from his 1995
G-string epic "Showgirls." Sure, "Starship Troopers" qualifies as
cinematic junk food, but that's forgivable when the junk food is this
tasty. Everyone needs a high-calorie change-of-pace from fall's
onslaught of costume dramas and other assorted Oscar bait, and
"Troopers" does the job admirably despite its flaws.

For its first hour, "Starship Troopers" plays like a cheeky futuristic
hybrid of "Saved by the Bell" and "G.I. Jane." In the distant years
ahead, high school grad Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) signs up for
Federal Service along with his girlfriend Carmen (Denise Richards); he
gets accepted into the Mobile Infantry but she wants to travel to the
Fleet Academy to become a starship pilot, so the couple is broken up.
But there's temptation awaiting both of them -- Johnny's is in the
form of an old friend (Dina Meyer) also in the infantry and still
harboring a secret crush, while Carmen attracts the eye of her
flirtatious instructor (Patrick Muldoon).

Personal rivalry and sexual jealousy carry over into the final 65
minutes, when an impending alien menace begins making good on its
threatening presence and obliterates part of South America, killing
Johnny's parents and destroying his home. Our weakening, lovesick
protagonist is given new reasons to stick around the Mobile Infantry,
and is dispatched with a group of fellow fighters to the aliens' home
planet, where he will head up a ground assault to end the threat for
good. But the enemy is far smarter, more diabolical and numerous than
the good guys give them credit for, and after an initial walloping,
they must re-examine their strategy.

The exposition -- played like a futuristic soap opera -- is silly, but
aware of its own ridiculousness enough to merit more smiles than
groans. Once we get past the campy character introductions and the
numerous (but never boring) training sessions, "Starship Troopers"
really kicks into high gear. Its last half is all gruesomely violent
action -- a fury of severed limbs, decapitations, disembowelments,
brain removal, explosions and other jolt-inducers that are really
going to please the 13- and 14-year-old boys lucky enough to dodge
getting carded or caught on their way into this deservedly R-rated
show. The creature design and special effects are amazing as expected,
and their interaction with the human actors are a realistic,
imaginative high point.

It's nice to see intergalactic beasties that aren't too derivative of
the titular menace from "Alien." These monsters are appropriately
terrifying sights, especially the Arachnids, a spider-scorpion-crab
combo that's all sharp talons and even sharper legs. They attack in
packs of hundreds, and it's a funny, scary sight to see these bugs
take repeated hits and still crawl, jerk and struggle towards their
intended victims in a determined, gooey mess. It matters not that they
actually have a laughable master plan in mind (ask yourself if a
species like this seems capable of carrying out such a plot); these
sequences of insect warfare are numerous, bloody and immensely
satisfying.

The occasional dramatic moments -- one cast member's death, the final
resolution to Johnny's love triangle -- are botched, a testament to
how "Starship Troopers" fails to create any strong, outstanding
characters. These bland Ken-and-Barbie archetypes serve the story
adequately enough to keep any distractions at arm's length, but
restrain the film from achieving a higher ground a la "Star Wars,"
where even the slightest aliens had definite personality. The acting
is decent (but never spectacular); most of the performers hail from
Aaron Spelling territory -- smallish roles on "Beverly Hills 90210"
and/or "Melrose Place" -- and it occasionally shows. Van Dien, for
example, is limited but perfectly likeable. In smaller parts are the
afore-mentioned Neil Patrick Harris as Johnny's best friend and Jake
Busey (Gary's son) as Johnny's sidekick; the latter excels at playing
creeps (see "The Frighteners" or "Contact") but seems off-kilter as a
second banana.

"Starship Troopers" is based on the novel by Robert Heinlein, a sci-fi
writer who hasn't exactly seen any recent adaptation justice done to
any of his books what with 1994's howler "The Puppet Masters." But the
overall familiarity to the "Alien" trilogy -- and the promise of great
gobs of gore -- could act as a crowd-drawer. Its own possible
influence, however, might well work against it when the franchise
continuation "Alien: Resurrection" opens in a few weeks. We will know
then which film to crown as the best summer movie of the fall.

© 1997 Jamie Peck 
E-mail: [email-masked]
Visit the Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/