Starship Troopers
All those special effects, and no one remembered a script?

First thing: I don't like this movie. I do, however, know quite a few people that do. It all depends on your frame of mind, I guess. If you want brainless action with excellent special effects, then this movie is for you. However, if you enjoy some intelligence in your movies, or, like me, you happen to be a fan of the original book by Robert Heinlein, then this movie is sure to disappoint. It always makes me wonder, when Hollywood comes out with a book-based movie, how they can manage to fit in all sorts of specific events and characters and yet somehow completely miss the point of the book entirely. (For a review of this exceptional book, head on over to our Book Review section, where you can not only read that review and others, but also challenge yourself by guessing how many times the letter "e" appears in each review -- it's fun for the whole family!)

The movie begins with news coverage of a very bloody battle between the humans and the Bugs, computer generated, insect-like aliens whom the humans are at war with. After showing various decapitations, the movie flashbacks to a year earlier, where the main characters are introduced to the audience. They are Johnnie Rico (Casper Van Dien), his girlfriend Carmen (the ever-smiling Denise Richards), the other woman, Dizzy (Dina Meyer), and his psychic best friend, Carl (Doogie Howser himself, Neil Patrick Harris).

Soon after finishing high school, they all join the military for various reasons: Carmen, because she wants to be a pilot; Johnnie, because Carmen did; Dizzy, because Johnnie did; and Carl... well, because he's psychic, apparently. There is also the underlying reason: in this future society, a person is only a citizen if one serves a term in the military. While mentioned a few times, however, the movie does not linger on that aspect.

Johnnie and Dizzy go through boot camp, while Carmen becomes the pilot of one of the Fleet starships, and then they all get thrown into battle. Insert lots of blood, gore, decapitation, CGI, Hollywood-esque military jargon, Denise Richards smiling (always at completely inappropriate times), and Carl being psychic, and you have yourself a movie. A good movie? Well... again, that depends on your point of view.

I could go on and on about all the many ways that the movie differs from the book, though some differences are to be expected. I will, though, only subject you to a few; most of them can be understood as coming from a need to have more main characters in the movie. For instance, in the book, Carmen is not Johnnie's girlfriend, Dizzy is a guy (and not from Johnnie's high school), Carl was not psychic, and the noble Lieutenant was not the high school teacher. All of that can be forgiven... well, for the most part. But the movie is just about the war with the Bugs, and the book is not merely about that at all. Mindless action vs. thought-provoking societal commentary and psychological insight, that uses the action as a background. Take your pick.

I could also point out all of the little plot holes and other problems with the movie, such as the fact that the Bugs are supposed to have greater numbers while the humans have the greater technology, yet it still takes 3 or 4 troopers with machine guns to take out one Bug (unless, of course, it's convenient for the plot to have a few characters able to take out entire groups of Bugs.) The book covers this, intelligently, by having the Mobile Infantry be outfitted with powered armor and high-tech weapons -- but mentioning that would be far too picky of me. Remember, it's all about mindless action.

The bottom line is this: The acting isn't all that great, the script has problems, but Starship Troopers is a sci-fi movie with Oscar-nominated special effects and lots of action. If you like that kind of movie (which I do, just not when it's based on one of my favorite books), then by all means, watch Starship Troopers, and after you watch it, read the book to get the rest of what you were missing. And if you don't like that kind of movie, read the book anyway -- it's well worth it.

DROOL FACTOR: I won't even attempt to get into any Dina Meyer vs. Denise Richards discussions (similar to the age old Ginger vs. Mary-Ann debate), or any Casper Van Dien vs. Patrick Muldoon arguments. Suffice it to say, with lots of young, physically fit people as the focus of the movie, there is plenty to look at, for both men and women.

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: Extremely high. This movie is full of blood, gore, and decapitations (Do I get some sort of award for using the word "decapitation" more than three times in a review?). It's definitely not for the faint-hearted.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Without really commenting on the acting ability of Denise Richards, both she and Dina Meyer (who does a pretty good job) play strong "I'm just as good, and usually better than the men" type of women. And there's a communal shower. I'm all for that.

-- K. Burtt

Starship Troopers is currently available on video.

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