By Reid Davis Clayton News/Daily
Before the screening I attended of "Starship Troopers," promotional people roamed the aisles, giving out comic books of the movie.
That should have been a clue.
With a few exceptions, comic books are two-dimensional, don't develop characters, and feature action punctuated with day-glo "blams " and "splats."
And "Starship Troopers" is one big comic book of a movie, a b-movie deluxe, including everything but the "Coming Soon To TBS" tagline. And once the average moviegoer makes that connection, it becomes a much more enjoyable ride.
So what's good about the movie? Action, visuals and special effects.
What's not so good? Acting, plot and dialogue...especially the dialogue!
I recently read that big-budget Hollywood films are spending much larger percentages of cash on special effects and considerably less for big-name talent. I suppose the thinking is that special effects are more reliable than big-name actors as a box office draw. Plus, special effects won't embarrass studios by political grandstanding or having messy personal lives.
"Starship Troopers" is a case study for this kind of approach. I mean, what else can you say for a movie that credits nine special effects companies, but features Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, M.D.) as its most recognizable star?
While Harris, along with veteran character actor Michael Ironside ("Top Gun," "ER,") are the most recognizable names, the first half of the movie is carried by a cast of unknowns. While "unknown" definitely does not mean "cannot act," there is reason to believe that some of these no-names were chosen for reasons other than their acting talents.
Take Exhibit A, Casper Van Dien. As "Johnny Rico," the young-man-coming-of-age whose story is central to the film, he looks like a fresh pod grown from the Hollywood body-and-face hatchery. His jaw is so square, his teeth are so white and his body is so chiseled, that the average Joe Six-pack probably will have a hard time relating to his character, much less caring.
Exhibit B is no better. Denise Richards ("Carmen Ibanez") seems slightly unreal as well, having seemingly been grown in the silicone, airbrush and plastic surgery section of the Hollywood hatchery. I've seen few Barbie dolls that looked better.
While I have nothing against beauty, the performance of Van Dien - whose range consists of an aw-shucks grin, steely determination and a look of vague concern - leaves a lot to be desired. Richardson, while a better actor, still doesn't seem to connect with the material. She seems to hover beautifully above it all, with only a wrinkled brow of occasional worry.
Of course, one even giggles using "material" to describe a movie like this one, which is why the second half of the movie, which commences the war between human and bug-like alien is so enjoyable.
The first half of the film, which shows our heroes leaving the comfortable confines of school and home and entering military service, mostly drags. There are occasional patches of (sometimes unintentional) humor, but after the scene is set, the audience is yearning to get to the action. Unfortunately, by that point the action is still about half an hour away.
Once the action arrives, however, director Paul Verhoeven ("Total Recall," "Robocop") is at his best, interposing edge-of-your-seat battle scenes with tongue-in-cheek snippets from futuristic recruiting videos and news bulletins that owe much to 1940s war propaganda.
The visuals, another of Verhoeven's special talents, are first rate, summoning up a fully realized future world with seamingly effortless ease.
And the special effects, of course, cannot be faulted. I'll bet most folks will see this movie only because of the jaw-dropping preview featuring thousands of marauding alien "bugs" swarming over the hillsides. Heck, that's what got me in the door...
But don't expect another "Men In Black."
While "MiB" featured the same comic-book approach, it had zippy dialogue and a plot that you had to keep from blinking in order to get.
"Starship Troopers," on the other hand, is weighted down by dumber than dumb dialogue:
"She's down here."
"How do you know?"
"I just know."
And the plot offers nothing but cliches: "young man finds himself and gains the respect of others...friends bonded together by war...man wants unattainable woman and then finds his true match right in front of his nose..." Unlike "MiB," nothing here takes the moviegoer by surprise.
Is "Starship Troopers" a good movie? If you are the kind of person who often finds yourself watching "Movies For Guys Who Like Movies," sure it is.
However, if you demand a bit more from your b-list "candy," prepare to find yourself groaning early and often.
Also, be wary of young ones begging to be taken to see this film. While the movie resembles a comic book, it also includes copious amounts of blood and gore, as well as some completely gratuitous nudity.
In fact, some of the movie's best acting takes place in a co-ed shower scene, where men and women have to pretend that taking a shower in the same room is no big deal. (After all, it's the military...and the harrassment at Aberdeen Training Grounds never happened, right?)
So for those who must have their big-budget special effects on a big screen, go ahead and see this. Otherwise, wait for it at your video store...or on TBS.
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