STARSHIP TROOPERS
A Film Review by Brian Takeshita
Rating: **1/2 out of ****
You really don't know how much of modern science fiction is based upon Robert Heinlein's novel "Starship Troopers" until you read it for yourself. To many fans of the literary genre, Heinlein's novel has become somewhat of a bible, setting the genesis of countless works afterward. It is therefore that a great responsibility comes with the making of a movie version, and to deviate, even slightly, from the original text would be to commit sacrilege.
If the fans of the novel had their druthers, I'm sure director Paul Verhoeven would be nailed to a cross for his sins in making this film. There are significant departures from both the storyline and the technical aspects of the novel. Minor characters are given major roles, new characters are added, a subplot based upon psychic ability is thrown in, the concept of power armor is taken out....the list goes on and on. I believe the worst thing I could have done before seeing STARSHIP TROOPERS, the movie, was read "Starship Troopers," the novel. Unfortunately, I did just that. Twice, in fact, unaware that a few years later, this movie would be made. However, as difficult as it is, one must maintain the objectivity necessary to review the film as a film, and not as an adaptation. I will therefore attempt to put my loyalties to the novel aside for the moment. Here goes.
STARSHIP TROOPERS is set in the human race's distant future and follows a few graduating high school seniors who opt for federal service rather then going on to college. Basically, federal service means a tour of duty in the military, the only way to gain "citizenship", a prestigious status which puts you above regular "civilians" in the ideological hierarchy of society. What's so bad about going into the military? Aside from the lower-class stigma that is sadly still attached, it also means you have a good chance of getting maimed or killed. You see, the humans are at war with a race of arachnid alien creatures referred to simply as "bugs." But these are no ordinary household bugs, oh no. These are ten foot tall monsters that impale you with spearlike legs or cut you in half with menacing pincers. A can of Raid is not going to do.
At the center of the story is Johnny Rico. Johnny's parents first convince him not to enlist for federal service, but his girlfriend Carmen convinces him otherwise. Unfortunately, Carmen gets to join the fleet and pilot one of the large transport cruisers while Johnny gets sent to Mobile Infantry training to become one of the grunts. There he is taught by drill instructor Sergeant Zim how to fight and how to lead, but a training accident with live ammunition costs the life of a cadet under Johnny's command. Johnny is ready to wash out of boot when the bugs send an asteroid to Earth and Johnny's hometown of Buenos Aires is decimated. Armed with a new resolve, he goes off to fight.
Relative newcomer Casper van Dien puts in a pretty good performance as the central character, whom we follow through his maturation into a military leader. Confident in himself, we know that with his first combat experience, much of the toughness previously displayed will be revealed as mere youthful bravado. Denise Richards, as Carmen, is the girl that every high school boy hates. She's the pretty princess who's supposed to be your girlfriend, but she will on a whim walk away with some other guy, only to return saying, "Oh, he's just a friend." Her character, unlike Johnny, is confident to the point of obnoxiousness. You really want her to bite it. Big time. Neil Patrick Harris, as Carl Jenkins, portrays what is basically a throwaway character who is of almost no value to the plot. The only thing remarkable about him is how he is leaps and bounds more intelligent than his peers. Dr. Doogie Howser, I presume.
A pleasant surprise was the character of Dizzy Flores, played by Dina Meyer. She is the other girl in Johnny's life, the one who is in front of him the whole time, but doesn't get the attention she deserves, try as she might to win his affections. Whereas Johnny follows Carmen, who quickly runs away from him once she can join the fleet, Dizzy follows Johnny into the Mobile Infantry, and even requests to be put into the same unit. In combat, rather than be the one to whose rescue Johnny must come, she is tough as nails toward him, pushing him to be his best and to survive. Hers is a strong character who's caring goes beyond the conventional expressions to which we're accustomed.
Another pleasant surprise is Michael Ironside's portrayal of Jean Rasczak, a former soldier who teaches high school philosophy, but later returns to military service as Johnny's platoon leader. Rasczak is the most thought-provoking character of the whole film, as he explains the difference between a citizen and a civilian, and lives the description. It is also nice to see Ironside in a role where he's not just a bad-assed heavy. Instead, we find out he's a good actor who can actually smile, and I hope to see him in a wider variety of roles.
The special effects work to varying degrees. The bugs are all done superbly and look incredibly real. When they appear, they intimidate and scare quite effectively. The humans' space vessels, however, often appear like toys and seem outclassed by George Lucas's efforts from 20 years ago. Since at least 5 separate visual effects companies were brought on board during the production of the film, it's no wonder the quality varies so greatly.
Although the battle scenes are quite pitched and full of excitement, the life and death struggle is often undermined by the campy quality of many of the other parts of the film. Since Verhoeven is also the man who brought us Robocop, perhaps this is not surprising. In one exchange between "experts" debating whether or not the bugs could pursue a policy of live and let live, I half expected one of them to exclaim, "I'd buy THAT for a dollar!" Also take the choice of costuming, which makes the military look a lot like the Nazi's. The use of "Air Marshal" as the title for the supreme commander and a giant bird symbol for the Earth government helps to reinforce this image. I asked myself what Verhoeven was trying to do: Get the audience behind the characters and involved in the story, or get us in a bleak inside joke about the future? Such a split is the kind of reason why SWINGKIDS was such a poor choice for filmmaking. Who cares about kids who want to dance when there are Nazi atrocities being committed all around them? Maybe if we're all a bunch of Nazis in the future, we should be eradicated by a bunch of bugs. Verhoeven should have shown less indulgence with the Nazi comparisons and the campiness and more of Johnny and his journey learning about life and what it means to live in the polis. The love interest between Johnny and Carmen and Carmen's subsequent story similarly should not have been included, since they only distracting. The movie should have stayed truer to the novel in this case, not simply to be a purist film version, but because it would have made a more compelling film. The novel is a story from the first person perspective of Johnny Rico, and that is one of the reasons it is so effective. The reader actually gets into his mind and shows us how he has changed. Verhoeven could have done this by concentrating more on Johnny; giving his character more scenes and generally spending more time with him. The novel also gives us something to think about: What it means to live with the human condition and the sacrifices we make to preserve it. This film could have been so much more than a Friday night movie filled with action. It's a shame it's not.
Review posted November 13, 1997
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