Review of Starship Troopers (1997) by Christopher S — 16 Jul 2011

Watched on July 10, 2011.

Directed by Paul Verhoeven, STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997) is really an anomaly of a film, but still one of my faves from the 90s. It really shouldn't have been as good as it really was. But it really is a fun and quite good sci-fi flick. Lacking the character depth or sophistication of Verhoeven's earlier sci-fi classics "Robocop" and "Total Recall", I actually think that this movie is Verhoeven's most "fun" movie! The characters are really secondary. The real star is the satire, and this movie is mired in it!

A by-the-numbers "rah-rah" tale that follows bright-eyed, well-meaning, optimistic youth Johnny Rico (well-played by Casper Van Dien) from high school to boot camp to war (mobile infantry), this movie has a timeless appeal that frankly very few movies of it's type can enjoy. It has a lot of action, humor, and believe it or not, drama and heart! Similarly to "Robocop" and "Total Recall", this movie is very satirical and makes not-so-subtle references to it's subject matter, in this case...war! The characters are really sounding boards to showcase both sides of war sentiments (but mostly the pro side). But TROOPERS still follows the trajectory of it's more polished predecessors in that at the heart of the story is a simple linear tale of the main character who must fight to attain his own individuality, in this case the young inexperienced boy who goes to war and becomes a man in the process discovering who he is and what he was born to do. By the end of the movie, Johnny Rico is a lean, mean, fighting machine and a strong leader.

The future angle is a major reason I still love this movie to this day. This movie has a futuristic look that that is visually appealing to me, mainly because Verhoeven smartly avoids the pitfalls of most movies by not focusing so much on the technology itself and presents a feasible representation of what the future could be. Also, he does give the characters just enough personality and the dialogue, while simple, contains a lot of humor and bite. And the futuristic spaceship and mutant bug effects still look eye-popping and convincing, especially given when the movie came out.

I also liked how the movie tweaks the usual "girl waiting back at home" and instead opts to have her be part of the action! Johnny's girl Carmen (played by the beautiful Denise Richards) also joins the service, but ends up as a flight officer and eventually dumps Rico to go career. Waiting in the wings for Johnny is Dizzy (played with confidence and energy by the gorgeous Dina Meyer), who enlists herself and gets assigned to Rico's marine platoon in order to stay close to him. Carmen is Rico's ideal girl who doesn't appreciate him enough, while Dizzy is the heart-of-gold woman who stands by him and brings out the best in him. I much prefer Johnny-Dizzy to Johnny-Carmen!

And even though you could have casted anyone in their respected roles, I think Casper Van Dien was perfect in his role as Johnny Rico. Dina Meyer was absolutely gorgeous and brought the perfect mixture of confidence and energy to it. Denise Richards, who I'm not normally a big fan of was also very good. Quite honestly, I was amazed how much I enjoyed the dynamic and chemistry of these three characters. The subplot was a perfect bonus to the film. Another big bonus for me with this movie is a supporting cast, which includes a pair of legendary screen baddies who are part of the good guys in this one! Yet they get to retain their tough guy attributes playing hardened, war-savvy soldiers. Clancy Brown (known as a baddie from "Highlander" and "Shawshank Redemption") plays Rico and Dizzy's tough-as-nails drill instructor and Michael Ironside (from Verhoeven's future tale "Total Recall") plays their disabled former high school teacher who returns to service as their company commander when they must go into battle. Neil Patrick Harris who has now since grown out of his Doogie phase fully was still entrenched during "Starship Troopers" filming, but he still gives a solid if not all too brief appearance. He goes from squeaky voice nerd to squeaky voiced furor-like nerd, decked out in Nazi Gestapo styled intelligence officer attire.... but it's fun to see "NPH" nonetheless. We also get a strong performance from Patrick Muldoon well known from his days as "Jeff" in Saved by the Bell as well as numerous Soap Shows like Days of Our Lives. I also enjoyed the work of Rico and Dizzy's fellow boot camp marines played by Jake Busey, Blake Lindsley, Eric Bruskotter, Anthony Ruivivar and an all too short appearance by Amy Smart and an unrecognizable appearance from a"Golden Girl" Rue McClanahan.

One main criticism of this movie is that it's too campy. But I think that misses the point. Honestly, I've seen way worse! ("Troopers" came out the same year as "Batman and Robin". Now THAT was a totally campy movie!). The actors might not be the best in the world, but I still think they did a great job selling themselves in their respective roles. Even the "serious" moments don't drag the movie down for me, and I found much of it to be involving and well played, like Carmen's breakup video to Johnny, the drill instructor and company commander tearing up Johnny's separation papers, and pretty much all the Johnny-Dizzy moments as they are a couple worth rooting for! Meyer especially was convincing in relaying Dizzy's deep feelings for Johnny.

In summary, STARSHIP TROOPERS is a fun, fast-paced adventure story with an old-fashioned appeal that makes it worth watching...and re-watching! Your left wondering why this franchise, with the tremendous cult like following it has built went absolutely nowhere besides 2 direct to video sequels and one of them can't even be called a sequel. Makes you wonder.