Summary:
A satire on fascism where humans wage war against giant alien bugs.
My Thoughts:
I feel like a lot of people who see “Starship Troopers” for the first time don’t really get it. This movie is utterly ridiculous. The acting is cheesy, the writing is at times stilted and awkward, the violence is so gleefully gory that it feels more akin to a low budget B-movie than a high budget blockbuster, but therein lies “Starship Trooper’s” charm. This movie is not meant to be taken at face value. Everything you see is satire. “Troopers” tone is so genuinely gung-ho and pro-war that it feels much like a propaganda film made by both sides during the earlier days of World War II. The characters might be bullheaded, but they’re always right; the mission that the Troopers are sent to carry out is undeniably just and true and right; and even when hundreds of thousands of soldiers die, these men never loose their courage in the face of their enemies.
Hoorah, Citizen. Let’s squash some bugs.
“Naked force has resolved more conflicts throughout history than any other factor. The contrary opinion, that violence doesn’t solve anything, is wishful thinking at its worst.”
After high school graduate Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien, “Alita: Battle Angel”) joins the Global Federation of Earth, a militaristic regime bent on destroying an alien race whose very existence threatens humanity. Johnny and his girlfriend Carmen (Denise Richards, “Tammy and the T-Rex”), his best friend Carl (Neil Patrick Harris, “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle”), and fellow classmate Dizzy (Dina Meyer, “Saw”) are all sent to a training camp where they are instructed by Sergeant Zim (Clancy Brown, “The Shawshank Redemption”). After a brutal boot camp, the young recruits are sent to Klendathu, the bugs’ home planet, where they begin a deadly assault on those who threaten humanity.
So first and foremost, I need to further address the tone of this film, which, if you don’t understand, you probably will miss the point of this whole film. I suppose, really, there are two ways to look at this movie. If you take this film at face value it, honestly, wouldn’t be all that great. But, when you look at it knowing it’s a satire on propaganda then it takes on a whole new level. The entirety of this movie is broken up by little commercials that tell the viewer to “Join Now” and “Do Your Part!” The things that we’re being shown on screen might be bloody and graphic, but the attitude with which we’re shown these awful things is beyond cheery. Think of some World War II movies like “Sands of Iwo Jima”, “The Great Escape”, or “The Longest Day”. People in those movies, no matter what their circumstances, always tended to have a gung-ho, can-do attitude, and that attitude permeates throughout this film, though it does so ironically. However, even if you don’t watch this movie as a satire, it still works. Because, I mean, come on… who doesn’t like to watch giant bugs get blown to bits on screen?
That brings me to my second point. The action in this film is so much fun, primarily because it is just stuffed to the gills with guts and gore, so much so that every blood-soaked frame seems like a Pollock painting made with alien goo. Limbs are blown off, heads are severed, soldiers are skewered like kabobs, bugs are nuked, shot, splattered and run over… this movie is hectic as all get out, and it’s impossible not to enjoy the fun. If you like your action flicks to be no-holds-barred, this one is absolutely for you. I can just picture Verhoeven (“Robocop”, “Total Recall”) giggling gleefully behind the camera as Casper Van Dien shouts a battle cry, pumping round after round into a bug carcass.
The world building that went into this movie is actually pretty great too. Without the film ever spelling it out for you, we get the sense that this is a highly militaristic society and has been for some time. We get some of the backstory about why humans feel the need to attack these bugs, and we’re told some of the history of the Global Federation. We’re also shown some of the differences in this world, like, for example, the fact that some of the characters have low-key psychic abilities. We get a sense that though our heroes are completely behind what the government wants, others have a sense that everything is not right in the world. There’s a moment where a reporter talks to the camera and suggests that the bugs, if left alone, might be peaceful. Then, near the end, when Neil Patrick Harris uses his psychic powers on the bug, he can tell it’s afraid, and everyone cheers at this news. What kind of society cheers when a living thing is frightened? Not a very good one.
I do think there are some pacing issues; particularly during the first half of the film. As our heroes work their way through the academy and then boot camp, the film starts to loose steam. Honestly, I feel like Verhoeven probably could’ve cut half of the boot camp stuff, as I don’t think it added a ton to the film. However, once our heroes are space bound, the pacing ramps up again and the film is a blast through to the end.
Verdict:
As I mentioned before, there are a few ways to watch this film, but whether you take it as satire or a straight action flick, this film is a ton of fun. The special effects, though more than twenty years old, still look pretty great. The acting is exactly how it should be in a film like this; cheesy but sincere. The directing is smarter than many people give it credit. And the world in which “Starship Troopers” resides is tactile and compelling. As a sci fi film, as a satire on fascism, and as an action flick, “Starship Troopers” succeeds on nigh every level.
Review Written By: