Starship Troopers Review by Bobby LePire. Edited by Courtney McAllister.

 

For this initial 'Casper Van Dien Month'- wherein I'll be annually looking at each of Van Dien's movies-I shall be reviewing all four of the “Starship Troopers” movies. Yes, there are four of them, and each are interrelated, even when not a proper direct sequel. Johnny Rico is Van Dien’s most famous role, and probably the one everyone is most interested in hearing me discuss.

 

Robert Heinlein’s 1959 science-fiction novel was a grim and serious war novel. In 1997, a movie adaptation was released. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, once again teaming up with his “Robocop”  scribe, Ed Neumeier, the movie didn’t do as well as hoped, and critics weren’t too kind. This film has gained some positive traction since landing on home video, and the movie’s satire has become more pointed and resonant since the “War On Terror”. Based on this newfound popularity, there have been three direct sequels. So, were the initial reactions correct, or is there a reason this has been reevaluated as a misunderstood classic? Well, this is one of my favorite films of all time, so I fall into the latter group.

 

As this is one of the most popular titles I have reviewed, I am presuming everyone is familiar with the plot. But as a refresher-

Johnny Rico (the man himself, Casper Van Dien), along with his girlfriend Carmen (Denise Richards), and his high school pals, Dizzy (Dina Meyer) and Carl (Neil Patrick Harris) join the Federation Military Service. Johnny and Dizzy enlist in the mobile infantry, Carmen joins the flight academy, and Carl goes into military intelligence. Earth is engaged in a massive war with bug aliens from another solar system. We follow Rico and his cohorts throughout the war, and watch as their relationships evolve.

 

It is a bit difficult when just describing the plot to get the absurd tone and satire across properly, as a deadly serious movie could be made with that exact same story. So let me make this quite clear- “Starship Troopers” is intentionally very funny, with lots of dark humor and satirization of war politics/ war propaganda. Much like their perfect first collaboration, there are commercials and the like that not only build a larger world, but also accentuate the ridiculous subtext- as when a trial just ended, and the public execution will be that night at 7pm, on all Federal Network channels. The way that is shot, the font used for the onscreen information, the almost chipper way the narrator explains what is happening, all add together for an amusing moment. There are several things like that throughout the film, up to and including the cast’s performances.

 

Verhoeven wanted the movie to be a “shiny” war movie, a movie that even in the heat of battle looks oddly sterile. So, he wanted to make the movie look like a “Gap catalog”, and cast accordingly. All of the main characters are above average looks wise, to extremely good looking. Verhoeven was right, there is something incongruous and a little silly about seeing a war exclusively fought by gorgeous folks. This isn’t to say that the actors are bad, and only cast for their looks. Most of the time, the actors and actresses deliver their lines in just the right tone- almost in on the joke, but still taking this seriously.

 

Casper Van Dien, in his first major studio lead role, makes for a fantastic lead. Rico is a bit more of the straight man to some of the more colorful war buddies he meets, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun in the role. Van Dien is clearly enjoying himself, and aside from an occasional line that sounds like he is too earnest/ trying too hard, Van Dien gets it right. The coming-of-age stuff is more of a subplot, but the more self assured Rico gets, the more assertive Van Dien’s performance becomes. It is a small and subtle thing, but it works, because by the end, no one questions how such a young man becomes a captain. In the action scenes, he plays well against the CGI and animatronic bugs, selling their existence well. During the few non-bug fights, his physicality is put to good use (see football scene). Handedly keeping up with him is the lovely Dina Meyer. Playing pseudo best friend, who wants to be more, she gives the most consistent performance. Part of it is definitely that her character is more or less set in stone. Dizzy’s story involves her being badass and knowing what she wants. She continues to be so, and gets what she wants, so there is no real character arc to speak of. Right from her first frame, Meyer projects a ferocity that immediately makes her spark with the audience; no one questions that she is the captain of the football team. Later in the film, during the more tender moments, she is just as believable.

 

Neil Patrick Harris doesn’t get as much screentime as the others, but he is as good and dependable as always. During the big graduation dance, the way he sidles up to Dizzy, bobbing his head, with a cocksure grin, is one of the funniest things in the film to me! Michael Ironside has a small but pivotal role as favorite teacher Mr. Rasczak. He’s stoic and brings a sense of gravitas to the movie. Jake Busey and Patrick Muldoon both have strong supporting characters and they both make good impressions, and are quite memorable.

 

Unfortunately, Denise Richards doesn’t fare quite as well. In the action scenes she acquits herself fine, and during the more mundane conversations, she has good chemistry with both Van Dien and Muldoon. However, part of Carmen’s characterization is that she’s a bit of a loose cannon, kind of crazy, a real maverick if you will. This never once comes across in Richards’ performance, which does make the character feel incomplete. Luckily, this trait only factors in for the middle third of the film, and doesn’t hurt anything else.

 

Paul Verhoeven’s directing style adds a lot. In keeping with his “shiny war” idea, everything is slick and clean, even the military uniforms. He never cuts too quickly away from anything, and there’s always a nice sense of geography because of that. The way he builds tension during the trap sequence is masterful, and the action is invigorating, even all these years and several rewatches later. However, his greatest skill here is how he balances the tone of the movie. A little sillier and the movie becomes broad comedy, not pointed satire; a little more serious and this would have been more in line with the grim book- ultra-militaristic, political fascism in science- fiction trappings. But, he never lets things get away from him, and the absurdity of the reasons they fight is always there in the forefront, but it doesn’t detract from the weightier moments our leads deal with.

 

The world Verhoeven places all this in is also quite striking. Despite being nearly twenty, this thankfully never feels 1990s; even though it was released two years later, “The Matrix” totally does (that is not a dig, I really like that movie). The world before the military service is very basic, with just a few futuristic touches such as tablets being ubiquitous throughout classrooms, and Skyping is the only way to call people. This makes those early scenes seem quite realistic, and helps reinforce the disparity between the common people and the Federation. The Federation is where the sci-fi elements truly are, but aside from the starships and space stations, nothing is too outlandish. This allows the whole movie to never cause much suspension of disbelief, which keeps the audience more engaged.

 

That isn’t meant to imply that Ed Neumeier’s amazing script had no hand in the brilliance of the movie, as it absolutely did. There’s a lot of whiz bang moments, that feature literal armies of characters. It is always clear which actor is speaking, partially thanks to the different way each character was written- no major (or major supporting) character speaks in the exact same way, which adds a strong base upon which to build the movie. There are small callbacks and witty moments throughout that show a lot of care and attention was paid to the script.

 

Brilliant special effects artist Phil Tippet headed up the creature designs. There are a great number of various sized and types of bugs- soldier bugs, plasma bugs, acid bugs, brain bugs- and they all look great. Partnered with an incredible visual effects team, both practical and CGI, the bugs are always easy to tell apart, and have an incredible sense of scale and weight to them. Seventeen years after its release, the effects still look damn great! Aside from some iffy greenscreen here and there (which is more of an age issue, than shoddy craftsmanship) the practical effects still move well, and blend impressively with the still awe-inducing computer effects.

 

I love everything about this movie! It’s fun, funny, kickass exciting, cool, and has aged very well. After dozens of viewings of “Starship Troopers” (I have probably seen this more times than “Robocop”), I can tell you this- it never gets boring, or old, and still feels timely. A stunning achievement for all involved!