Starship Troopers (1997)

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers (WGA):

Robert A. Heinlein (book)
Edward Neumeier (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Genocide doesn't compare to this.

Plot:

Humans of a fascistic, militaristic future do battle with giant alien bugs in a fight for survival.

Plot Keywords:

Shower Scene | Sucking Brains | Flogging | Attraction | Floating

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Casper Van Dien	...	Johnny Rico
Dina Meyer	...	Dizzy Flores
Denise Richards	...	Carmen Ibanez
Jake Busey	...	Private Ace Levy
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Colonel Carl Jenkins
Clancy Brown	...	Career Sergeant Zim
Seth Gilliam	...	Private Sugar Watkins
Patrick Muldoon	...	Zander Barcalow
Michael Ironside	...	Lieutenant Jean Rasczak
Rue McClanahan	...	Biology Teacher
Marshall Bell	...	General Owen
Eric Bruskotter	...	Sergeant Breckinridge
Matt Levin	...	Kitten Smith
Blake Lindsley	...	Katrina McIntire
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Shujumi (as Anthony Michael Ruivivar)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic sci-fi violence and gore, and for some language and nudity.

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) | DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (DVD version) (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | South Korea:15 (video rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (video rating) (uncut) | Germany:18 (original rating) (cut) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

Most of the arachnids appearing on film are CGI but a few life-sized, robotic models were built. However, during the battle scenes, the actors wound up looking at director Paul Verhoeven himself who would stand in front of them and jump and scream to elicit their reactions.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The odds of a ship physically running into an asteroid launched from Klendathu to Earth are literally astronomical. However, there's no strong evidence it really was launched from Klendathu; this is an assumption the humans make, and its very absurdity (and the early death of the only reporter to question it) is part of the point.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Newsreel announcer: Young people from all over the globe are joining up to fight for the future.
Soldier #1: I'm doing my part.
Soldier #2: I'm doing my part.
Soldier #3: I'm doing my part.
Young kid dressed up as a soldier: I'm doing my part too.
[Soldiers laugh]
Newsreel announcer: They're doing their part. Are you? Join the Mobile Infantry and save the world. Service guarantees citizenship.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Stargate SG-1: The Scourge (#9.17)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Into It

The negative buzz kept me from watching this film for awhile, but I'm glad I've seen it now!

Based on the famous Robert A. Heinlein novel, Starship Troopers is set in a world of the future where militarism is the norm, largely because we've discovered alien civilizations of huge insect-like creatures and we're at war with them. The film follows a quartet of high school friends as they make their varied ways through the military.

Starship Troopers is both a tongue-in-cheek satire of society and an intense sci-fi/action/war film filled with horror-like insect monsters and a healthy dose of graphic gore. That's a genre combination that will not please all viewers, especially if the tongue-in-cheek humor goes over their heads. For those more in tune with the genre melding, Starship Troopers promises a quick, edge-of-your-seat ride from the first moments to the last.

The film can be looked at in three sections, with slight crossovers from one section to another. The first is focused on the social satire. The cultural differences of the future are given in mostly indirectly, and occasionally, the point is what hasn't changed, or perhaps what is currently (per the film's setting) in vogue as a retro element. The second and third sections could be seen as a sci-fi Platoon (1986), with the second section focused on military basic training and the third focused on wartime. Like Platoon, the basic training scenes show order and a clear sense of purpose, while the wartime scenes show comparative chaos.

That the film could be compared to something like Platoon shows that although director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Edward Neumeier are aware that the material could easily be seen as absurd, they have the chops to make it believable and suspenseful at the same time.

This is not to say that Starship Troopers is a rip-off of any other movie. The film-making here is highly original, and we could almost see the entire film as a computer-based CNN-styled collection of wartime newsreels of the future. It remains quick, witty and intense throughout. My only regret is that they didn't incorporate Yes' song Starship Troopers in the score somehow.