Starship Troopers (1997)

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

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

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

Stars:

Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Casper Van Dien	...	Johnny Rico
Dina Meyer	...	Dizzy Flores
Denise Richards	...	Lt. Carmen Ibanez
Jake Busey	...	Ace Levy
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Carl Jenkins
Clancy Brown	...	Sgt. Zim
Seth Gilliam	...	Sugar Watkins
Patrick Muldoon	...	Zander Barcalow
Michael Ironside	...	Jean Rasczak
Rue McClanahan	...	Biology Teacher
Marshall Bell	...	General Owen
Eric Bruskotter	...	Breckinridge
Matt Levin	...	Kitten Smith
Blake Lindsley	...	Katrina
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Shujimi

Storyline

In the distant future high school kids are encouraged to become citizens by joining the military. What they don't know is that they'll soon be engaged in a full scale war against a planet of alien insects. The fight is on to ensure the safety of humanity.

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Plot Keywords:

military | federation | future | alien | battle | 

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Taglines:

You can't step on these ones

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Invasión (Starship Troopers)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 5,118,110 (Germany) (30 January 1998)

Gross:

DEM 15,096,442 (Germany) (20 February 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Big Bug Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The German dubbing of this film, although changing a lot of the political issues of the story, is partly regarded as cult especially due to lines like "Das ganze Gehirn weggelutscht" ("They sucked his brains out") as performed by Joachim Kerzel.

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Goofs

In the shower scene, Johnny's butt is already red before it is smacked.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Basil Poledouris: His Life and Music (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Pier Thirteen"
Written by Jake Cavaliere & Johnny De Villa
Performed by The Bomboras
Courtesy of Dionysus Records

User Reviews

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.