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:

The only good bug is a dead bug

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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

Fort Ticonderoga is a real fort in upstate New York that was active during the mid 18th century. It was used during the 7-years war with the French and then again during the American Revolution against the British by American troops.

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Goofs

The asteroid shown by the "Federal Network" heading for Earth in the beginning of the movie is moving at a speed slow enough for it to be tracked and hit by a gun mounted on an orbiting space ship. If the asteroid was launched by the bugs from Klendathu (which is on the other side of the galaxy), or even from our own solar systems asteroid belt, it must have been traveling for many, many years to reach Earth at that speed.

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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

References Star Trek: Generations (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Intense"
Written by Karen Poole, Terence Martin & Shellie Poole (as Michelle Poole)
Performed by Alisha's Attic
Courtesy of Mercury Records Limited
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

LOVED IT!!!!!

While some of the characters and lines in the movie were a little underdeveloped, the overriding story of the evolution of our society into an aggressive, militarist regime cannot be ignored. The action scenes were great, with flawless computer animation (how Titanic beat it for SFX I will never know) and enhancement supported by what can only be described as gore-laden prosthetics. I thought they could have left the love story out, but that's Hollywood.

Very watchable, and a nice change from the Alien movies - this is WAR, not some isolated pit-fight! I love the Alien movies, but Startship troopers just has a lot o' lead, heads, and bodies flying left, right and centre! I thought the Mobile Infantry could have used better weaponry (apparently in the novel that it's based on, the MI has powered armour with assault cannon and missile launchers etc.) to battle such a foe, but I'm just being technical.

If you want a nice beer & pretzels movie to yell and scream at, then this is it.

10 out of 10