January celebrates two notable dates in science-fiction history, “National Science Fiction Day” on January 2 and Arthur C. Clarke’s HAL 9000’s birthday on January 12. Accordingly, I’m dedicating January to celebrating sci-fi with an event I call “Sci-Fanuary”.
Released: 7 November 1997
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Distributor: TriStar Pictures
Budget: $100 to 110 million
Stars: Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Neil Patrick Harris, Dina Meyer, Clancy Brown, and Michael Ironside
The Plot:
In the 23rd century, mankind wars with the “Bugs” of Klendathu. Youngsters Johnny Rico (Van Dien), Carmen Ibanez (Richards), and Carl Jenkins (Harris) enthusiastically join the fight, only to find war is not the glamourous affair portrayed by the media.
The Background:
First published as a two-part serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as Starship Soldier, Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 pro-military sci-fi tale of humanity’s war against arachnid aliens was just the inspiration writer Ed Neumeier and producer Jon Davison needed to sell their similarly-themed concept to TriStar Pictures. TriStar were far more receptive to their pitch for Bug Hunt at Outpost 7 once it was pitched as an adaptation of Starship Troopers and the Outpost 7 concept was tweaked to accommodate Heinlein’s work. Neumeier and Davison quickly recruited and reunited with Paul Verhoeven to direct based on his predication towards satirical subtext. Though production slowed in the mid-nineties, the ensuing effects tests finally convinced the studio to get the project moving in collaboration with other studios. Despite Neumeier’s attempts to remain faithful to the source material, Verhoeven introduced satirical elements regarding the media, military, and politics and removed the trooper’s power armour to put them at a greater disadvantage. While Phil Tippett and his studio created the practical and visual effects for the film and Verhoeven meticulously drafted detailed storyboards, Verhoeven purposely cast young, beautiful actors to evoke Nazi propaganda films. The cast endured combat training in harsh weather conditions to prepare for the film, which initially debuted at number one at the box office, though it barely cleared $120 million in profit. Reviews were mixed or largely negative upon release, with many missing the satirical elements and criticising its characterisations. Positive reviews praised the action and effects, and its violent content, and it has gone on to be regarded as an increasingly relevant cult classic that led to numerous divisive direct-to-DVD sequels, videogames, and a surprisingly well regarded CGI cartoon.
The Review:
Starship Troopers doesn’t pull any punches, even from the start. The movie opens with a platoon of gung-ho soldiers from the Mobile Infantry (MI) division of the United Citizen Federation (UCF) charging into battle with the Arachnids (derisively referred to as “Bugs”) on their hostile home world, Klendathu. Joined by a FedNet correspondent (Gregg Travis) who exposits the danger of both the Bugs and their world and boisterously hails the bravery and righteousness of the UCF’s troopers (before being summarily devoured by an Arachnid), the infantry immediately realise that all their training and heavy machine guns are largely superfluous against the Arachnid threat. Slaughtered and torn to pieces, the troopers are left bloodied, with Private John Rico seemingly left for dead following a brutal wound to the leg. The story then dramatically jumps to one year prior, when Rico was a fresh-faced, lovelorn senior trying to steal a kiss from (and seal the deal with) his beautiful, determined, but somewhat nauseous girlfriend, Carmen Ibanez. Alongside their friend and budding psychic, Carl Jenkins, and Rico’s jump ball teammate, Isabelle “Dizzy” Flores (Meyer), they are three young, sexy kids taught from an early age by the likes of seasoned veteran Jean Rasczak (Ironside) of the sanctity of enlisting. Those who enlist and complete their federal service are awarded “citizenship”, gaining such perks as the right to vote and have children, while ordinary “civilians” have little influence in the body politic. Though talented on the field and boasting a stronger stomach than his beau, Rico is completely naïve to the dangers of enlistment, repeatedly knocks back Dizzy’s affections, and is ruled by his heart when it comes to his decisions. Thus, he clashes with both his parents (Christopher Curry and Lenore Kasdorf) and rival player Zander Barcalow (Patrick Muldoon) when it comes to his life choices and Carmen.
Indeed, swayed by the perceived honour that’s associated with Citizenship and desperate to stay close to Carmen, whose top grades make her a shoe-in for the fleet academy, Rico disregards his parents’ very real concerns that he’s signing up to get himself hurt or killed for a girl and readily enlists. Since he doesn’t have the grades to be a pilot like Carmen or the psychic aptitude to be part of the overly fascist military intelligence division like Karl, Rico’s assigned to tough, no-nonsense (and scene-stealing) drill sergeant Zim (Brown) and immediately thrown in the deep end. Alongside his new best friend, wisecracking Ace Levy (Jake Busey), Rico is subjected to harsh physical tests, constant berating from Zim, and resentment towards Dizzy when she follows in his footsteps. His placement in the Mobile Infantry ironically means Rico’s further away from Carmen, who takes to flying like a duck to water and finds herself under Zander’s tutelage, quickly gaining a reputation as a fearless and unconventional pilot. Still, Rico’s physicality and natural charisma serve him well until he makes a critical error during a live-fire exercise and causes the death of fellow cadet Breckinridge (Eric Bruskotter). Although Zim vouches for Rico’s potential and he takes his ten lashes, Carmen’s ending of their relationship and Breckinridge’s death weigh heavily on Rico and cause him to quit. However, right as he’s about to make amends with his parents, his home of Buenos Aires is obliterated by a Bug Meteor, sparking all-out war and Rico’s return to combat to get a measure of revenge. This leads to the opening assault on Klendathu as a direct counterattack, a siege that leads to thousands of deaths as the Bugs blast ships from orbit and slaughter the ground troops.
Though listed among the dead, Rico survives thanks to the intervention of Rasczak, commander of “Rasczak’s Roughnecks”, an elite infantry squadron who absorb Rico, Dizzy, and Ace into their ranks. Rasczak demands only the finest work from his troopers and orders them to shoot anyone, even their own people, if it means sparing them a more gruesome fate. Impressed by Rico’s valour, Rasczak quickly promotes him to Corporal after his football skills and natural leadership take down a particularly dangerous Tanker Bug. While associating with Rasczak’s Roughnecks, Rico finally sees what’s been in front of him and gives in to Dizzy’s affections, though their tryst is short-lived as the group is ordered to investigate a distress call from Planet P. There, they discover a ravaged UCF outpost and General Owen (Marshall Bell) driven to the brink of madness after witnessing the Bugs sucking the brains out of their prey. The squad realises all-too-late that the distress call was a trap and are besieged by Bugs in a gory slaughter that leaves Rasczak mortally wounded. After Rico mercy kills him and assumes command of the survivors (now renamed “Rico’s Roughnecks”), he’s embittered when his order to carpet bomb P is countermanded and yet duty-bound to return to P when ordered by Jenkins, now a high-ranking colonel, to flesh out the rumoured “Brain Bug” residing there. While Carmen is aghast at Carl’s callous nature, especially after Dizzy’s death, he justifies his decisions as the natural fallout of war. His ultimate goal is to capture the Brain Bug and thereby learn more about the Arachnid’s nature to better fight them, though this goal requires the sacrifice of hundreds and even thousands of lives both in the Mobile Infantry and the fleet. The relationship between the three is strained as a result; fleet and infantry don’t mix as it is (since “MI does the dyin’, fleet just does the flyin’”) and the increasing incompetency of the revolving door of UCF officers doesn’t help matters. Still, the allure of combat remains; Rico readily accepts his mission, even if it’s potentially a one-way trip, and even Zim “busts [his] ass down to Private” to get back on the front line.
On the surface, the Arachnids are a perfectly horrific and monstrous alien threat. They’re gigantic spider- and bug-like aliens that attack in swarms, slicing limbs, gobbling up their prey, and even spitting fire and firing plasma from their rears. They’re an uncivilised and obviously non-human alien species, one apparently capable of blasting asteroids from orbit towards Earth, and they’re incredibly resilient. Not only are their larger variants armour-plated, not only can they burrow underground and fly, but even their spider-like drones continue to be a threat after their limbs are blown off. Indeed, it takes almost an entire clip just to put one down, and that’s when the troopers are aiming at centre mass, and even then there are hundreds more to take the place of their fallen. Starship Troopers does suggest, more than once, that the Bugs aren’t the aggressors in this fight, however. There’s an off-hand suggestion that they were riled by humans venturing into their airspace, and that the UCF is seeking to colonise the Bug world for their resources, and even the implication that the Buenos Aires attack was perpetrated by the UCF. Such discourse is quickly dismissed, however, especially be the impassioned troopers, who believe wholeheartedly in slaughtering every Bug they encounter. They certainly have their work cut out for them, something not helped by the UCF’s bizarre insistence on relying on ground troops rather than orbital bombardment, the Bugs’ sheer numbers, and the fact every battle takes place on alien worlds. Analogous to the futility and ill-conceived strategies used in the Vietnam War, the Bugs overwhelm the heavily armed but poorly protected troopers, making mincemeat out of them and even sucking out their brains as an act of intimidation. The UCF itself is an aggressive force that controls all the media, society, and strategy regarding the Bugs. They make enlistment to look as attractive as possible to bolster their numbers and it takes the entire movie for them to develop better weapons and defences towards their warmongering efforts. Though Rico clashes with Zim and Zander and even Carl, the various divisions are portrayed as united against the Bugs. This hatred has torn down social and gender inequalities and given humanity a common enemy to rally against, even if it means sacrificing certain freedoms (or their lives).
The Nitty-Gritty:
Starship Troopers was a pretty big deal in my social circle back in the day and a regular watch at sleepovers, mainly for the action and gore. Yet, despite my love for the film and the science-fiction genre, I’ve never gotten around to reading the original book. From what I gather, there are many differences between the two, particularly regarding gender, politics, and the portrayal of the military (who utilise mech suits in the source material). The film instead opts to focus on satire; dark, bleak, biting satire as only Paul Verhoeven can deliver. Taking his portrayal of the media in RoboCop (ibid, 1987) and cranking it up the eleven, Verhoeven presents the UCF-controlled media as a constant recruitment drive. Every bad decision from the various Sky Marshalls is twisted into a propaganda piece designed to encourage viewers to enlist to stamp out the Bug threat. Unedited footage from doomed frontline assaults is aired alongside pro-military advertising specifically targeted at children (portraying killing Bugs as fun and necessary), those who showcase psychic potential, and anyone curious to “know more” about the ongoing campaign. The hypocrisy of the broadcasts is staggering, and anyone who dares question the stratocratic regime is seen as being somehow “lesser”. Rico’s father openly criticises Rasczak’s teachings, preferring Rico apply to Harvard than go to war, and is ridiculed by his son as a result. Rasczak is seen as a heroic, aspirational figure, one responsible for saving many lives and killing many Bugs, who believes in the sanctity of aggressive force as a decisive factor in any conflict. This is again bolstered by the media, which teaches the best ways to kill a Bug, showcases the gruesome experiments performed on the Brain Bug, and highlights the gung-ho attitude of Rico’s Roughnecks as a means to coerce anyone watching into enlisting and following in their footsteps, regardless of the thousands already dead and the untold numbers sporting artificial limbs as a result of enlisting.
As enjoyable as Starship Troopers’ satire of the military, politics, and futility of war is, it’s equally enjoyable at a far more primal level. Just as the media glamorises war, the horrifically one-sided battles between the MI and the Arachnids is as gory and brutal as you could ask for from Verhoeven. Largely portrayed as swarming, voracious CGI bug, the Arachnids make for fearsome alien foes, sporting sharpened limbs, large mouths, and capable of slaughtering our naïve young troopers in numerous creative ways. They’ll dice you up, eat you whole, immolate you, and suck your brains from your skull, clambering over your bloodied remains to take out your friends as they go. Even the mighty fleet is of little consequence to them and the MI’s rifles are so ineffectual that it often takes some creative physical feats (or a well-aimed nuke) to thin out the Bugs’ numbers. Although there are no humanoid aliens like in the book, the Bugs have a decent amount of variety and their effects hold up pretty well thanks to the film using model shots and animatronics alongside the CGI. Unfortunately, Starship Troopers is a little let down by its young, sexy main cast. This in itself is a creative way to further emphasise that these kids have no idea what they’re signing up for, but Denise Richards is such a blank, vacant void that I’m totally on side with Rico’s mum in thinking she’s a bit of a bimbo. Dizzy, despite her clingy obsession with Rico, is a far more attractive prospect. Ballsy, fearless, and capable, she’s much more Rico’s equal and it’s a shame he’s so late coming to that realisation. I don’t mind Casper Van Dien here and he has an undeniable physical appeal and charisma, but he seems a little out of his depth as a leading man. Similarly, as much as I love Neil Patrick Harris, he seems a little miscast. Thankfully, Clancy Brown, Dean Norris, and the immortal Michael Ironside lend some much-appreciated gravitas to proceedings and command the screen every time they appear.
So, yeah, it turns out the assault on Klendathu was doomed to fail. The UCF bit off way more than it could chew and were forced to refocus on targeting the neighbouring worlds, like P. After they finally hooking up, Rico is devastated when Dizzy is mortally wounded on P. However, her death galvanises his belief in the UCF and the virtues of Citizenship and he completes his transformation into a devout, battle-hardened copy of Rasczak (even copying his idol’s mannerisms and declarations when commanding his Roughnecks). While many of Rico’s troopers were killed so Carl could get evidence of a Brain Bug, he doesn’t hesitate to return with the surviving troopers and a contingent of “kids” fresh from the academy to flush out and capture the grotesque Bug commander. During the assault, Carmen and Zander are shot down and presumably killed; though Sugar Watkins (Seth Gilliam) offers to lead a rescue party, Rico stoically orders to stay on mission. Luckily for him, Carmen and Zader are captured and brought to the slobbering, larvae-like Brain Bug, which slurps out Zander’s brains and is only stopped from doing the same to Carmen thanks to Rico’s timely intervention. Despite Carl’s earlier stoicism regarding their lives, he subtly influenced Rico, using his psychic powers to nudge him in Carmen’s direction so she could be rescued. Though Sugar heroically sacrificing himself (literally going down fighting) to cover their escape, they make it out injured but alive and are stunned to see that the Brain Bug was captured, offscreen and through means unknown, by none other than Zim, now a private under Rico’s command. Carl arrives and “mind melds” with the Brain Bug and announces that it’s afraid, to the uproarious delight of the solders, and the Bug is taken to be probed and dissected to learn how to better battle the creatures. The film ends with Carl declaring that, one day, everyone will forget that it was a lone infantryman who turned the tide of the war, delivering a soliloquy that sells the MI as the most important division of the war effort, and the three reaffirming their friendship. We also get one final propaganda piece touting humanity’s inevitable victory over their monstrous alien foe, which is presented as a stirring piece selling the military as brave, conquering heroes but is, again, a ridiculous satirical misrepresentation of the bloody truth of their lives.
The Summary:
As mentioned, Starship Troopers was a constant favourite when I was a kid. As teenagers, we loved the film for its gore, monstrous aliens, and because we got to see Dina Meyer’s boobs. I grew up on Paul Verhoeven’s movies so I was well into the splattergore on show here, the bloody action, and his ludicrous satire of the media, politics, and military. These elements are what really help Starship Troopers stand the test of time; as media and the government become more controlling, oppressive, and hypocritical, it’s hard to not see our modern times reflected in this sci-fi classic. The effects hold up really well, too, again thanks to using practical effects wherever possible and focusing on strong, bloody, uncompromising scenes of brutality even as they exist side-by-side with amusing moments, such as Zim nailing Ace’s hand to a wall with a knife just to prove a point. The only real downside for me are the three main actors: they’re all perfectly fine and portraying them as naïve, fresh-faced youngsters makes sense in the narrative, but I do think they’re a little miscast at times and not quite up to the task of carrying the film. Veteran actors and the satirical subtext counterbalance this, but all the gore and brain sucking in the world can’t get me invested in Denise Richards’ lifeless performance. Still, Starship Troopers is as appealing to me now as it was when I was a teenager. It’s crazy to me that it didn’t get stronger sequels as there was real franchise potential here. What I really like about this film is how layered the subtext and satire is, allowing for numerous critical and academic interpretations and discussions on what on the surface appears to be a mindless sci-fi action flick but is actually a compelling commentary on the glamorised portrayal of fruitless warfare.
My Rating:
Great Stuff
Did you enjoy Starship Troopers? Have you ever read the book and, if so, how do you think the film works as an adaptation? Do you agree that the three main actors were a little out of place in the film? What did you think to the Bugs and their capabilities? Were you a fan of the satirical subtext woven throughout the movie? What did you think to the subsequent movies and spinoffs, and would you like to see another big-budget entry in the franchise? Whatever your thoughts on Starship Troopers, feel free to leave a comment below and be sure to check out my other sci-fi content across the site.
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