Favorite Friday: Starship Troopers is Full of Bug-Killing Awesomeness

Favorite Friday: Starship Troopers


This is.....CASPER!!! (van dien...)

Now now. I know that if a) you've seen this movie and you probably think its stupid or b) you have no idea what this movie is and/or you thought the title said "Super Troopers...."

either way you'll just click away....just know that if you do..........

You don't know what you're missing!!!!!

Still here? Good.

First, the plot.

The film takes place in a future time where the Earth and humans are under attack by aliens from another planet that are essentially giant "bugs." The story follows a few young people--the foremost being a gentleman by the name of Johnny Rico (played with acumen by Casper van Dien whom you'll recognize as Bram from Sleepy Hollow) ---and some of his fellow high school graduates as the join the military in order to become Citizens. Citizens basically enjoy all of the rights that we ourselves (that is US citizens here and now) have that Civilians do not have---voting, having children, ability to run for office, etc. So yeah. Basically it goes from there.



Neil Patrick Harris is a psychic who kills bugs....any questions?

 The first film (the one I am reviewing now...right now...the one you're reading about) is taken (very vaguely) from the pages of an award-winning book by the same name originally published in 1959. That being said, you should read the book too as it is very good. The film itself was actually nominated for an Oscar (Best Visual Effects 1998).

Take That!
I digress.

This movie is not just a shoot-em-up romp through the universe where the good guys kill the bad guys who just happen to be big arachnid things filled with goop. Its a mental movie. It makes you think. Okay it makes you think about bugs. But beyond that it really is an inflated, over-the-top action-flick satire of the world. The film alludes (in a haha poke fun kind of way) to Nazi-propaganda and Nazi military. The draw of military service in the film for most is that it enables you to be a "citizen" where you enjoy the rights: baby-making, voting etc. It's very fascist and very delicious. Watch it as a statement on class-conflict in militaristic societies.
It's very deep.


Looks like someone took a nerf ball and liquified it

But all of that aside.....forget all of that for just a second.

The movie. Is. Awesome.

 I mean come on now. It's about people killing giant bugs filled with various shades of goop.  There's action. There's suspense.There's ridiculous action sequences of suspense and gore with a man whose given name is Casper Van Dien (his parents hated him). There's Neil Patrick Harris in what has probably been his most normal role ever....which is weird. There's really awesome concentrating faces by Denise Richards.

My favorite thing about Starship Troopers is the over-the-top. I mean come on now. Giant bugs sending an asteroid to kill us? Seriously?  Using a teeny-tiny nuke like an RPG to blow up stuff? That's just silly. But look beyooooond the silly---see it? There is the awesome!! The movie is just a 50's version of Gears of War! SEE! ISN"T IT COOL!?  The only thing it's missing is some poor Carmine guy getting his head chopped off!

BUUUUUUUGS!

But you find yourself enjoying it. Rooting for us! The movie is a rollicky thrill ride of perpetual awesome. Because who doesn't like a good war movie? Do you dislike Saving Private Ryan? Or Black Hawk Down? Perhaps Inglorious Basterds? Platoon? Apocalypse Now? Well this movie is like all of those pretty much....just about bugs....and the future....yeah you get my point.



CONCENTRATING FACE!!!



Try it. See it as an art piece about how we are secretly inside---especially if we didn't care about offending the people we were fighting in a war. If it was PC to kill cockroaches because they looked like the people we were sending troops to kill. Maybe then this movie would really be about us instead of merely being make believe.

If anything just for the random naked scene (which the actors only agreed to do if the director and crew were all naked while filming it--which they were haha). Which sadly, I will not post here. I'm cool but obviously not that cool.