starship troopers ( 1997 ) rated r for graphic sci-fi violence and gore , and for some language and nudity . ---------- out of 4 stars : * * * 1/2 ( 3 1/2 stars ) starring : casper van dien , denise richards , dina meyer , jake busey , neil patrick harris , patrick muldoon , and michael ironside . ladies and gentlemen , 1997's independence day is here ! it's title : starship troopers . and surprisingly , it is more entertaining than id4 . i realize that i gave last year's sci-fi hit a 4 star rating , but i was under the spell of the powerful first hour . after subsequent viewings , i feel that independence day really wasn't as great as it seemed--though i still give it a positive review . starship troopers , on the other hand , has a mocking sense of humor , knowing perfectly well how ridiculous it may seem . as a result , starship troopers is a more exciting , energetic , and lively science fiction film . in fact , i probably could never get tired of watching this film . starship troopers is very reminiscient of star wars , another kick-ass space opera which reinvented the sci-fi drama altogether . while starship troopers is no star wars , it comes quite close , and the easiest assessment would be to call this film : " the 'star wars' of the 90s . " am i being to generous to this film ? perhaps , but when a science fiction film comes along that can mix humor and romance , effectively , into the warring races . in essence , this is the science fiction equivolence of pulp fiction . the easiest way to write a review of this film would be to compare it to other science fiction films , and i may have to . starship troopers is not quite an original film persay , but director paul verhoeven gives the film a " kick-the-aliens'-asses " style . id4 had this same style , except it was forced , most likely the cause of will smith having a major role . this new " star wars " has a very simple , basic plot : mankind vs . an alien species . the alien species in question here is the bugs , a seemingly advanced civilization of arachnid-type insects . however , the underlying morals of starship troopers are fleshed out with deadly accuracy . sometimes the morals are buried by the bloody violence and intense action scenes , but during quiet moments , we realize that starship troopers has something to tell us about our civilization . more than likely , these morals will be overpowered and quickly forgotten by the time the movie ends . and they should be . i doubt verhoeven intended this film to be a thought-provoking film . this is an " event " film , but surprisingly above average . it is extremely refreshing to watch a sci-fi war film , and actually root for the human side ( something independence day never achieved ) . starship troopers begins with a satirical portrayal of those strange " join the army " ads . mixing a web-based interface , these summations of events are refreshingly original . stating , " would you like to know more ? " , these short news bulletins give the film an immediate sense of humor , and we know we should not take it seriously . however , we also witness the murder of several troopers in battle , in a gory , yet funny , way . after witnessing the slaughter , the film jumps back one year , to setup what we just saw . we are introduced to johnny rico ( casper van dien ) and carmen ibanez ( denise richards ) . rico flirts with carmen by sending her messages over computer terminals in school classrooms . however , carmen isn't as interested in rico as she is in becoming a pilot . however , another classmate , dizzy flores ( dina meyer ) , has her eye on rico . unfortunately , rico isn't interested in dizzy . this setup is rather cliched , as is the result of the setup , but it still is fun to watch . carmen signs up to become a starship trooper , and as a result , rico signs up . and as a result , dizzy signs up . everyone is assigned a certain position in the academy : carmen gets the pilot position she wanted , carl jenkins ( neil patrick harris ) , a psychic , gets a position in the training program , and rico is left in the lowest class of the starship troopers : the mobile infantry . the main story follows rico through his trials and relationships . in reality , i found myself watching a space version of " melrose place , " but with better special effects . an hour into the film , the war begins . a sense of tension grew in the audience i watched this film with . the first hour may have been a funny ( sometimes unintentionally ) setup , but we grew to care for the flat characters , because no matter how hard i tried not to like the characters , their gorgeous looks won me over ( call me superficial , if you must ) . following the training sessions , which had many dramas in themselves ( too many to mention here ) , the troopers are sent to war . the bugs live on the planet klendathu , a planet which consists of dirt and rock , and pretty much nothing else . many dramas occur during the war , until finally the troopers realize that their is something behind the bugs' attacks . a sort of intelligence which masterminds the defense . the troopers are ordered to locate the " brain " and capture it . i hopefully left the plot as vague as possible , because starship troopers is not about plot . it's about special effects and gory violence . director verhoeven , most known for his nudie film showgirls and basic instinct , returns to his sci-fi days , which gave us good films like total recall . verhoeven likes to push the envelope of the mpaa , but despite all the violence , the comic book feel gives the film a sense of falsehood . starship troopers is extremely violent , with more gore than this year's event horizon . the r rating is well deserved , and hopefully parents will not allow their 12 year old children to see it . my guess is that verhoeven's target audience is the 18 to 25 male group . the film has a testosterone level off the charts , with chiseled men and beautiful women . despite these superficial elements , starship troopers also creates a world which made star wars so successful . while watching the film , we never second guess the character's decisions because they seem perfectly clear . thankfully , no hero is punching aliens in the face , which gives the flat characters some depth for which we can identify with . the cast of starship troopers is quite annoying to begin with , but they soon grow on you . casper van dien has the chiseled facial features and tan skin which will make most girls swoon . to most guys , he will come across as artificial . fortunately , van dien is the worst of the cast , despite how hard he tries to come off as a real character . dina meyer does a much better job of fleshing out her character . her dizzy is extremely likeable . denise richards also does a good job , and her scenes are very well done . jake busey , gary busey's son , gives a wonderfully funny performance , and provides one of the biggest laughs of the film . neil patrick harris ( remember , he was doogie howser ) is a little wooden , and slightly out of place with the rest of the cast . however , he does give a good performance . michael ironside gives the best performance of the film as the teacher with one arm . his performance rises above the rest . perhaps it is because his character is the most developed , but i think it is just ironside's presence on screen . unfortunately , no particular cast member gives a star-making performance , which is too bad because the material here could have made many of the cast members stars . director verhoeven is the main star of the film . his direction is fast and unrelentless . he never slows down his pace , which makes for a wild ride . writer edward neumeier adapted the screenplay from the book by robert heinlein . the writing is usually very funny , and sometimes very corny . the dialogue is smart but not too smart . we aren't required to know everything , but some plot holes are left unanswered . thankfully we are not intended to notice , and we really don't ( except for one which lingered in my mind for quite a while ) . amazingly , with all the wars and romance going on , the screenplay manages to include some surprising governmental issues . in fact , these governmental changes seem fairly plausible , and this adds another layer to the story . the moral debate of the characters is quite surprising to find in a film of this genre , but what is even more surprising is the amount of humor included into all the carnage . i haven't laughed this loud , even in some comedies . oh , and the special effects are first rate . starship troopers is rated r for graphic sci-fi violence and gore , and for some language and nudity . believe me when i say this : don't take young kids to see this film . it is extremely violent . in fact , it is probably the most violent film out this year . however , if you are old enough ( over 17 ) to see it , starship troopers is guaranteed to entertain . it's been a long time since i have cheered for the heros , while also cheering for the bad guys . and still , it is my dream to see a sci-fi film in which the alien race destroys mankind , and take over the world . now that would be entertaining ! reviewed by respect ( <a href= " mailto : respect@aros . net " >respect@aros . net</a> ) <a href= " http : //www . aros . net/~respect/movies . html " >http : //www . aros . net/~respect/movies . html</a> 
