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Starship Troopers

As cultural essayist and music writer Chuck Klosterman once said, “Science fiction tends to be philosophy for stupid people.” This may seem harsh but there is, regrettably, a lot of evidence for this idea in cinema. Look no further than two of the three “Matrix” movies, all three “Star Wars” prequels and Will Smith’s “I, Robot.” Fortunately, there are some science fiction movies that avoid this trend. They are content to focus on pitched battles in space and exploring exotic, otherworldly planets without succumbing to genre conventions, which force them to awkwardly incorporate bastardized philosophy into the story.

“Starship Troopers” is one of these exceptions. It certainly contains socio-political commentary, but legendarily controversial Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven largely mutes it in favor of presenting future human beings’ struggle against a bellicose alien race of massive insects. Verhoeven’s similarly legendary ineptness as a director, though, rears its ugly head, butchering what should have been a simple “humans vs. aliens” story.

“Troopers” presents an odd paradox. The complete absence of ideas does not harm the film since any injection of concept would have seemed heavy-handed and no doubt derailed the entire project. However, this shrewd maneuver leaves the movie with such a slight, skeletal frame that it barely stands up. A hefty dose of bad production decisions leads to its total collapse.

Johnny Rico, played by Casper Van Dien, who is far out of his acting comfort-zone, is an underachieving high school student in futuristic Buenos Aires, which inexplicably contains an all-white populace who exclusively speaks English. Rico and his girlfriend Carmen, played by Denise Richards, and friends Dizzy, played by Dina Meyer, and Carl, played by Neil Patrick Harris, all join the military of the United Citizen Federation, the galactic governing body, after graduation in order to attain full citizenship. This is due in no small part to the jingoistic urgings of their mutilated ex-soldier civics teacher, played by Michael Ironside, from high school.

Initially, everything goes fine. Rico and Dizzy are placed in the same infantry squad, Carmen advances through the ranks of the military’s pilot program and Carl excels in the Gestapo-style intelligence service. However, when direct combat with the alien “bugs” begins, the protagonists find their lives and friendship tested by a species whose brutality and cunning they underestimated.

The inability of “Troopers” to find a consistent tone is the core problem with the film. It begins as an “All Quiet on the Western Front”-style exploration of the effects of militarism on the psyches of impressionable young people. Then, it crosses into “Full Metal Jacket” territory as Rico and company enter the military. Then, it becomes what it should have been all along; a straightforward sci fi/action shoot-‘em-up in the vein of “Aliens.” Throughout the movie, elements of “1984,” “Star Wars” and even “A Tale of Two Cities” are incoherently nestled in between the splatter-deaths and graphic combat sequences.

Poor acting is yet another hurdle “Troopers” never overcomes. This is easy to understand. Casting pre-fame heartthrobs with little on their resume to suggest they can handle anything beyond a teen soap opera is normally not a step one wants to take when making a weighty science fiction film. Unfortunately, this is exactly the step Verhoeven takes. He even reinforces it by providing plenty of opportunities for his young stars to flex their soap opera muscles, primarily in the many scenes developing the tepid romantic triangle between Rico, Dizzy and Carmen. The sheer length and abundance of these scenes elevates the tedium of a film already struggling with haphazard pacing; patience is a necessity to weather this mess of a movie.

Written by: Adam Rowan

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