Starship Troopers (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the film. For the original novel, see Starship Troopers.
| Starship Troopers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Paul Verhoeven |
| Produced by | Jon Davison, Alan Marshall |
| Written by | Edward Neumeier, based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein |
| Starring | Casper Van Dien Denise Richards Dina Meyer Jake Busey Neil Patrick Harris Clancy Brown Patrick Muldoon Michael Ironside |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 7, 1997 [1] |
| Running time | 129 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100,000,000 (estimated) |
| Followed by | Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation |
| IMDb profile | |
Starship Troopers is a 1997 film directed by Paul Verhoeven, written by Edward Neumeier, and starring Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer and Denise Richards. The movie is loosely based on the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Set in the 23rd century, Starship Troopers follows a period of approximately two years after the graduation from a posh Buenos Aires high school of a young man named Juan "Johnnie" Rico (Van Dien). After much mulling over his future and disagreements with his parents about their wish for him to attend Harvard University and also on the issue, Rico follows his girlfriend Carmen (Richards) into the military service in the hopes of becoming a citizen, a privilege afforded only to those who serve the military government ("The Federation").
Rico is assigned to Mobile Infantry, while Carmen is assigned to flight school and Rico's best friend Carl (Harris) to military intelligence. A girl from Rico's high school, "Dizzy" Flores (who had long been enamored with him), also ends up in the Mobile Infantry and is assigned to Rico's training platoon. Rico soon finds the grueling boot camp training program more difficult than anticipated, with terrible injuries being inflicted by the officers and NCOs (particularly his drill sergeant, Zim) in an effort to teach the new soldiers quickly and efficiently. Rico excels at the training and eventually is promoted to squad leader; in the meantime, Carmen, his present girlfriend, breaks up with him in favor of her classmate Zander (Muldoon). After a trooper is killed in a training accident and Rico found culpable (and subsequently punished), he decides to quit the program. However, just before he leaves the camp, an asteroid destroys Buenos Aires, after which he decides to finish his training and join the newly-declared war against the perpetrators of the attack: the human-sized insect species known as Arachnids (called "Bugs" by soldiers), hailing from a distant planet called Klendathu.
His first engagement, the invasion of Klendathu, is a complete disaster, with over 80% of the soldiers being wounded (including Rico) or killed. Rico's unit was rescued by his former high school history teacher, Rasczak (Ironside), and his "Roughnecks", a unit which Rico, Dizzy, and his friend from training, Ace Levy, ultimately join. After one engagement, Rico is field-promoted to corporal and assigns Dizzy to his squad leader position; after a celebration later that night, Rico and Dizzy consummate their budding relationship.
Their next mission plunges them into a trap as they are assigned to investigate the silence of an outpost on one of the Bug worlds, Planet P. They discover, from the only survivor, General Owen (Bell), that the bugs possess high intelligence and are "sucking" the brains out of humans to learn more about them. As the troopers realize their situation, an attack breaks out. Rasczak and Dizzy both die in the ensuing battle, and the Roughnecks barely evacuate alive - however, Rico's request to bombard the planet from orbit is denied. After the funeral service for the Roughnecks' deceased, Rico's old friend Carl, now a Colonel in intelligence, gives Rico his unapologetic reason for the deaths of many of Rico's squad mates: Military intelligence had already ascertained that there might be a "brain" bug on Planet P, and the Roughnecks had been used as bait in an attempt to verify the information. He tells Rico that the Mobile Infantry will return to Planet P and capture the brain bug for research. Rico accepts the mission, to which Carl gives him a battlefield promotion to Lieutenant over the Roughnecks. Rico is also reunited with Carmen, as she has been promoted to be a pilot of the ship from which the Roughnecks operate, the Rodger Young.
In the ensuing offensive against Planet P, the Rodger Young is destroyed, and Carmen evacuates with Zander; however, their escape pod lands deep underground in Bug territory. They are subsequently captured by the Bugs, and Zander's brain is eaten by the brain bug. Rico organizes a rescue attempt and manages to save Carmen in the nick of time, and they escape to the surface safely, though the brain bug also flees. Upon reaching the surface, they find the brain bug has been captured by Rico's former training sergeant Zim (now demoted to buck private). Rico and Carmen renew their relationship, and the brain bug is sent to Earth to be studied in an attempt to find a way to defeat the Bug menace.
[edit] Cast
| Actor/Actress | Role |
|---|---|
| Casper Van Dien | Johnny Rico |
| Dina Meyer | Dizzy Flores |
| Denise Richards | Carmen Ibanez |
| Jake Busey | Private Ace Levy |
| Neil Patrick Harris | Colonel Carl Jenkins |
| Clancy Brown | Career Sergeant Zim |
| Seth Gilliam | Private Sugar Watkins |
| Patrick Muldoon | Zander Barcalow |
| Michael Ironside | Lieutenant Jean Rasczak |
| Marshall Bell | General Owen |
[edit] Criticisms of the adaptation
A report in an American Cinematographer article contemporaneous with the film's release states that the Heinlein novel was optioned well into the pre-production period of the film, which had a working title of Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine; most of the writing team reportedly were unaware of the novel at the time. According to the DVD commentary, Paul Verhoeven never finished reading the novel, claiming he read through the first few chapters and became both bored and depressed. This explains both the vast divergence between the book and film, and the volume of the uproar among Heinlein's fans when the movie was released. Several critics noted that some of the actors had been in Beverly Hills 90210, and that the upper-class Buenos Aires suburb in which the movie's high school was located the better parts of Beverly Hills. The classroom scenes could have been filmed at Beverly Hills High School, but probably used laptops more extensively. Many fans of the book gave it derisive nicknames like "Head of the Class Goes to War" and "Doogie Himmler" (the latter in reference to Neil Patrick Harris, whose character is seen wearing a uniform similiar to that of a Gestapo officer, in particular, the long leather trenchcoat).[1]
The film was also characterized by a conspicuous absence of anything resembling Heinlein's mechanized Mobile Infantry; troopers wore an unpowered ensemble which seemed to differ only slightly from modern-day army gear. A substantial portion of the soldiers' anatomy was left unprotected, and what little armor was present seemed to be of little use. Reportedly, it was for budget reasons.
Some dialogue is straight out of the book, or some variation of it, while much of the dialogue and many of the themes are not from Heinlein's story. Additionally, some of the characters have been significantly altered. Flores is female in the movie in order to add a love interest sub-plot. In the book, Dizzy Flores is male and is only mentioned in the first chapter, due to the fact that he dies at its conclusion. Additionally, Carl Jenkins dies halfway through the novel, while he survives the movie.
This movie polarised both popular audiences and critics, as did the original book. On one level, the movie tells a straightforward action-adventure science fiction story, with attractive stars, innovative computer-generated imagery, and an entertaining but—as some people interpreted it—clichéd and often ludicrous plot. A prominent theme of the film is the human practice of senseless violence without reflection or empathy, which parallels the senseless aggression of the "Bugs." As such, the movie attracted widely divergent responses. The film included visual allusions to propaganda films, such as Triumph of the Will and wartime news broadcasts. However, this satire was embedded in slickly produced action sequences with clever special effects.[2][3] Some wonder whether the satire went unnoticed by an audience who may have treated the movie as a simple gung-ho action movie.[4] Anecdotally, it appeared that a variety of audience responses occurred.
Fans of the novel often regard it as a shallow insult to a great work. Others regarded it as a satire of American gung-ho attitudes and what they saw as the book's endorsement of militarism. Some even considered it an artistic experiment in evoking certain emotions (such as sadism, militarism, and patriotism). Meanwhile, many simply assumed that the movie was endorsing fascism and responded to this negatively or positively, depending on their political beliefs.
[edit] Politics of Starship Troopers
In his commentary on the DVD edition of the film, director Paul Verhoeven states unambiguously that the movie's message is "War makes fascists of us all", and that he sees the movie as a satire of American militarism. On the same commentary, the screenwriter broadly concurs, although he sees the satire as applying to the whole of human history, rather than solely to the U.S.
Since the filmmakers did not make these statements at the time of the film's release, viewers have interpreted it variously: as a satire, as a celebration of fascism, or as a simple action film.
[edit] Satire on militarism
The film depicts a future state that is extremely militaristic and uncompromisingly warlike in its attitude toward a race of bugs that inhabits a distant planetary system. The military training is cruel: officers purposely wound recruits, and flogging is a mode of punishment. Furthermore, the humans fight the bugs with inadequate weaponry and tactics (e.g., the Mobile Infantry and their assault rifles) and by doing so, it feeds the war machine. Also, as Verhoeven mentions in the DVD commentary, the humans are the aggressors and the bugs the victims: when the bugs bomb Buenos Aires, they are not attacking the human race but reacting to human colonists encroaching on bug planets.
Verhoeven's use of fascist emblems to imply criticism of the Federation may be related to his background. He and some of his crew come from the Netherlands, which suffered heavily in World War II. Verhoeven himself never witnessed Nazi atrocities as a child, but his home was close to the German rocket base and was frequently bombed by Allied air forces, hence the pervasive feel of moral equivalence between a victim and a culprit in all his movies, not only in this one.
[edit] Complications
Despite its militarism and xenophobia, the society depicted in the film also contains notable differences from fascist ideology, and at times seems more reminiscent of liberal politics. For one, the society depicted in the film is very open about sex, sexuality, and gender roles. In the army, men and women shower together, and appear to feel natural about it: this is reminiscent of college dorms in the 1960's, or at least the way they were portrayed in Playboy magazine. Boys and girls compete more or less equally in high-school sports and are apparently recruited by professional teams with similar equality. Second, humanity's army consists of soldiers of all races and sexes. The most significant example of this is probably the nomination of Tahat Meru, a black woman, as the new Sky Marshal (i.e. supreme commander of the military), towards the middle of the movie, replacing a white male. Third, military service is not obligatory, and some civilians that have not served in the military are well respected (or, at least, financially successful) as evident by the high-society status of Rico's parents.
It is often believed that only citizens with military service are allowed to vote; however, the book explains that Federal Service is required to vote, and that there are other options besides the military. The film also explicitly uses the term Federal Service rather than Military Service. Also, if you are in military service, the Federation will pay your university fees, as exemplified by one character who wants to attend Harvard. Another way the fascism of the movie differ is implied in the initial classroom scenes where it is asked what fascism would look like if it were stripped of sexism and racism, implying that such an "improved fascism" is ideal and the form of the Federation[2].
The expanded role of women in the military is not in Heinlein's novel: it contrasts starkly with Heinlein's known views of women. It is not unprecented in human history--Israel had women soldiers fighting in the front lines in 1948--but it goes farther than any actual army by the time of the film. (There are no co-ed showers in Iraq. Women have been killed there, but women are not officially allowed to serve as combattants. The female captain of the Rodger Young dies bravely the way a male captain is expected to in a similar situation, and as Radczac does die.)
[edit] Spinoff media
[edit] Games
In 1997, Avalon Hill released Starship Troopers: Prepare For Battle!, a boardgame based on the film version rather than Heinlein's book. Its beer and pretzel gameplay focused on limited skirmishes rather than larger battles. The "Skinnies" do not appear, nor is there a political element. [3]
In 2000, a real-time tactics video game titled Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy was released. This game also incorporated the powered suits in Heinlein's novel into the Verhoeven version of the Mobile Infantry. It was developed by Australian software company Blue Tongue Entertainment.
A first-person shooter game also titled Starship Troopers was released 15 November 2005. This version was developed by Strangelite Studios and published by Empire Interactive. Set five years after the events of the movie, the game also featured Casper van Dien voicing the in-game version of Johnny Rico.
Half-Life 2's Antlions have been compared by many to resemble Verhoeven's bugs. Mods have even been created by fans to reenact scenes from the movie.
The developers of the computer game StarCraft have openly stated that one of their inspirations was (mainly Verhoeven's) Starship Troopers. On Battle.net, Starship Troopers battles are a popular type of custom scenario. Although there is a wide variation in the specific rules, they generally pit a small group of well-armed Terrans against a massive number of oncoming Zerg and challenges the players to survive as long as possible.
A Starship Troopers pinball machine was produced. The only copy verifiably in existence is in the games room at the Saskatoon Airport, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
[edit] Comic books
The movie was released simultaneously with a graphic novelization, which retold events from the movie. There were also additional series that were released based in the Verhoeven universe, though not directly related to the movie. Further series were published by Dark Horse and Markosia.
[edit] Sequels
The film was followed by the CGI animated television series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles in 1999, along with a direct-to-video sequel Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation in 2004.
In May 2006, MovieHole.net[4] reported that Ed Neumeier returned to write the script for a second sequel, Starship Troopers 3, and also stated that original cast members would be returning including Casper Van Dien. Van Dien had this to say on the script, “The script is along the same line as the first. It is awesome.”[5]
[edit] Arena football
In the movie, arena football is played at the high school level on Earth, referred to in the film as Jump Ball. One of the first scenes in the movie is an arena football game, and several of the main characters are players. In fact, Rico is a star wide receiver for his team who scores the winning touchdown in the game. He uses some of his skills in his military career.
Arena football, like other elements of the film, does not appear in the original novel: it was invented in 1982. The game depicted in the movie only closely resembles arena football, as it appears that touchdowns are worth 5 points instead of the traditional 6, and 7-man teams (instead of 8) play on a visibly wider field than the hockey rinks that arena football players work on.
[edit] Trivia
- The Trooper's combat uniforms (shown in the movie poster above) were later reused on the Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy series for military personnel aboard the colony ship Terra Venture. The uniforms were also repainted and reused in episodes of the TV series Firefly as Alliance soldiers' uniforms. The helmets were repainted again and used by the SWAT team at the end of the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes. The uniforms, along with footage from numerous sci-fi films including Starship Troopers itself, were used in the sci-fi movie Impostor, starring Gary Sinise and the live action Gundam film G-Saviour.
- The quote "Come on, you apes, you want to live forever?", repeated by multiple characters in the film, is seen at the beginning of the first chapter in the novel, and is quite similar to decorated Marine Daniel Daly's "Come on, you sons of bitches, you want to live forever?" A similar line is also used by Valeria to prod Conan in Conan the Barbarian.
- Several cameos in the film include producer Jon Davison as the angry Buenos Aires resident who says to the FedNet camera, "The only good Bug is a dead Bug!", and screenwriter Ed Neumeier as the quickly captured, convicted, and condemned murderer in another FedNet clip. Former US Marine Dale Dye, whose company Warriors, Inc. provided technical military advice on the film, appeared as a high-ranking officer following the capture of the Brain Bug ("What's it thinking, Colonel?").
- In the movie "Casper meets Wendy" at the dance, Casper Van Dien is seen at the scene, and when the three witches approach him asking to dance he says "Uhh...sorry ladies I got to go kill some bugs" obviously referring to his role in Starship Troopers.
- On the TV series Stargate SG-1, in the 9th season episode The Scourge, the team decides to watch Starship Troopers for movie night after barely escaping a massive carnivorous alien bug infestation on another planet.
- Indie band Minus the Bear often reference quotes from Starship Troopers in song titles.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.badmovies.org/othermovies/startroopers/
- ^ Tobias, Scott. Who Will Love The Brown Bunny? A Decade Of Underrated Movies. TheOnion.Com. Retrieved on 2006-03-04.
- ^ Murray, Noel; Nathan Rabin, Scott Tobias. Commentary Tracks Of The Blessed. TheOnion.com. Retrieved on 2006-03-04.
- ^ Morgan, Kim. The DVD Journal. Retrieved on 2006-03-04.
[edit] External links
- Starship Troopers at the Internet Movie Database
- Starship Troopers at Rotten Tomatoes
- Starship Troopers: Fascists of the Future, article at The New American
- Starship Troopers Audio Soundboard
| Films directed by Paul Verhoeven |
|---|
| Business Is Business • Turkish Delight • Katie Tippel • Soldier of Orange • All Things Pass • Spetters The Fourth Man • Flesh & Blood • RoboCop • Total Recall • Basic Instinct • Showgirls • Starship Troopers Hollow Man • Black Book • Kneeling on a Bed of Violets |
