Arnold
Tash Jayasinghe
CibbuanoStarship Troopers
November 30th 2006 09:23
Director Paul Verhoeven is probably best-known for 'Robocop'.
Like 'Robocop', 'Starship Troopers' is a deft mix of satire and futuristic violence, low on big-name actors but high on special effects.
Interspersed with retro-styled propaganda, 'Starship Troopers' tells the story of five hometown youths who enlist to fight an interplanetary war with the aptly nicknamed alien race, 'The Bugs'. The film chronicles the start of full-scale war to the turning of the tide, intertwining each character's stories (each one showing a different aspect of the war) and the development of their personalities as affected by the horrors they find themselves facing.
It's not as dark and depressing as it sounds. The film has a very wry, satirical feel to it (highlighted by the cheesy propaganda), and whilst it's extremely violent (and even quite gory in parts) it offsets this with high adventure and purposely stereotyped characters, much like the old 'join up now!' war films of the early 40s. There's a disturbing undercurrent in the presentation of Earth's future culture/mindset - an almost fascist/Nazi-styled version of America. In light of recent events it even seems a fairly logical extension of where the U.S. seems to be heading. The attitudes of the characters (and Earth) to the war with the Bugs seems so out-of-step and backwards to our 'enlightened' learnings of today that it's nearly frightening, if only for the fact that it seems so plausible.
So, if you like your films full of action and special effects and fast-paced, or if you like science-fiction with a theme relevant to today, then this is for you. It's a glossy, tongue-in-cheek, balls-out shoot 'em up. The only kind if you ask me.
HIGHLIGHTS: My favourite character would've had to have been Carl Jenkins, as played by Neil Patrick Harris - better known to most as good old Doogie Howser, M.D. It's a pity he wasn't in it more, but had a cool, gestapo-ish role.
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Comment by Jessicca
Learning Something Everyday
Daily History
Malaysia Found
I remembered well, my favorite part is how they regrow limps and stitch up wounds with cell growth.
I guess that has spurred the intentions of stem-cell research, eh?
Overall it's quite an interesting movie. Sci-Fi lovers wouldn't really mind watching it again.
Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
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Comment by Jessicca
Learning Something Everyday
Daily History
Malaysia Found
You can have one way of the movie and then the agenda suddenly changes.
Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
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I wouldn't like one liek this that has an identity crisis
Comment by Jessicca
Learning Something Everyday
Daily History
Malaysia Found
Or he tried to make it fiction yet trying to "make it real" enough... but I do agree it is rather lame at the end of the movie.
Comment by Luke
Book Club
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
The format kind of followed an old-fashioned propaganda-ish war film.
Comment by Cibbuano
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