Starship Troopers - Page 2

Starship Troopers is the only movie I've ever watched back-to-back in a theater. Caught an afternoon showing on opening weekend and was walking back home with my friends when a carload of some other friends drove by. Once the friends in the car said they were on their way to see Starship Troopers, I jumped in the car and went right back to the theater. One of my favorite theater experiences ever.

Oh shit... I'd never noticed that. Starship Troopers was never a movie I watched over and over, so it's not an error that stuck out to me. I guess I hadn't been watching the movie all that closely, but based on the timecode given in the thread you linked, they're definitely right. I can see it bugging someone, but it's not bugging me. Yet... hahahaha.

Ohh then I guess I also shouldn't tell you about the very very very subtle small lip sync issue also discussed in the thread and blu-ray.com review should I? I won't do that to you man I really won't.

Oh, I don't think I'll mind. By all means, tell me! TELL ME, DAMNIT!

I am so there.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1033...ptroopers.html

Seems like that cut scene is fixed so I'll be at best Buy tomorrow to pick this up for $9.99. Damn I wish I can go to that showing. I'm not moving to LA until the 27th

Rats! I'm going to be in class from 6:30 to 9:30 when this is at the Aero.

Maybe I'll strategically pepper the pages of the New Bev's suggestion book with Starship Troopers in the vain hope it will be eventually shown.

Why does the Federation blame the bugs for sending the meteor? I don't really understand how the bugs can control them. Are they like spores? But if that is the case, why weren't their any bugs in Buenos Aires?

We don't fully know the capability of the bug. That's why we must kill 'em all.

That it is. I just watched this on starz (or some movie channel). It was just as good as I remembered it being.

I assume the plasma projectile artillery bugs kick out their plasma from Klendathu which collide with meteorites in the dense asteroid belt around the planet's orbit. The brain bug would be responsible for determining the proper course for the projectile. Like a game of billiards.

Of course, it could be completely manufactured to give the Federation pretense for war against the bugs. And all the brain bugs are doing is organizing an insurgent defense of their home worlds.

Wasn't the meteor retaliation for human colonization in the bugs system?

By Mormons.

Ah, was it?

I think considering the propragandist nature of the story. I don't think it's out of the question (though not necessarily in the text) to consider that the meteor may not have had anything to do with the bugs. Maybe the Federation silently approved expansion onto bug planets. When the meteorites struck they took the opportunity to put the reponsibility on the bugs. Maybe they thought they'd easily dominate the bugs, but quickly found out the bugs were far more capable than they believed. The bugs are just defending their homeland from on planet invaders.

No way the bugs sent the meteor. How the fuck would it travel light years through space? Buenos Aires was an inside job to get the Federation into Klathmandu and to fund the massive military-industrial terrestrial defense project.

Seriously.

Yup. The meteor might as well have struck the Reichstag.

Cracked recently did one of their lists (yeah, I know) about "mediocre movies retroactively made awesome by actual events" I was absolutely expecting Starship Troopers to appear on there in conjunction with America's 9-11 / Iraq um... adventure...

Inexplicably hostile relationship between two civilizations that clearly don't understand each other leads to a disaster of questionable origin. Said disaster causes an immediate (within minutes in the film) mobilization that is pointless and unplanned ("My family's from Buenos Aires, and I say 'kill 'em all!"). It goes poorly. Changes in the chain of command lead to a second front that achieves a small victory spun into a major win. In my interpretation, the final propaganda reel in the movie spells out that the Federation has achieved a state of total endless war ("they have the weapons!").

Accidentally or otherwise, the terrain even looks like Af-Pak!

Verhoeven says that the theme of the movie is that war makes fascists out of everybody. I think that some subsets of Americans (not all, of course) are doing their best to prove him right.

Not that I see the movie as mediocre. It's certainly one of my favorites. The bugs still look great (The shot where Birdie drops into the sinkhole and the warrior bug closes in on her is just about perfect). I won't go on as I'm already among the converts, but I think I enjoy the movie more now because of it's accidental/coincidental parallels.

If this Mormon had been on the case, it wouldn't have been necessary to send in Mobile Infantry.

Hmmm so the bugs are anti immigrant?

I think maybe they should have made it just a bit more clear that the humans wanted the planet for for themselves and only themselves rather than simply wanting to live there. They don't really imply that part they really just say humans are on their planet and they don't want humans there so they kill humans which is a bit different.

Clearing up the nature of the conflict would have ruined part of the point. The idea that the bug and the human are incapable of understanding each other's motives is kind of central to the film.

The bugs are anti getting the shit blown out of themselves. Every time we go back to the news announcer voice we're obviously hearing the company line, Federation propaganda. The whole movie can be taken as a pure propaganda. We don't really know anything about the bugs since all the info we get comes from the Federation. We're watching the tv movie that reassures viewers their armies are fighting a just war.

So, of course the Brain Bug is scared. Its just been captured by the merciless and unprovoked invading hordes.

Walt, clarity about the truth of the conflict would completely detract from the tone Verhoven was going for. As it is, what little hints we are given in regards to the truth are just enough to point us toward it while maintaining his main drive for taking this project on.

Well yeah sorta. There is brief snippet where a reporter says something like humans provoked the attack by settling on the planet. If the meteorite attack is real(and I guess it could be bullshit which I honestly never thought about) then you could actaully argue the humans are provoked. Which is why I think that maybe there should have been just the tiniest bit of info regarding their plans to actually take over the planet.

However I am approaching from the "humans are bad and bugs are peaceful being defending themselves" side of things. I never looked at it like Greg David and mcnooj82 are saying. In that bigger picture context about not understanding the conflict I guess you are right. Turns out for years I have only half understood the movie about 20 something teenagers killing bugs. The things you learn at Chud.

Make no mistake, the bugs are a blight upon creation and must be destroyed. That much is never in doubt.

"They sucked . . . his brains."

Just like wasps. Man, fuck wasps. They can all burn in a fire. And if you go pissing on a wasps nest, there's gonna be conflict. Doesn't mean the wasps don't deserve it, doesn't mean humans didn't start it.

One of the best movies ever. It works on so many levels, as a satire and a kick-ass action movie(The part where Rico jumps on the back of that huge beetle bug with the rousing score is just so great). The majority of the actors are terrible, but so what? Arnold was a terrible actor, and these people were perfectly suited for their roles. Jake Busey is hilarious in it. I'm deeply disappointed in the fact that Last Exit to Nowhere doesn't have any shirts or hats related to the movie. I really want one of those jackets with the Federation symbol on it.

At my fan-wankiest, I like to think this is Verhoeven's version of Alien 3.

The themes of a satire are less effective the more you are beat over the head with them.

I've watched Starship Troopers twice in the past couple of weeks. The movie is great on so many levels. Anyone who doesn't get the satire can just enjoy it as a kickass sci-fi/action movie. For those of us who do get the satire, it's just icing on the cake.

Indeed. I believe on the commentary Verhoeven and writer Ed Neumeier talk about how the actors were cast for their plasticity.

This movie was early proof that NPH is awesome.

Sorry, I meant the three leads.

I always kind of liked Dina Meyer as Dizz. The character is less of an obvious Mary-Sue than Rico or Carmen and Meyer seems to know exactly what kind of film she's in. I love the film, utterly adore it, but I do find the character of Carmen a little much. I get that she's designed to be selling the dream of the fleet and that's why she comes across as being so obviously perfect, but there are a bunch of times where she's essentially rewarded for fucking up. In particular the point where she adjusts the course of the ship into the path of a meteor and then gets praised for saving the ship from the imminent impact. I think it's because we spend less time with her but she just comes across as a petulant brat in comparison to Rico who still has as 'easy' time of it but is shown to have gone through the ringer a little. 

I agree about Dizz. She's the character with the most heart and in a film which deals in a good amount of yearning she sells her particular yearning better than anyone.

 

Ever since 90210 Dina Meyer has a tradition of being much better than her co-stars. Of course that's faint praise but I've always liked her a lot.

So, watching it now, the Brain Bug capture mirrors the Bin Laden strike team! It's fucking uncanny how much this movie looks like the last ten years, and suggests once and for all that it's a visionary masterpiece, up there with something like Dr. Strangelove. This movie is downright majestic in its intelligence. Bring on the Criterion edition.

 

It's been a while since I've seen this, and the cast is just superlative. Not just career roles for Ironside and Clancy Brown, but NPH is great, and Jake Fucking Busey is great. How the hell did that happen? Also, Carver from the Wire and Dean Norris from Breaking Bad both have pretty big featured roles, something I didn't remember.

 

Not perfect though. I get that Denise Richards is supposed to kind of suck, but she sucks in a much worse way than Caspar Van Diem. When Jake Busey is acting circles around someone, it's a bad sign.

A chat-room watch-along for this film would be great fun.  If only I had the brute charisma of an Ironside to pull us all together...  I'm not even a Van Dien...

I would be so down for that, I won't lie.

We did a Verhoeven triple bill via XBox Live back in February. These films are GREAT for watchalongs. 

Rub it in my face, why don't you!?  Hahahah

 

I would like to enroll in this infantry.

C'mon, you apes! Do you want to live forever?

 

I dusted off Starship Troopers and watched it again last night. Damn, what a good movie!

I forget Neil Patrick Harris is in this movie every. single. time. 

 

Whenever I pop it in... "Oh wow, he's in this movie!?"

 

Then I feel stupid. Ironic since he's really the only "name" in the film anyways.

Only "name"?  Ironside doesn't count?

Ironside is more than a name.  It's an institution.  Show some damned respect, and see him at the party.

Clancy Brown is a name.  But that name is "The Kurgan", so...

No love for Marshall Bell?

I'm not sure if you meant to do that or not, but 'Casper Van Diem' is a pretty amazing pseudonym for most of his performances. 

Yeah as mentioned before, the acting is atrocious by EVERYONE (that includes Neil Patrick Harris). The only exception is Michael Ironside. I get that that's kind of the point (being a satire) but you don't really end up caring for anyone so there's no real tension when the bugs attack. Other than that, it's a fun action sci-fi flick that would've worked better as a short film instead.