Starship Troopers
1997, Touchstone Pictures et al
Buuugs! Paul Verhoeven's sprawling adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's novel of the same name is, for me, something of a guilty pleasure. Roundly panned by critics and criticized by Heinlein fans for the significant liberties it took with his novel, it's been gradually gaining some respect over the years since its release. Bearing many stylistic similarities to RoboCop, in particular excessive violence and satirical jabs, it's actually quite enjoyable once one becomes inured to the gore. I'm particularly entranced by the fleets of enormous, ponderous battleships as they slowly burn and crumble—even knowing such scenes could not be more wrong, technically speaking. Despite being a box office flop, it was followed by four sequels (two live-action and two animated), plus a spin-off CGI animated television series.
DKS 12/17/17
GRUMPY OLD FART-O-METER® Rating:
