STARSHIP TROOPERS
Rated R - Running time: 2:09 - Released 10/31/97
Well,
the Thanksgiving turkey has arrived early. I'm not even going to mention
the actors' names in this pathetic attempt to re-create Robert Heinlein's
popular 1959 sci-fi story. They're going to live to be embarassed by their
participation anyway. It's bugs, folks, lots and lots of bugs. Big ones,
ranging in size from horse to house. They live on another planet, on the
other side of our galaxy, and they have it in for us Earthlings. So what
should we do? We'll form a humongous army of shallow, inept brats to go
and shoot at them with everyday, run-of-the-mill, 20th century weapons that
have little effect. We have the technology to get rid of their whole planet,
with our huge fleet of starships and nuclear capabilities, but instead we'll
choose to engage them on the surface, hand-to-claw, taking countless casualties
and soaking their planet with gore.
Actually, the special effects aren't bad, but it's obvious that the entire
budget was used for them at the expense of actors, writers, and directors.
Vast amounts of material lifted practically verbatim from such classics
as Star Wars and Alien, so much so that I would think lawsuits
would be in order. If not from other filmmakers, then from viewers who go
to see the show. But maybe this could turn into a cult film like Rocky
Horror. Just take along a big can of RAID. *
Copyright
1997 by John R. McEwen and The
Republican
See Current Reviews
See FilmQuips Archive