casting " doogie howser " star neil patrick harris as mind - reading military intelligence is only one of the guilty pleasures of " starship troopers , " a hugely entertaining , mega - budgeted sci - fi yarn directed by paul verhoeven , who 's making quite a recovery from his 1995 g - string epic " showgirls .
" sure , " starship troopers " qualifies as cinematic junk food , but that 's forgivable when the junk food is this tasty .
everyone needs a high - calorie change - of - pace from fall 's onslaught of costume dramas and other assorted oscar bait , and " troopers " does the job admirably despite its flaws .
for its first hour , " starship troopers " plays like a cheeky futuristic hybrid of " saved by the bell " and " g .
i .
jane .
" in the distant years ahead , high school grad johnny rico ( casper van dien ) signs up for federal service along with his girlfriend carmen ( denise richards ) ; he gets accepted into the mobile infantry but she wants to travel to the fleet academy to become a starship pilot , so the couple is broken up .
but there 's temptation awaiting both of them
-- johnny 's is in the form of an old friend ( dina meyer ) also in the infantry and still harboring a secret crush , while carmen attracts the eye of her flirtatious instructor ( patrick muldoon ) .
personal rivalry and sexual jealousy carry over into the final 65 minutes , when an impending alien menace begins making good on its threatening presence and obliterates part of south america , killing johnny 's parents and destroying his home .
our weakening , lovesick protagonist is given new reasons to stick around the mobile infantry , and is dispatched with a group of fellow fighters to the aliens ' home planet , where he will head up a ground assault to end the threat for good .
but the enemy is far smarter , more diabolical and numerous than the good guys give them credit for , and after an initial walloping , they must re - examine their strategy .
the exposition -- played like a futuristic soap opera -- is silly , but aware of its own ridiculousness enough to merit more smiles than groans .
once we get past the campy character introductions and the numerous ( but never boring ) training sessions , " starship troopers " really kicks into high gear .
its last half is all gruesomely violent action -- a fury of severed limbs , decapitations , disembowelments , brain removal , explosions and other jolt - inducers that are really going to please the 13- and 14-year - old boys lucky enough to dodge getting carded or caught on their way into this deservedly r - rated show .
the creature design and special effects are amazing as expected , and their interaction with the human actors are a realistic , imaginative high point .
it 's nice to see intergalactic beasties that are n't too derivative of the titular menace from " alien .
"
these monsters are appropriately terrifying sights , especially the arachnids , a spider - scorpion - crab combo that 's all sharp talons and even sharper legs .
they attack in packs of hundreds , and it 's a funny , scary sight to see these bugs take repeated hits and still crawl , jerk and struggle towards their intended victims in a determined , gooey mess .
it matters not that they actually have a laughable master plan in mind
( ask yourself if a species like this seems capable of carrying out such a plot ) ; these sequences of insect warfare are numerous , bloody and immensely satisfying .
the occasional dramatic moments -- one cast member 's death , the final resolution to johnny 's love triangle -- are botched , a testament to how " starship troopers " fails to create any strong , outstanding characters .
these bland ken - and - barbie archetypes serve the story adequately enough to keep any distractions at arm 's length , but restrain the film from achieving a higher ground a la " star wars , " where even the slightest aliens had definite personality .
the acting is decent ( but never spectacular ) ; most of the performers hail from aaron spelling territory -- smallish roles on " beverly hills 90210 " and/or " melrose place " -- and it occasionally shows .
van dien , for example , is limited but perfectly likeable .
in smaller parts are the afore - mentioned neil patrick harris as johnny 's best friend and jake busey ( gary 's son ) as johnny 's sidekick ; the latter excels at playing creeps ( see " the frighteners " or " contact " ) but seems off - kilter as a second banana .
" starship troopers " is based on the novel by robert heinlein , a sci - fi writer who has n't exactly seen any recent adaptation justice done to any of his books what with 1994 's howler " the puppet masters .
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but the overall familiarity to the " alien " trilogy -- and the promise of great gobs of gore -- could act as a crowd - drawer .
its own possible influence , however , might well work against it when the franchise continuation " alien :
resurrection " opens in a few weeks .
we will know then which film to crown as the best summer movie of the fall .
Output: P