luckily , some people got starship troopers .
some people knew it was supposed to be silly .
for those of you who did n't , how could you miss it ?
from the very beginning , when we see an interactive internet - like promotional video for the armed forces of the future , it should be obvious this film is to be taken lightly .
i guess without blatant one - liners and home alone style slapstick , some people just do n't recognize such goofy humor .
such a dry approach to such intentionally campy humor must have left some disillusioned .
first thing to do before seeing this movie - lighten up .
meet the equivalent of " beverly hills 90210 " meets " mighty morphin power rangers " .
four close friends are now graduating high school and are ready to join the armed forces , which , in the future , means fighting for the whole galaxy and not just your country .
johnny rico ( casper van dien ) is ready to join the infantry , mostly because his girlfriend carmen ibanez ( denise richards ) has enlisted to be a pilot .
dizzy flores ( dina meyer ) has enlisted as a trooper , and it 's possible she 's joining merely to follow rico , whom she 's always had eyes for . if you saw these three on the street , you 'd automatically start searching for the fashion designers and photographers , for never has a movie 's cast looked so much like the cut - out cover of " seventeen " magazine .
the lone non - supermodel , carl jenkins ( played by doogie howser himself , neil patrick harris ) is the brainiac who gets into the military intelligence division , the top secret department that pretty much leaves doogie - er , carl out of the picture .
( good call - now we can put all our drooling efforts into only the most deserving of characters ) .
right off the bat , rico becomes the star of the show , far surpassing all the other soldiers and becoming squadron leader in a short period of time .
but a horrific accident during a standard training exercise ( which follows all to closely to his breakup with carmen ) leaves rico ready to call it quits .
with his bags packed and his civilian clothes back on , johnny is ready to walk off base and catch the next flight home .
well sorry , rico suave , but there 's no place like home , especially after gigantic alien insects have destroyed it .
that 's right
, the planet is being attacked by a colony of arachnid - like alien beings that a can of raid just is n't going to destroy .
with a sudden change of heart ( and clothes ) , rico is back in the game , following his fellow starship troopers off to fight a mean group of daddy long legs .
what starship troopers really is , is a spoof of all that it even remotely touches on - the soap opera like love affairs of high school , the love for sci - fi and thirst for gore shared by this same age group , etc .
nothing is taken seriously .
it 's almost as much a satire on young adults as clueless , but with its sly and futuristic approach , it 's not as recognizably so .
it 's a spoof so subtle that many wo n't recognize the spoofery .
if you deem this as sci - fi / action , you 're wrong .
it 's sci - fi / action / comedy , with the comedy being on the level of such cult favorites as evil dead 2 .
starship troopers just may be on the road to cult status as well .
gore is a factor heavily brought up in reviews of this film , but the gore , too , is meant to be cheesy .
yes , it 's graphic , but it 's also brutally phony , and that 's what makes it such great fun to watch .
not since the old " mr . bill " skits on " saturday night live " has torture and mutilation been such a joy to watch .
people were laughing out loud
every time a body was severed in half or a head was viciously decapitated .
perhaps it brings back fond memories of the severities we inflicted upon our sisters ' barbie dolls as young children .
with the actors resembling ken and barbie so closely , it 's a good chance this is the case , whether we 're fully aware of it or not .
starship troopers has it 's slow parts , but it 's truly an alternative to your typical sci - fi / action flick or lame juvenile comedy .
aside from the intentionally cheesy gore , the special effects are quite astounding . when the spaceship passes a meteor , it 's quite an awesome spectacle , visually crisp and captivating .
if you 're looking for brainless fun , this is the epitome of your search .
a beautiful cast , awesome special effects , fast - paced action , campy acting , and a whole lot of gore .
this is
brainless heaven .
just remember not to think .
Output: P