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 aren'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 hasn't exactly seen any recent adaptation justice done to any of his books what with 1994's howler " the puppet masters . " 
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 .