•STARSHIP TROOPERS

  (1997), 129 mins.

 In the first (and finest) RoboCop movie (1987), director Paul Verhoeven combined near-future science fiction with a keen sense of social satire - not to mention enough high-velocity violence to satisfy even the most voracious bloodlust. In Starship Troopers, Verhoeven and RoboCop co-writer Ed Neumeier take inspired cues from ROBERT HEINLEIN's classic sci-fi novel to create a special-effects extravaganza that functions on multiple levels of entertainment.

The film might be called "Melrose Place in Space," with its youthful cast of handsome guys and gorgeous women who look like they've been recruited ( - and in some cases they were - ) from the cast of Beverly Hills 90210. Viewers might focus on the incredible, graphically intense action sequences (definitely not for children) in which heavily armed forces from Earth go to off-world battle against vast hordes of alien "bugs" bent on planetary conquest.

The attacking bugs are marvels of state-of-the-art special-effects technology, and the space battles are nothing short of spectacular. But Starship Troopers is more than a showcase for high-tech hardware and gigantic, flesh-ripping insects. Recalling his childhood in Holland during the Nazi occupation, Verhoeven turns this epic adventure into a scathingly funny satire of fascist propaganda, emphasizing Heinlein's underlying warning against the hazards of military conformity and the sickening realities of war. It's an action-packed joy ride - if that's what you're looking for, but Verhoeven has a provocative agenda that makes Starship Troopers as smart as it is exciting. Dir: Paul Verhoeven. Wr: Robert A. Heinlein (book), Ed Neumeier (screenplay). Mus: Basil Poledouris, Zoë Poledouris. Cast: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris. mins. ALC

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