Starship Troopers (1997)

Starship Troopers (1997)

“Starship Troopers” is a 1997 military science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, written by Edward Neumeier, based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein.

In the mid-23rd century, during the colonization of new planets, humans encounter a non-technological insectoid alien species known as the Arachnids or “insects,” native to Klendathu, a distant desert planet located on the opposite side of the Milky Way from Earth. Earth is governed by a federated military regime, in which citizenship is a privilege earned through activities such as military service in the planetary armed forces and which, once completed, confers full political rights and opportunities denied to ordinary civilians. The Mobile Infantry, which moves through the various human territories of the galaxy, crosses paths with the Arachnids, who invade planets by launching plasma-jet-powered asteroids and scattering their spores throughout space.

Johnny Rico, a young student from Buenos Aires, enlists in the Federation forces after graduating, inspired by Professor Rasczak and to follow his girlfriend, Carmen Ibañez. Their relationship, however, is destined to deteriorate due to the distance between them and their different paths: Ibañez becomes an aeronaut, while Rico joins the Mobile Infantry. Johnny’s best friend, Carl Jenkins, also enlists and is assigned to Federation Intelligence due to his unusual psychic abilities. At the training camp, Johnny is placed under Sergeant Zim, who begins training the recruits with his own methods. Johnny stands out and is assigned the role of squad leader. He befriends his fellow soldier Ace Levy, who is also an aspiring squad leader and intends to pursue a career in the infantry; Dizzy Flores, Johnny’s former classmate who is in love with him, shows up at the camp, though he does not initially reciprocate her feelings. Johnny considers her a friend, but after breaking up with Carmen, their friendship turns into a romantic relationship.

Unfortunately, during a training exercise, his fellow soldier Breckinridge dies due to his negligence. After being tried and sentenced to flogging as punishment for the incident, Johnny calls his parents at home to let them know he is returning. During the call, however, communications are cut off when an asteroid launched by the Arachnids crashes into Buenos Aires, destroying the city and killing millions of people, including his parents. Now fighting is a matter of revenge. The total war just declared on the insects is his chance to get it, so Johnny withdraws his resignation from the Mobile Infantry as it organizes an offensive aimed at Klendathu. As the spaceships reach the planet, plasma beams strike the fleet in orbit, causing immediate chaos. The crew is stunned and disoriented, realizing that the Arachnids have demonstrated a surprisingly advanced tactical capability. Rico and his comrades in the Mobile Infantry fortunately manage to land, preparing for the counterattack. 

However, the first battle on Klendathu turns out to be a massacre: the Mobile Infantry suffers devastating losses. Johnny is wounded and, while hospitalized, is mistakenly listed as killed in action, leading Carmen to believe he is dead and leaving her devastated by grief. On Earth, the casualty count reveals that over 100,000 soldiers were killed in a single hour. The Federation’s high command, realizing they had underestimated the Arachnids, launches an arms race to counter them as soon as possible. Military scientists conclude that there is a previously unknown caste of insects, endowed with extraordinary intelligence, that acts as a strategic mind, controlling the others. Johnny, Ace, and Dizzy are assigned to Rasczak’s Lions platoon, led by Lieutenant Rasczak, who promotes Rico first to corporal and then to sergeant.

The Lions respond to a distress call from Planet “P,” where they discover an infantry outpost that has been decimated by insects. Upon examining the bodies, the group finds the communications officer with a perforated skull and his brain missing; Rico, however, finds the corpse of an insect he has never seen before. It turns out that the only survivor of the outpost is the general, who hid in the supply freezer during the battle. Although emotionally unstable from the shock, he reveals that if he had been captured, the consequences would have been catastrophic. The insects are capable of moving and manipulating humans and can acquire their knowledge, learning how to counterattack them more and more effectively. If the insects had captured the general, they would have uncovered the strategic plans, leading to the ruin of the entire infantry army. The call thus turns out to be a trap: a swarm of Arachnids attacks the group, and in the bloody clash, Rasczak is killed, while Dizzy is seriously wounded and dies in Johnny’s arms. He and the survivors are promptly rescued by Carmen and Zander. At the end of Dizzy’s funeral, Carl reunites with Johnny and Carmen and claims to sense the presence of an “Intelligent Insect” commanding the other Arachnids. Johnny is promoted to lieutenant: his goal is to locate the Intelligent Insect to end the war.

Early in the operation, the spaceship piloted by Zander and Carmen is split in two when it is struck head-on by a plasma beam fired by the Arachnids from the planet’s surface. In the ensuing stampede, most of the crew dies, including the ship’s captain, whom Carmen held in high esteem. She and Zander manage to escape in a lifeboat, but crash-land on the planet, ending up underground, right in the middle of the Arachnids’ lair, where the creatures trap the two and bring them before the intelligent insect. Johnny leads Ace and Sugar Watkins into the lair to rescue them; meanwhile, the intelligent insect sucks out Zander’s brain, piercing his skull with its sharp proboscis, but when it tries to do the same to Carmen, she cuts it off with a knife Zander had handed her just before dying. Johnny threatens the insects with a small atomic bomb, and so the intelligent insect releases Carmen. The Arachnids begin chasing them, and Sergeant Watkins, mortally wounded, sacrifices himself by detonating the bomb, which kills all the insects in the cave.

Once outside, Rico and the others notice the celebrating soldiers and, following them, realize that the Intelligent Insect has been captured by Zim, their drill sergeant at the training camp, who has decided to be demoted to private just to return to combat. Carl, citing reasons of secrecy, refuses to answer Johnny when he asks if it was Carl who psychically guided him to find Carmen in the lair. Carl uses his powers to read the Smart Bug’s mind, stating that it feels fear. The Smart Bug is later taken to laboratories where federal scientists torture and examine him in order to uncover the enemy’s secrets, while Carmen, Ace, and Johnny appear in a propaganda film encouraging viewers to enlist in the Mobile Infantry.

Cast:

• Casper Van Dien – Johnny Rico, a school sports star turned infantryman
• Dina Meyer – Dizzy Flores, Rico’s former classmate who joins the Mobile Infantry to stay close to him
• Denise Richards – Carmen Ibanez, an aspiring starship pilot and Rico’s girlfriend
• Jake Busey – Ace Levy, an infantryman
• Neil Patrick Harris – Carl Jenkins, a psychic who joins military intelligence.
• Clancy Brown – Sergeant Zim, Rico’s drill sergeant during training
• Seth Gilliam – Sugar Watkins, a member of the Roughnecks special forces unit
• Patrick Muldoon – Zander Barcalow, Rico’s rival who is romantically interested in Carmen
• Michael Ironside – Jean Rasczak, a former teacher turned squad leader