Starship Bloopers (small spoilerettes)

M Holmes fofp at HOLYROOD.ED.AC.UK
Mon Jan 12 12:33:16 EST 1998


Andy Gilham writes:

> > > ObMovie - _Starship Troopers_!!!

> > you jest(?) For about 10 mins I thought there was going to be an
> > intelligent film interwoven among the dross but I gave up that hope
> > soon enough and my sympathy is entirely with the stick insects!

> No, I thought it was superb.  I know Verhoeven brings out strong
> feelings both for and against, but I think he is a much more
> intelligent film-maker than he is often accused of being.  His
> penchant for graphic violence does bring accusations of voyeurism -
> even I didn't see _Showgirls_, and I'm generally a big fan of his -
> but if you're making a film where one of the themes is the horror of
> war, then I think you have to show some of the horror.  Verhoeven
> himself isn't, I think, necessarily militaristic himself

Well hey, neither am I. However, even armchair generals can spot gaping
flaws in a plotline. The troopers have guns with which it takes five
troopers 20 seconds to kill one bug. Why not flamethrowers? Why not
grenade launchers? If infantry are so useless for frontal attack why not
use tanks first and infantry for clearup? Where was the air support?

If the spacecraft have warp capability then why have dropships remain in
hostile orbit after drop so that they can be picked off? Why were they
so close together they hit each other? Space is a pretty big place, even
in orbit. Why when they'd done this once did they repeat the fiasco?

Why fight at close range when the Bigs don't? Just lob asteroids in from
way out. The Bugs didn't have spacefaring capability to stop this.

The film was puerile, stupid, and had already been done in Space: Above
and Beyond.

> -Andy


Mike "It's afraid? We lose a million men for you to state the obvious?" Holmes



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