I really wanted to like this movie a lot more, but much of it fell flat.Paul Verhoven puts together a goo-fest that is amazing to look at but only mildly entertaining.
##From the golden age
Robert A. Heinlein was a science fiction author from the golden age of
SciFi. He, along with such greats as Isaac Asimov and Robert E. Howard,
helped move the genre forward from the pages of the pulp magazines of the
1920’s to full fledged novels with complex stories and intelligent
characters.
So what happened with this movie!!!
##Melrose Space
[[starshiptroop]]
Each of the actors in the movie fall into one of three categories: they
*were” on Melrose Place or Beverly Hills 90210, they ”are* on one
of those two shows, or they soon *will be* on one of those two shows.
Which means that they are beautiful to look at even with their vacuous expressions, but they are hard pressed to act their way out of a paper bag.
But that’s OK since most of them get impaled by the end of the movie
anyway.
The story begins with our cast of characters, whose names
escape me for the moment (except for Johnny, a name which drove me crazy
through the entire movie), still in high school getting ready for
homecoming sometime in the distant future. I say the name Johnny drove me
crazy because of the way every female character in the movie would bat
their eyes as they said things like “We’ll always be friends Johnny.” It
always sounded like a line out of a bad 1930’s black and white melodrama.
Maybe that’s the way it was intended, but it really bugged me (no punn
intended).
Anyway, back to the story. These kids have grown up in a modern day nazi
Earth where former army generals control everything. In fact, you can’t
even become a citizen unless you’ve served in the armed forces! In fact,
they’re teacher lectures them on the reasons that democracy was doomed to
failure and how a citizen is only someone who was willing to give up his
life for the government! That’s a pretty scary place. So our group of highschool friends decide to join up and earn their citizenship. This
turns out to be a bad thing, if you want to live to be able to enjoy your
citizenship!
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the movie was the device used to
maintain continuity between different sections of the movie and to
introduce material to the viewer. It was essentially a more modern version
of the 1940’s newsreels shown at movie houses before each show. These were
essentially state sponsored propaganda used to get people pumped up for the
war effort. It’s the same way in the future, and the spots are just as
cheesy. But that’s their charm. They’re supposed to be! Every time one of
these came on the screen I had a good chuckle.
##What we have here is your basic arachnid
The enemy of the state at this time is a society of bugs. But these aren’t
your ordinary bugs. They’re huge, fierce, hard to kill, dangerous
sons-a-bitches!
All of the bugs are rendered by computer. I haven’t seen such incredible
computer animation since Jurasic Park first came out (I thought the
animation in The Lost World was weak in comparison). The interaction between the bugs and the people was so seamless, I’m almost sure they
actually killed some actors to make the movie (well, maybe not, but it
sure looked like it!).
##Bring your barf bag
Don’t bother seeing this movie if violence in film bothers you. The
violence in this movie is so in your face and visceral that it almost
received an NC-17 rank (2 seconds had to be cut out?). It’s not at all
uncommon to see people literally torn to pieces in front of your eyes. So
just be aware that it is shocking.
##All in all
There was only one really interesting thought I had about this movie. Were
we in fact seeing a futuristic reenactment of nazi Germany during WWII
with the bugs substituting for the Jewish people? Was Heinlein’s (and now
Verhoven’s) intent to point out that extermination of an enemy should be
abhorrent, but when they’re seen as different and a threat it’s somehow
not. Is this why atrocities like the Holocaust still happen (Cambodia,
Bosnia, etc.). If so, it gives me pause that perhaps I missed something and
the movie is better than I thought. Then again, I think that kind of
intelligent juxtaposition must have been an accident because of the
weakness in the rest of the production.
All in all, it was an OK movie that could have been much more. I’d
recommend seeing it, but just barely. The most exciting thing about the
show I saw was the trailer for [[Alien Resurrection]]. Now that’s a movie I
can’t wait to see!!!
CarneyWeb 