Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________MELROSE VS. THE MONSTERS BY SCOTT ROSENBERG (11/07/97)

Well, I did it. Last weekend, I finally saw "Starship Troopers," in spite of all the reviews that dismissed it as "a proto-fascist vision," "Melrose vs. the Monsters" and, in the case of Salon's review, said it lacked the courage of the book's convictions.
As a Robert Heinlein lover, these reviews spoke directly to my fears. After all, Heinlein was treated badly by Hollywood while he was alive, and things haven't improved much since his death. And besides, who has ever seen a movie made from a favorite book that didn't disappoint? But who, when they make a movie of a favorite book, can stay away?
So I went, and I'm happy to report that the reviewers were wrong. While it does deviate from the plot of the book, the movie is true to the Heinlein spirit (escapist fantasies featuring beautiful, brilliant people kicking ass and taking names) while maintaining its own feel and integrity as a work in and of itself.
Yes, it's gory. Yes, it's unrepentently violent, the people are way too pretty to look at, and it is (on the surface) way too uncritical of the notions of war and patriotism that underlie the plot.
But, on the other hand, it is honest. The violence is real (as real as it can be, given the fact that this is science fiction) and at least the film lays out its philosophical assumptions for the audience to evaluate. The premise, that all political power is ultimately derived from violence, may be debatable, but at least it is articulated. Can you name another war movie that goes that far?
As for the other objections, they all fall away when you realize that this is not a remake of a WWII-era war movie; it is a remake of a WWII recruiting film! We are meant to walk out of the theater, go straight to a Federation Recruitment office and sign up to go fight the bugs. Except, of course, that it is a recruiting film for a fictional military fighting a fictional war, done in such a farcically transparent way that it calls into question every film ever made about the military.
Personally, I prefer the honesty of "Starship Troopers" ("The Beautiful People Go to War Against Evil, Inhuman Monsters!") to the slyness of a film like "Top Gun," in which a live-ammunition gunfight breaks out just so Our Hero can prove he still has the Right Stuff. Never mind that we just started World War III, doesn't he look good in that flight suit? In that movie, the enemy is also inhuman, but only because we never see the Russians with their helmets off.
"Starship Troopers" is probably not the best movie that could have been made from Heinlein's book, nor is this necessarily the best Heinlein novel to make a movie from. But, given the current political climate, this might be the best we can do right now, and it was worth my six bucks.
--Mike Terry
Columbia, Mo.
SALON | Nov. 19, 1997

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_______________MELROSE VS. THE MONSTERS BY SCOTT ROSENBERG (11/07/97)
	Well, I did it. Last weekend, I finally saw "Starship Troopers," in spite of all the reviews that dismissed it as "a proto-fascist vision," "Melrose vs. the Monsters" and, in the case of Salon's review, said it lacked the courage of the book's convictions. As a Robert Heinlein lover, these reviews spoke directly to my fears. After all, Heinlein was treated badly by Hollywood while he was alive, and things haven't improved much since his death. And besides, who has ever seen a movie made from a favorite book that didn't disappoint? But who, when they make a movie of a favorite book, can stay away? So I went, and I'm happy to report that the reviewers were wrong. While it does deviate from the plot of the book, the movie is true to the Heinlein spirit (escapist fantasies featuring beautiful, brilliant people kicking ass and taking names) while maintaining its own feel and integrity as a work in and of itself. Yes, it's gory. Yes, it's unrepentently violent, the people are way too pretty to look at, and it is (on the surface) way too uncritical of the notions of war and patriotism that underlie the plot. But, on the other hand, it is honest. The violence is real (as real as it can be, given the fact that this is science fiction) and at least the film lays out its philosophical assumptions for the audience to evaluate. The premise, that all political power is ultimately derived from violence, may be debatable, but at least it is articulated. Can you name another war movie that goes that far? As for the other objections, they all fall away when you realize that this is not a remake of a WWII-era war movie; it is a remake of a WWII recruiting film! We are meant to walk out of the theater, go straight to a Federation Recruitment office and sign up to go fight the bugs. Except, of course, that it is a recruiting film for a fictional military fighting a fictional war, done in such a farcically transparent way that it calls into question every film ever made about the military. Personally, I prefer the honesty of "Starship Troopers" ("The Beautiful People Go to War Against Evil, Inhuman Monsters!") to the slyness of a film like "Top Gun," in which a live-ammunition gunfight breaks out just so Our Hero can prove he still has the Right Stuff. Never mind that we just started World War III, doesn't he look good in that flight suit? In that movie, the enemy is also inhuman, but only because we never see the Russians with their helmets off. "Starship Troopers" is probably not the best movie that could have been made from Heinlein's book, nor is this necessarily the best Heinlein novel to make a movie from. But, given the current political climate, this might be the best we can do right now, and it was worth my six bucks. --Mike Terry Columbia, Mo. SALON \| Nov. 19, 1997