1997--Bugs--And Then The Brain Bug--Makes Me Fall In Love With The Science Fiction Flick Called "Starship Troopers"

Bugs – and then the Brain Bug – Makes Me Fall In Love With The Science-Fiction Flick Called “Starship Troopers”

       This movie may not be exactly “War of the Worlds”, but it is a twist on it from my standpoint. So I learned that the main character in “Starship Troopers”---Johnny Rico, after graduating from a high school from Buenos Aires (his hometown), joining up with the Federal Service to fight against bugs from the planets making up a fictional system called Klendathu, was not going to be a cakewalk for him. 

      First, I saw him go through boot-camp facing Drill Sergeant Zim, and even through the tough training, he gets quickly enamoured by recruit trainee, Dizzy Flores, a tough, rugged military lady who can fight like a man. Then I see Johnny then make it up through the ranks as squad leader, and had dreams that his second love interest, pilot trainee Carmen Ibanez (not knowing yet about  Rico's love for Dizzy) informs Johnny that she is going to have a full-time career in the Federal Service fleet, wanting to be a fleet ship commander, hurting Rico’s chance for any intimate relationship with her. Then, everything is stripped bare from Rico when during a live-fire exercise, he accidentally kills teammate Breckenridge, gets flogged 10 stripes with his demotion to private, and decides to leave the boot camp area. But then, I observed in the area that word spreads out that a bug meteor from Klendathu impacted Buenos Aires into a fiery holocaust with millions of people dead. Then I see Johnny decided to re-instate himself as a private to fight in the war, even with strong resistance from Sergeant Zim. 

       I then observed that Fleet battle station Ticonderoga is the main action point for the first offensive against the Klendathu planet, or Big K. The fleet flotilla does make a massive assault despite bug batteries firing plasma. But then, the arachnid soldiers on the planet were ready for the Fleet soldiers, with over 100,000 casualties for the Fleet after the 1st attack.

       Sky Marshal Dienes resigns after the failure of that 1st offensive and a replacement sky marshal sets up the 2nd attack. The Zegema Beach attack is a much better success as the Fleet fighter planes bomb the arachnids dead on the ground, and then the MI (mobile infantry) comes in to kill off the remaining arachnids, including a tanker bug.

       A major then informs Johnny that a distress call on Planet P is serious, breaking their rest break during his love scene with Dizzy which I liked in the film. (This part reminded me of my past loves). On P itself, Johnny's rank is raised to sergeant as the Mobile platoon finds Port Joe Smith, abandoned with bloody baths of dead soldiers. They find General Owen locked up in the port's command post, take him out of the post, and realizing that an arachnid ambush is coming, the platoon makes a counterattack that would soon fail, but a rescue ship saves their day. Regrettably, Dizzy is badly wounded by a rogue arachnid as the platoon retreats on the rescue ship, and later dies, making Johnny swallow his pride.

      Now, the last offensive in the flick focuses on getting back to Planet P to capture a brain bug that may be responsible for the failed Klendathu offensive.

      Well, fortunately, even though the Fleet offensive sustains heavy losses and Carmen and his pilot instructor escape from an escape pod from the Jolly Roger command ship that gets destroyed by bug plasma, right into Bug City, they could not escape one arachnid, but Johnny finally rescues the two out

of the way. 

      Finally, I saw that the brain bug is finally caught, but it was a close call for Carmen and Johnny.

       I give the movie 3 ½ stars.