List Price: $26.95 Our Price: $24.26YOU SAVE $2.69!
Buy it
DVD Starship Troopers (Superbit Collection)
In the first and finest RoboCop movie, director Paul Verhoeven combined near-future science fiction with a keen sense of social satire--not to mention enough high-velocity violence to satisfy even the most voracious bloodlust. In Starship Troopers, Verhoeven and RoboCop cowriter Ed Neumeier take inspired cues from Robert Heinlein's classic sci-fi novel to create a special-effects extravaganza that functions on multiple levels of entertainment. The film might be called "Melrose Place in Space," with its youthful cast of handsome guys and gorgeous women who look like they've been recruited (and in some cases they were) from the cast of Beverly Hills 90210. Viewers might focus on the incredible, graphically intense action sequences (definitely not for children) in which heavily armed forces from Earth go to off-world battle against vast hordes of alien "bugs" bent on planetary conquest. The attacking bugs are marvels of state-of-the-art special-effects technology, and the space battles are nothing short of spectacular. But Starship Troopers is more than a showcase for high-tech hardware and gigantic, flesh-ripping insects. Recalling his childhood in Holland during the Nazi occupation, Verhoeven turns this epic adventure into a scathingly funny satire of fascist propaganda, emphasizing Heinlein's underlying warning against the hazards of military conformity and the sickening realities of war. It's an action-packed joy ride if that's all you're looking for, but Verhoeven has a provocative agenda that makes Starship Troopers as smart as it is exciting. The DVD includes an above-average commentary by the director and Neumeier, several deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes documentary and promotional featurette, cast bios, production notes, and more. --Jeff Shannon
Review(s): DVD Starship Troopers (Superbit Collection)
Great Movie!!!
First off, don't take this movie too serously. the acting is next to nothing and the story dosen't make a whole lot of sense. But it is still very enjoyable. With a little comedy thrown and the action scenes are the best i have seen. The special effects are great. the reason i gave it 4 stars is that the dvd is a little bit over price even if its special addition. I enjoyed this movie allot. DON't let kids watch it. it will scare the crap out of them with all the brutal violence.
Galactically Bad
Bad on every level I can think. Bad war film, bad action film and far worse than stupid political commentary.
If this were simply a bad film, that would be fine, but the fact that it is based on a classic science fiction novel makes it a crying shame. I remember how excited fans of the book were that it was finally being made into a film, and how disappointed they still are that Verhoven did it.
I'm not surprised people will try to give the film credibility by talking about how "complex" it is. Um ... no. It's not, really. It doesn't come across as having a bad script and bad acting and a morally bankrupt point of view because it's making a statement, it comes across that way because has a bad script it's truly badly directed and yeah, most of the acting isn't great. On the other hand, the script's subtle-as-a-jackhammer political agenda and wooden dialogue would have been hard to rise above even if the director did have some sort of vision that was worth sharing. Why bother using Heinlein's book if you
have so little respect for it?
Why ruin the film adaptation of a book for your own purposes? How arrogant, self-serving and irresponsible is that?
The combat sequences make no sense whatsover, with the hi-tech Mobile Infantry charging the Bugs in a way that would seem more
appropriate in "Braveheart" being especially bad.
I can't remember being more disappointed by a film, ever. You won't just want your money back; you'll be regretting losing those two hours of your life.
Good action movie, but leave your brain at the door
If I could, I would give it 3.8 stars, but if I had to choose, I'll go with 4 stars. ST is a good, brainless action movie that has very little to do with the novel it's based on.
Just in terms of entertainment, and watching a lot of action, it's pretty good, but logically there are some things that don't make any sense. The first thing that jumped into my mind when they invaded Klendathu (the bug's home planet), is why didn't they bombard the planet from space? Or at least carpet bomb it with atmosphere craft like they did on Planet P. The infantry didn't exactly have any complicated objectives like forcing the enemy to surrender or capture certain areas, and hold them. They just went down to kill bugs on the planet's surface. Now it's true in the novel, it explains that plastering the surface with nukes wouldn't have neutralized Klendathu because they wouldn't have done anything to the royalty caste underground, but their objectives were different. They were to occupy the capital and key points of their home planet, bring the enemy to their knees and end the war.
Another thing that doesn't make sense is the infantry themselves. Unlike the novel, the infantry has no Powered Armor what so ever. This makes the "mobile infantry" a lot like regular infantry. Except worse. They have no tank support (which would have been a big help with it's thick armor to protect from arachnid claws), no artillery support, no squad based automatic weapons, no air support, no naval support (from orbital or naval ships), no field medics, no armored carriers, nothing. Their so called armor, is effectively useless, and they use bullet based rifles. It looked like it took 100 rounds just to take down one arachnid. What the? Why use an obsolete, and ineffective weapon against an enemy that's obviously resistant to it?
Also their battle tactics are absurd. They just run at the enemy as a mass horde (knowing full well the arachnids can't hurt them unless they are at point blank range). There's no fireing lines (didn't they learn anything from the zulu wars?), no one kneeled to increase their aim, no one tried to take cover, etc, etc. I guess all that training in boot camp was to learn how to fight like a girl? Oh right, they use football tactics in combat. Three 6 loop hole! Or whatever the hell it's called.
Anyway, I could go on to mention how useless their navy was, but this review is turning into a wall of text. Bottom line, good action, but don't expect anything logical.
Related DVD's Starship Troopers (Superbit Collection)
Ancient curses, all-powerful monsters, shape-changing assassins, scantily-clad stewardesses, laser battles, huge explosions, a perfect woman, a malcontent hero--what more can you ask of a big-budget science fiction movie? Luc Besson's high-octane film incorporates presidents, rock stars, and cab drivers into its peculiar plot, traversing worlds and encountering some pretty wild aliens. Bruce Willis stars as a down-and-out cabbie who must win the love of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) to save Earth from destruction by Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) and a dark, unearthly force that makes Darth Vader look like an Ewok. --Geoff RileyMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Luc Besson DVD Release Date: Released the 11 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $24.96 Your Price: $15.97YOU SAVE $8.99!
Buy it
Allowing for all the low-budget shortcomings that plague any straight-to-video production, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation serves up 92 minutes of passable sci-fi action. Parlaying his veteran status as an animator, special-effects wizard, and stalwart survivor of the CGI revolution, Phil Tippett (with returning screenwriter Ed Neumeier) makes a woefully uninspired directorial debut with this makeshift sequel to Paul Verhoeven's 1997 blockbuster, retaining the jarhead militarism of Robert Heinlein's original novel while serving up more bugs, an all-new cast of attractive young stars, and all-too-familiar plot elements borrowed from a dozen better movies. "Bigger is better" is out of the question under such meager budgetary circumstances, so Tippett and Neumeier... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Phil Tippett DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.94 Your Price: $13.45YOU SAVE $1.49!
Buy it
In Independence Day, a scientist played by Jeff Goldblum once actually had a fistfight with a man (Bill Pullman) who is now president of the United States. That same president, late in the film, personally flies a jet fighter to deliver a payload of missiles against an attack by extraterrestrials. Independence Day is the kind of movie so giddy with its own outrageousness that one doesn't even blink at such howlers in the plot. Directed by Roland Emmerich, Independence Day is a pastiche of conventions from flying-saucer movies from the 1940s and 1950s, replete with icky monsters and bizarre coincidences that create convenient shortcuts in the story. (Such as the way the girlfriend of one of the film's heroes--played by Will Smith--just happens to run across the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Bill Pullman - Jeff Goldblum - Will Smith Director(s): Roland Emmerich DVD Release Date: Released the 11 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $15.98YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
In delivering PG-13-rated excitement, Alien vs. Predator is an acceptably average science-fiction action thriller with some noteworthy highlights, even if it squanders its opportunity to intelligently combine two popular and R-rated franchises. Rabid fans can justifiably ask "Is that all there is?" after a decade of development hell and eager anticipation, but we're compensated by reasonably logical connections to the Alien legacy and the still-kicking Predator franchise (which hinted at AVP rivalry at the end of Predator 2); some cleverly claustrophobic sets, tense atmosphere and impressive digital effects; and a climactic AVP smackdown that's not half bad. This disposable junk should've been better, but nobody who's seen Mortal Kombat or... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Sanaa Lathan - Raoul Bova - Lance Henriksen - Ewen Bremner Director(s): Paul W.S. Anderson DVD Release Date: Released the 25 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $14.99YOU SAVE $4.99!
Buy it
While setting a milestone in the progress of digital filmmaking, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow resurrects a nostalgic fantasy world derived from a wide variety of vintage inspirations. It's a dazzling dream for anyone who appreciates the look and feel of golden-age sci-fi pulp magazines, drawing its unique, all-digital design from such diverse sources as Howard Hawks adventures, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Buck Rogers, Blackhawk comics, The Third Man, cliffhanger serials, and the action-packed Indiana Jones franchise. Writer-director Kerry Conran's feature debut is also guaranteed to inspire digital dreamers everywhere, suggesting a paradigm shift in the way CGI-dominated movies are made. It's a giddy adventure for the young and young-at-heart, in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gwyneth Paltrow - Jude Law - Angelina Jolie Director(s): Kerry Conran DVD Release Date: Released the 25 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.99 Your Price: $14.99YOU SAVE $5!
Buy it
