Rating: ***
Release Date: 11/7/97
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Special Effects: Phil Tippett Studios, Sony Imageworks
Music: Basil Poledouris
Cast: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Neil Patrick Harris,
Jake Busey, Clancy Brown, Michael Ironside
What a dumb movie, but with enough amazing, over-the-top effects to make it worth while. The first hour is dreadful as we see the cast from "Beverly Hills, 90210" join the military and fly off into space to fight giant bugs. One dimensional characters, barely competent acting, sloppy scripting, and horrendous dialog abound, but the action sequences and effects are, again, spectacular. Phil Tippett's hand is VERY prominent in the bug scenes, and I think that Ken Ralston may have been behind the awesome space battle footage that Sony Imageworks put together. Anyway, it was awful, but had some VERY cool moments. Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside both give admirable performances, giving a little more clout to the film, which totally disregards Heinlein's original story.