Starship Troopers (1988)

I enjoyed Starship Troopers (1997), it was one of those fantastically dumb take your brain out movies which really succeeded in entertaining. The sequels failed to live up to it however and were highly hit and miss.

What I didn't realise though was that it wasn't a Hollywood creation, not even close. It's origins go back to the late 50's where it was a book by Robert A. Heinlein, the first time it was adapted for the screen was right here in 1988. Sadly it cannot have met expectations because it had a limited release and is an extremely hard to get hold of anime!

If you're expecting something resembling the Hollywood adaptation you will be sorely disappointed. From mech suits instead of traditional grunts to an odd pink lifeform instead of bugs this a very different creature.

It tells the story of Juan "Johnie" Rico who most will know as played by Casper Van Dien and his story as he joins the military just before the alien threat kicks off and attacks earth.

It's an incredibly slow burn and focuses more on character development than action, in fact if it's action you're wanting you'll struggle to find enjoyment.

It's passable stuff but feels incomplete because of its pacing. I think it would have worked better as 30+ episode series.

What confused me was the setting/ethnicities. Wasn't this the US? Most characters look caucasian and have names like Pat, Greg and Smith! Yet they speak Japanese, it was certainly a bit of an odd choice. Why is a man called Juan Rico a blonde haired white dude exactly?

This was a minor gripe, my major one was the pacing.

Regardless it has a lot of charm, one of the best soundtracks from an anime I've ever heard and has it's moments............just not enough.

The Good:

Amazing soundtrack

I'm keen on the animation style

Great character development

The Bad:

Ethnicity/language confusion

Pacing issues

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Mechs would have made the Hollywood version better, right?!

Soldiers are scumbags apparently