Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: ``Is this a stand-up fight or another bug hunt?'' ``There are reports a xenomorph is involved.'' ``It's a bug hunt.''
Biased, pithy comments: Based on Heinlein's political screed by the same name, this movie follows the pattern of the book fairly closely but totally misses the boat in the combat scenes. I don't ask that you get the combat ``right;'' I don't care if they use warp drives or have hovercraft. I do want it to be internally consistent, so if they fire guns that have brass-cased ammunition, 300 rounds of it should be several feet long and weigh a heck of a lot. Instead our heroes unload endless rounds of automatic fire without reloading and without a big chain of bullets hanging from the gun. Plus, when faced with an entire valley filled with densely-packed enemies, they don't call for aerial bombing. And, of course, for a Mobile Infantry unit, they sure walk from place to place a lot rather than riding troop transports. So, it's no great shakes scientifically, but the commericals and propaganda that flesh out the tone of the world are amusing, if intentionally ludicrous and thus slightly deflating the rest of the movie, which seems in earnest.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Niel Patrick Harris, Michael Ironside.
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven