SoapFiction Reviews

Starship Troopers (1988)

The powered armor makes it all worthwhile. Much better than the movie.

[8/10 · 16 May 2008]

Robert A. Heinlein's classic novel Starship Troopers has been messed around with in recent years, in everything to Paul Verhoeven's 1997 film to a TV series, to a number of games. But none of these, so to speak, has really captured the spirit of his novel. The games are usually unrelated, the TV series was more of a spin off, and the less said about Verhoeven's film, the better. Little do most know, however, that in Japan, an animated adaptation had already been done, released the year of Heinlein's death. And, believe it or not, despite its differences, this 6-part animated series is, plot-wise, the most faithful adaptation of Heinlein's classic.

The most obvious plus to this series is the presence of the powered armor exoskeletons, something we were deprived of in Verhoeven's film. Like the book, the series focuses more on the characters and their relationships than on action and space travel, though we see a fair amount of each. While events happen differently than in the book, the feel of the book's plot is present. Rico and Carmen have a romantic entanglement, but it's only slightly more touched upon than in the book. While some may believe the dialogue and character interaction to be a bit inferior to the book (it gets a bit of the anime treatment, but what did you expect?), but it's far superior to the film. Heinlein's political views are merely excised, as opposed to the film, where they are reversed. The big payoff of the series, however, is the climatic battle on Klendathu between the troopers and the bugs/aliens, which features the kind of action from the powered armor suits we would have like to have seen in a film version.

Overall, I enjoyed this series because I wanted to see a vision closer to that of Heinlein. And I think they did pretty well with this. If you can find this series, give it a look.

Hard Boiled (1992)

A true fan favorite, and must-see for action fans

[8/10 · 30 August 2005]

Hard Boiled is not John Woo's best work. But it was never meant to be. It is, however, the ultimate embodiment of John Woo's style of film-making. What more could you ask for in a cop story? Officers face off with criminals in massive gunfights, fellow cops are killed on the jobs, undercover cops tread through dangerous waters, with double-crossing abound, and a final, bloody climax with bullets and bodies flying. Not only that, but strong performances from the lead actors that give us the kind of characters we want.

The main appeal of this movie is its front man, the legendary Chow Yun-Fat. He's in top form in this movie. You can't help but love it when he's got two guns in his hands, and he's jumping all over the place while blowing away goons. He's the master when it comes to this. And, not only is he in top action form, but he also finds time to throw in a joke or two, giving us the Martin Riggs-of-Lethal Weapon character feel, if only for a few scenes. His character is a musician on the side, with everyday problems of his own, like staying in a bar while trying to find a place to live, and struggling with his current love life. He looks like a normal guy off the job. But on the job, he's Supercop. Whether he's sliding down the rail of a stairwell while blazing two pistols, blowing away baddies with a 12-guage as they fly in on motorcycles, or standing face-to-face with his adversary in the traditional Mexican standoff, he's a joy to watch for the action fan.

The other actors give decent performances at least. Tony Leung, however, gives a performance equal to, if not better than, that of Yun-Fat. Being in his character's position takes enormous tolls on ones' personality. He's great as the undercover cop trying to get his man. Also, it's very appealing to see the star of "In the Mood for Love", which won him a Best Actor award at Cannes, leap through the air with two guns blazing. This is by far one of Leung's more enjoyable films.

The film, as I said earlier, is not flawless. Some elements of the story were not played out right. The script is average at best, and some parts of it happened to fast without things being fully played out (to go into more detail would make this a spoiler). But all that aside, there's nothing wrong with this movie. Some people have made the enormous mistake of believing that Woo portrays a lack of respect for human life, since innocent civilians are gunned down in an action-style fashion. They obviously haven't heard Woo's commentary on the DVD, or know much about how he thinks. Why do you think every single on-screen death is filmed in slow-motion? Because every man is given a hero's death! When innocent people are killed in the film, it is portrayed utter contempt for human life by the criminals. This film was made as an enormous tribute to the Hong Kong police, who have dealt with similar situations as in this film many times. Hong Kong was, for a long time, the crime capital of the world. After living there for fifty-plus years, Woo knows what he's doing. For instance, when you watch the film, you may ask yourself, "Why did those criminals just kill all those innocent people?" That's exactly what Woo is asking.

Overall, we get a great action film. Not in the ranks of masterpieces like Die Hard, Aliens, The Matrix, or even Woo's The Killer. But it defines the term "Fan Favorite", and is one hell of a time if you're an action fan. It wasn't meant to be Woo's best; it was his farewell to Hong Kong before heading overseas. Not as much focus went into it as with The Killer or Bullet in the Head. He just wanted to give his fans one more feature in his trademark style to enjoy. And he succeeded greatly.