Taken for what it is, the movie works. I haven't read Heinlein's novel (yet), so I can't really compare it to the text. Without having set any expectations, I can safely say that I was never bored with this film. ILM's digital FX were excellent as usual; Tippett's set of arthropods, esp. the "brain bug" were well-crafted. As for the humans -- they all were pretty much confident in their roles, although I did like Dina Meyer's role as Dizzy Flores. Her aggressiveness reminded me of the females of James Cameron's films.
Verhoeven, brushing himself off after "Showgirls", still gives us as much flesh (the shower scene, the sex scene) as blood (the battle scenes - 75% of the movie). He even returns to his "RoboCop" days with the news broadcasts (which are hilarious). It would've been nice if he touched more on the element of fascism in the movie, though.
I found it interesting that there was little profanity in this film. War movies exhibit scenes of great tension and bedlam, and as such, you'd expect to see that reflected in the characters' language.
My only real complaint is that at 129 minutes, it's probably about 15-20 minutes longer than it needs to be. Other than that, it's a decent film for it's given genre. Your enjoyment will really depend on your expectations.
Verhoeven, brushing himself off after "Showgirls", still gives us as much flesh (the shower scene, the sex scene) as blood (the battle scenes - 75% of the movie). He even returns to his "RoboCop" days with the news broadcasts (which are hilarious). It would've been nice if he touched more on the element of fascism in the movie, though.
I found it interesting that there was little profanity in this film. War movies exhibit scenes of great tension and bedlam, and as such, you'd expect to see that reflected in the characters' language.
My only real complaint is that at 129 minutes, it's probably about 15-20 minutes longer than it needs to be. Other than that, it's a decent film for it's given genre. Your enjoyment will really depend on your expectations.