Pondering Starship Troopers.

dennilfloss

Past Lifer 1957-2014 In Memoriam
Oct 21, 1999
30,549
12
0
dennilfloss.blogspot.com
Maybe it's explained earlier in the movie but I haven't seen the whole thing, just various bits during the occasional repeats on television. Anyway, why is there no counter-battery fire from orbit? Here you have Earth in the future, with a militaristic worldwide culture. It has the technology to send dreadnaughts to another planet in response to a hostile act from another species. While the capital ships are in orbit above the hostile species homeworld, some larger bugs shoot plasma as some kind of flak to destroy some of the capital ships. How can those nontechnological bugs detect and accurately target ships a few hundred miles above? Why doesn't the fleet move out of range once they find out they can be hit (surely those plasma jets have a limited range). Why doesn't the fleet computers & sensor grids detect the plasma launches, calculate their origin and the capital ships main armament immediately nuke/vaporize/railguns the location of the launcher in counter-battery fire?

We're talking about a militaristic society with technology well above our own, surely their tactics are equally as refined. Why use troopers on the ground when you can mass-drive the bugs homeworld in retaliation for them launching an asteroid at yours? How can nontechnological bugs affect an asteroid orbit and calculate its trajectory to the point of having it hitting Earth after a voyage of surely years if not millenia?

Or is this all but a dreamlike metaphor so none of the 'reality' is of import?

*humbug*

How do you think would we really act if we were an advanced militaristic society and one of our cities got obliterated? Methinks the military would react with extreme & efficient prejudice, like turning the planet's surface into glass.

Some might say this would make for a short movie but the film could be about the journey there, how the decision is made, the building of the ships, who gets chosen, etc... Think a militaristic retributional version of Contact. Then again that doesn't fit the 15yo boy model for a summer blockbuster.
 
Last edited:

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
3
81
They did aerial bombard if I remember right? We have no idea what their battleship weaponry is really capable of either. It might be specialized for space combat that doesn't allow for it to be effective through atmosphere/at the ranges/accuracy required.
 

bearxor

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2001
6,609
2
81
I think it's explained that they were just unprepared for an attack. They put orbital guns up to destroy incoming object as well. Thats in one of the later news clips.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
blindly wiping out planets is bound to have bad side effects for the rest of the galaxy.
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,089
12
76
fobot.com
you gotta read the book
if you are thinking this much about the story, by all means, read the book
and then read more Heinlein
he is the best sci-fi author , evar
 

Train

Lifer
Jun 22, 2000
13,863
68
91
www.bing.com
you gotta read the book
if you are thinking this much about the story, by all means, read the book
and then read more Heinlein
he is the best sci-fi author , evar

Agreed, I really enjoyed the book. I thought the movie kinda sucked. Except for the tittays
 

dennilfloss

Past Lifer 1957-2014 In Memoriam
Oct 21, 1999
30,549
12
0
dennilfloss.blogspot.com
BTW, in case anyone thinks I don't enjoy the movie, I really do as a popcorn, silly, game-like FPS shooter of a movie. From that angle it is definitely entertaining, kinda like Star Wars.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
It's also amusing as a parody of world war 2 propaganda films. The actors are blocks of wood for a reason. If you think the humor was unintentional you weren't paying attention to Robocop 1 or Total Recall (all Verhoeven films).

My first thought: the plasma launchers are more giant bugs, so they're mobile. The world is riddled with tunnels, so the bugs pop up, launch a plasma ball then pop back in to the tunnels.

But really, you're thinking too hard
 

Gibsons

Lifer
Aug 14, 2001
12,530
35
91
It's been a loooooong time since I read it, but one of the reasons given in the book is that the bugs had captured some of the marines, and a big part of their militaristic ethos was to never leave anyone behind, always get them back, that sort of thing. So they wouldn't do anything that might collaterally damage prisoners (or maybe even their corpses?).

Also, the marines in the book were portrayed as being much much more effective than in the movie. Of course, Larry Curly and Moe might also be more effective. :\
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,089
12
76
fobot.com
It's also amusing as a parody of world war 2 propaganda films.

that is a good point, that style they used for the movie, it has nothing to do with the book/story, the person who wrote the screenplay came up with that out of his butt or something
 

Jeeebus

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
9,180
897
126
I'm pretty sure I nearly broke my penis fapping to that chick's tittays when this movie came out.
 

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
16,975
14,124
146
I hate Zerg rushes.....


When it comes to teh bugs Ripley had it right:
I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Many sci-fi movies and books would be a lot shorter if they followed this sage advice.
 

gorobei

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2007
3,742
1,169
136
other than the bug effects by tippet, the movie was ass.

the book was about a semi benign/workable fascist world government system that was protected by a interstellar capable military.

the bugs were aliens that attacked earth and its colonies, but they were clearly sentient, had ships, and had fully diplomatic/political alliances with other aliens(i.e. complete society). the warrior types had small-arms energy weapons weren't mindless drones sent to be zerg fodder.

the mobile infantry (MI) were soldiers in powered armor suits with portable nuke weapons whose primary role was occupation of any planet that wasnt to be orbitaly nuked. they had energy weapons and got around by jet assisted Hulk-type jumping.

the movie couldnt afford this and verhoeven focused on making a satirical and simplistic war movie.

the bugs in the movie were more based on the bug aliens in John Steakley's Armor
 

dighn

Lifer
Aug 12, 2001
22,820
4
81
other than the bug effects by tippet, the movie was ass.

the book was about a semi benign/workable fascist world government system that was protected by a interstellar capable military.

the bugs were aliens that attacked earth and its colonies, but they were clearly sentient, had ships, and had fully diplomatic/political alliances with other aliens(i.e. complete society). the warrior types had small-arms energy weapons weren't mindless drones sent to be zerg fodder.

the mobile infantry (MI) were soldiers in powered armor suits with portable nuke weapons whose primary role was occupation of any planet that wasnt to be orbitaly nuked. they had energy weapons and got around by jet assisted Hulk-type jumping.

the movie couldnt afford this and verhoeven focused on making a satirical and simplistic war movie.

the bugs in the movie were more based on the bug aliens in John Steakley's Armor

ok that makes way more sense. it's sad how movies always turn books into shit.
 

Pia

Golden Member
Feb 28, 2008
1,563
0
0
It's also amusing as a parody of world war 2 propaganda films. The actors are blocks of wood for a reason. If you think the humor was unintentional you weren't paying attention to Robocop 1 or Total Recall (all Verhoeven films).
Yep. I'm not sure if a direct movie adaptation could have worked at all... has been a while since I read the book. Verhoeven's movie is entertaining and funny, I don't recall any movie that did the same thing better. 4/5 IMO.

I wonder how the people going nuts over a movie deviating from a book feel about Blade Runner. Worst movie ever?
 
sale-70-410-exam    | Exam-200-125-pdf    | we-sale-70-410-exam    | hot-sale-70-410-exam    | Latest-exam-700-603-Dumps    | Dumps-98-363-exams-date    | Certs-200-125-date    | Dumps-300-075-exams-date    | hot-sale-book-C8010-726-book    | Hot-Sale-200-310-Exam    | Exam-Description-200-310-dumps?    | hot-sale-book-200-125-book    | Latest-Updated-300-209-Exam    | Dumps-210-260-exams-date    | Download-200-125-Exam-PDF    | Exam-Description-300-101-dumps    | Certs-300-101-date    | Hot-Sale-300-075-Exam    | Latest-exam-200-125-Dumps    | Exam-Description-200-125-dumps    | Latest-Updated-300-075-Exam    | hot-sale-book-210-260-book    | Dumps-200-901-exams-date    | Certs-200-901-date    | Latest-exam-1Z0-062-Dumps    | Hot-Sale-1Z0-062-Exam    | Certs-CSSLP-date    | 100%-Pass-70-383-Exams    | Latest-JN0-360-real-exam-questions    | 100%-Pass-4A0-100-Real-Exam-Questions    | Dumps-300-135-exams-date    | Passed-200-105-Tech-Exams    | Latest-Updated-200-310-Exam    | Download-300-070-Exam-PDF    | Hot-Sale-JN0-360-Exam    | 100%-Pass-JN0-360-Exams    | 100%-Pass-JN0-360-Real-Exam-Questions    | Dumps-JN0-360-exams-date    | Exam-Description-1Z0-876-dumps    | Latest-exam-1Z0-876-Dumps    | Dumps-HPE0-Y53-exams-date    | 2017-Latest-HPE0-Y53-Exam    | 100%-Pass-HPE0-Y53-Real-Exam-Questions    | Pass-4A0-100-Exam    | Latest-4A0-100-Questions    | Dumps-98-365-exams-date    | 2017-Latest-98-365-Exam    | 100%-Pass-VCS-254-Exams    | 2017-Latest-VCS-273-Exam    | Dumps-200-355-exams-date    | 2017-Latest-300-320-Exam    | Pass-300-101-Exam    | 100%-Pass-300-115-Exams    |
http://www.portvapes.co.uk/    | http://www.portvapes.co.uk/    |