Why Neil Patrick Harris Says ‘Starship Troopers’ ‘Still Holds up Really Well’

Neil Patrick Harris is more than an actor — he’s a certified pop culture icon. A former child star, Harris rose to fame on the TV show Doogie Howser, M.D. Over the years, Harris has appeared in a wide variety of acting projects, from TV shows such as How I Met Your Mother to crime dramas like Gone Girl. But not all of Harris’ projects have received praise from critics. Most notably, the movie Starship Troopers, in which Harris had a featured role, was slammed upon its initial release. However, in a recent interview, Harris defended the film, claiming that it actually “holds up really well.”

When was ‘Starship Troopers’ released?

Starship Troopers was released to theaters in 1997. The military science fiction film tells the story of a young soldier named Johnny Rico, played by Casper Van Dien, and his adventures in the Mobile Infantry, according to IMDb. The backdrop of interstellar war ups the stakes for Johnny, even as his career progresses from a recruit to an officer.

In addition to Van Dien, the movie features stars such as Denise Richards, Jake Busey, and Michael Ironside. Harris also has a featured role in Starship Troopers. He portrayed Carl Jenkins, Johnny’s psychic best friend who works in Military Intelligence. When it was first released, Starship Troopers was slammed by critics, in spite of the all-star cast and high-concept special effects.

What did Neil Patrick Harris say about ‘Starship Troopers’?

Starship Troopers didn’t land well at the box office in 1997. But, according to Harris, the film didn’t really deserve the negative reviews that it received. In a recent interview with GQ, Harris opened up about his role in the film. “It was one of the first CG movies with giant CG bugs,” Harris reminisced. “It was fun. I was sort of the brainy person…I had second sight, I could know what people were thinking.”

Harris described how his character was absent from most of the military-style action. And even though he didn’t get to film the more intense scenes, he appreciated some of his character’s more dramatic entrances. “I love it, it still holds up, that movie — quite well, surprisingly,” Harris mused. “If you watch CGI in a lot of movies that were filmed after that, it looks very much like a fake entity. But Phil Tippett is the name of the man who did all of those bugs, and he did a really bang-up job ‘cuz that movie still holds up really well.”

‘Starship Troopers’ is now considered a cult classic

Even though Starship Troopers was originally a box-office bomb, it is widely regarded as a cult classic today. According to Screen Rant, a few years after its release, the film began to gain a following of fans. They appreciated the subversive nature of the film and the subject matter, which dealt with a lot of themes of overexaggerated militarism.

These days, fans also appreciate how campy Starship Troopers is — a filmmaking style that wasn’t as prominent in the ’90s. Starship Troopers occupies a rare space. In fact, many critics and viewers speaking out about how subtly smart the action film is. While rumors of a possible direct sequel have persisted for years, the original film spawned a franchise that includes several live-action films as well as two animated movies.