Hmm, how about Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelles The Mote in Gods Eye?
Action, plot twists, stunning visuals, jolly good aliens, strong characters, shocking revelations, moral dilemmas & that essential for movies, a love interest.
& how about Pouls Andersons War of the Wingmen/The Man Who Counts, a well thought out(scientifically plausible) planet there! Who would make a good Nicholas Van Rijn? I'd nominate John Rhys-Davies.