Starship Troopers (1997) User Reviews

fun shoot em up or compelling neo-fascist satire

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 29 September 2013]

In the future, humanity is under the rule of a worldwide neo-fascist military dictatorship fighting an alien civilization of giant space bugs. Citizenship is gained thru military service. Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) has low grades which leaves him joining the Mobile Infantry. Dizzy Flores (Dina Meyer) is infatuated with him and follows him into MI. Rico is in love with Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards) but she chases her dreams of being a spaceship captain. Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris) gets into the highly coveted Military Intelligence.

Filmmaker Paul Verhoeven has a trashy stylish sensibility. His love of sex and violence really works in this sci-fi schlock. Casper Van Dien is perfect as the empty-headed matinée idol lead. For the hot action babes quotient, they have the sexy Dina Meyer and Denise Richards. For a hard nose leader role, they have the perpetually angry Michael Ironside. The cast, the style, the violence, the bugs, all of it makes a great hoot. The CG is pretty good for its times. The spacecrafts could be better but the bugs look scary. There is a neo-fascist satire to it all. Of course, some may love this for all the wrong reasons. I kinda love this for every reason. It's got the grotesque, the sci-fi, the battle action, the cheesy story, and I don't take any of it seriously.

Starship Troopers: A Satirical Masterpiece Worth Revisiting

[Hastur16 · 8/10 · 11 February 2023]

Starship Troopers, directed by Paul Verhoeven and released in 1997, is a science fiction film that explores themes of fascism, militarism, and citizenship. The film is set in the future where Earth is threatened by a race of giant insects, known as the "bugs," and humanity must band together to defeat the enemy. The film follows protagonist, Johnny Rico, as he joins the military to fight against the bugs and eventually becomes an officer.

The film's satirical elements are particularly noteworthy, as it takes aim at the military-industrial complex and the concept of war as a solution to conflict. The film is not afraid to be bold and make commentary on the political landscape of the time, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. This satirical edge is what sets Starship Troopers apart from other science fiction films and is what makes it such a fascinating and thought-provoking work of art.

The film's visual effects are also top-notch, with the giant bugs being both fearsome and disgusting, making them the perfect enemy to fight against. The film also makes use of excellent special effects, particularly the scenes of battle, which are both chaotic and thrilling. The film's action is well choreographed and serves to keep the audience on the edge of their seat.

One of the film's strengths is its portrayal of the characters, who are well-developed and memorable. Johnny Rico is the classic action hero, while his friends and comrades are equally interesting and unique. The film also features strong performances from its cast, particularly Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico, who delivers a standout performance.

While some may argue that the film's humor is too over-the-top and detracts from the overall experience, it is important to understand that this is a deliberate choice made by Verhoeven. The film's humor serves to emphasize its satirical elements and reinforces its messages. The humor also adds an element of fun to what is otherwise a dark and intense film.

One of the strongest elements of "Starship Troopers" is its sharp, tongue-in-cheek commentary on fascism and military propaganda. Throughout the film, characters make bold statements about the importance of enlisting in the military and sacrificing for the greater good, all while caricatured military drills and propaganda videos are played for comic effect. The film's over-the-top take on these themes is both entertaining and thought-provoking, leaving the viewer with a lot to ponder long after the credits have rolled.

Overall, while "Starship Troopers" may not be for everyone, its unique blend of sci-fi action and satirical commentary is sure to leave a lasting impression on those who appreciate its distinct brand of humor and filmmaking style. Despite its flaws, this film is a must-see for fans of science fiction and action, and it's certainly deserving of an 8/10 rating.

It's only as smart as you allow it to be.

[Skekseeze · 8/10 · 9 June 2022]

This movie has levels. You can appreciate the action sequences and special effects just as much as the subtle, and not so subtle, undertones. Like Orwell's Animal Farm, with Starship Troopers you need to sometimes dig a little deeper into your IQ to more completely appreciate its genius.

Unique, subversive masterpiece

[gogoschka-1 · 15 December 2013]

This film is about the ignorance of conquerors and the fact that war makes fascists of us all. Now that doesn't sound like a lot of fun, does it. But guess what: it is fun (by the truckload - at least if you have a pitch-black sense of humour and you do realise what this film is and what it wants to achieve).

Paul Verhoeven was a master at making Sci-Fi films which worked both as perfect mainstream popcorn cinema and as very intelligent social commentary on the direction - he felt - society was headed. And despite the fact that the over-the-top satirical elements and highly political undercurrents in his two previous sci-fi extravaganzas Robocop and Total Recall were only appreciated by a few critics at the time, those two films became huge hits at the box office: because they also offered great action, amazing special effects and overall great entertainment.

My guess is that Verhoeven felt encouraged by that success, and so with Starship Troopers, he didn't just sneak in some subversive parts: he went full-blown satire. Sadly, that didn't go down too well with audiences and critics alike; apparently most viewers didn't get the film at all (the - seemingly - good guys wear Nazi uniforms? What the heck?). Verhoeven even got accused of being a fascist, and it took the director's commentary on the DVD to finally make it once and for all clear what Starship Troopers is about and what the writer's and the director's intentions were.

I wonder whether the studio execs realised what Verhoeven was up to with that film; maybe the director just took their 100 million dollars and ran with it. The result, in any case, is a unique oddity that I personally feel is on par with films like District 9 or even Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. It's a masterpiece. And much like another glitch in the Hollywood machine, David Fincher's Fight Club, films like that rarely get made (and not with such budgets), because more often than not, they end up as flops.

Apart from the underlying themes, on the surface Starship Troopers also has a lot going for it: amazing effects that still hold up very well and insanely intense battle scenes with more blood and guts than even the meanest gore-hound could wish for. So no matter how it came about that a studio ever green-lit this and gave Verhoeven a 100 million dollars - I for one will forever be grateful for this unique subversive masterpiece. My vote: 10 out of 10

Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

parodying the '50s to the extreme

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 5 April 2007]

When "Starship Troopers" came out, one of my friends told me that it bore little relation to the novel on which it was based: the novel had a plot, the movie was an excuse to show naked women. But one of my mom's friends said that although the movie did lapse into a video game, it had sort of an interesting story. When we finally saw the movie a few months later, we found it fairly interesting. You see, more than simply a silly action/sci-fi flick (but make no mistake about it, those two are certainly a factor), the movie pokes fun at 1950s sci-fi flicks, what with all the "Know your enemy! Do your part!" stuff. I'm actually not surprised that Paul Verhoeven made a good movie with this one, given how well he did with "Soldier of Orange" and "Robocop".

So yes, the movie rips at militarism and jingoism (the essential elements of fascism), while also finding time to show the sorts of things that easily appeal to teenage boys: pumped up action and naked babes. Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey and Michael Ironside have plenty to be proud of in this movie. Worth seeing.

Brilliant inverted character arcs

[bulgerpaul · 10/10 · 27 March 2022]

"This year we explored the failure of democracy, where the social scientists brought our world to the brink of chaos. We talked about the veterans, how they took control & imposed the stability which has lasted for generations since."

Starship Troopers is a cheeky inversion of Star Trek's post-currency, post-scarcity universe, one where wartime becomes further obsolete and diplomats are valorized over generals, and where social castes are non-existent. Instead, it imagines a post-democratic universe, where war is the only industry, conquest is the only culture, where jingoism is the common language, and where basic human rights, whether it be the right to vote or the right to procreate, are gatekept behind castes defined by one's usefulness to the totalitarian state, where the entire population is divided into civilians and citizens, and the only viable way to gain citizenship is by throwing one's bodily autonomy to the behest of the state:

"Rasczak: why are only citizens allowed to vote.

Rico: It's a reward. Something the federation gives you for doing federal service.

Rasczak: No. Something given has no value. When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force my friends is violence. The supreme authority by which all other authorities are derived."

Another quote pulled from the beginning of the movie: "Dizzy: My mother always told me that violence doesn't solve anything.

Rasczak: Really? I wonder what the city founders of Hiroshima would have to say about that.

Carmen: They wouldn't say anything. Hiroshima was destroyed.

Rasczak: Correct. Naked force has resolved more conflicts throughout history than any other factor. The contrary opinion, that violence doesn't solve anything, is wishful thinking at its worst. People who forget that always die."

I have no idea why I felt the need to add this quote because I'm just now realizing I have no commentary to add to it. It really speaks for itself. Rasczak is the embodiment of every hyper-nationalistic, militaristically cavalier conservative, as I've heard that very argument verbatim about Hiroshima at least half a dozen times. Rasczak is only slightly exaggerated in that he's so brazenly honest in his love of violence and nation state imperialism. It just blows my mind how badly misread this movie was upon release, because it has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face.

Also cheekily inverted is the character development of any movie in the vein of Born on the Fourth of July, in which a character is rapturously taken with blind nationalism through wartime propaganda, only to begin questioning their nationalism when confronted by the reality and horror of war. Rico's questioning phase doesn't come after his first experience in battle, but in the very beginning. He doesn't necessarily buy into the jingoism shoved down his throat through his education:

"Rasczak: Rico. What is the moral difference, if any, between a civilian and a citizen?

Rico: A citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety and the body politic defending it with his life. A civilian does not.

Rasczak: The exact words of the textbook. But do you understand it? Do you believe it?

Johnny Rico: I don't know.

Jean Rasczak: No, of course you don't. I doubt anyone here would recognize civic virtue even if it reached up and bit you in the a**!"

Rather than beginning the story as an obedient little fascist who comes to question the state, Rico begins questioning the state and is unsure whether he believes in their dichotomy between civilian and citizenship, only to become a hardened, obedient little fascist as soon as he first encounters the horrors of war, a firmer believer in the obviously evil cause he's fighting for, a character arc I can't say I've experienced depicted through a main character very often. The only example that comes to mind is Bill Hader's Barry, which still doesn't fit, because Barry doesn't exactly become a believer in the state so much as he just finds fulfillment in being good at something (killing people). So if anybody has any other solid examples of an inverted character arc quite like this, please let me know, because I genuinely don't know if this has been done with the same intentionality anywhere else before or since.

Glossy , Entirely Dumb But Entertaining

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 23 May 2008]

Verhoeven's STARSHIP TROOPERS is certainly a film that doesn't stand up to repeated viewing . The first half consists of the most unlikely military recruits put on to celluloid . You get the impression that the recruits are taking part in a beauty contest rather than a military training camp , all those these bimbos and pretty boys totally fail to convince . Like ancient Rome they're joining the military to receive citizenship but why ? They all have perfect teeth which means this future meritocracy has a much better health system than we've got in present day Britain so is this authoritarian society so bad ? By the way if we're subjected to a one world government does this explain why everyone speaks with a similar accent no matter what their nationality or ethnic background ? Apparently main pretty boy Johnny Rico is Argentine but looks like he's stepped out of Beverly Hills California same as nearly everyone else in the film . So much for diversity

Despite stepping up several gears in the second half of the movie the audience are still subjected to a complete lack of logic in the story . Roger Ebert has asked if the human race is capable of interstellar travel then why are they incapable of coming up with an effective insecticide ? A good point but why even bother with insecticide ? Surely it'd be a good idea to send missiles containing warheads of several megatons of explosive towards the bug colonies ? No matter how much you try to explain it away you're left thinking of what a ridiculous idea it is to send ground troops to a planet to engage in pitched battles with literally billions of self aware homicidal insects

Actually I've just realised why , because if humanity nuked the bugs then we'd be left with two hours of THE OC IN OUTER SPACE with the last two minutes composed of a couple of large explosions and that would have made for an extremely boring film . Say what you like about the first sixty minutes of the running time ( And if you've nothing nice to say about it I'll agree with you ) but the second half of STARSHIP TROOPERS is very gory fun with Verhoeeven delivering the goods . It's certainly not a masterpiece of intellectual SF cinema but it is very entertaining as long as you don't think about it too hard

You want to live forever? Well, you won't!

[Coventry · 9/10 · 10 May 2021]

If "Starship Troopers" isn't the most epic science-fiction movie ever made, then I don't know what is! What is that you say? "2001: A Space Odyssey"? "Star Wars"? Well, perhaps, but they aren't nearly as entertaining as Paul Verhoeven's extravagant, unhinged and excessively violent dystopian saga. This film is probably the most cynical, yet simultaneously the most straight-faced parody in history. Look closely at the FedNet propaganda, the Aryan lead characters and their costumes, the careless sacrificing of the Infantry forces... This futuristic battle set in 2197 is a replay of WWII, but somehow Verhoeven succeeded in making us root for the fascist party! I honestly don't think there is much to write about "Starship Troopers", except that it's nearly perfect and brilliant from every possible angle. After the already amazing "Robocop" and "Total Recall", Verhoeven reached the ultimate in genius Sci-Fi. It's all there: the F/X, the humor, the cast, the bloodshed, the scenery, ... The only things you have to add yourself are beer and popcorn.

Cheesy fun

[jimbo-53-186511 · 6/10 · 22 February 2015]

In a futuristic world, Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) and Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards) and a select few college kids decide to become citizens in order to try to destroy a colony of bugs that are located on a planet far away.

Anyone who is familiar with Paul Verhoeven will pretty much get what they expect here - there is lots of gore, a high body count, lots of gun fire and a bit of satire thrown in. All these elements are great and work well to make the film lots of fun and highly enjoyable. Before I continue on with the praise, I feel I need to draw your attention to some weaker aspects of the film....

The start of the film was pretty cheesy; I wouldn't go as far as saying it was bad or boring, but it did feel a little pretentious and icky. As mentioned once the film gets going it is lots of fun, but the cut scenes between Richards and her commanding officer (sorry can't remember his name) were particularly dull and seemed to have only really been included to set up a crappy 'love interest' sub plot which was not only uninteresting and unwarranted, but also never went anywhere rendering a lot of their scenes pointless. Whilst I'm focusing on negatives, I think that the kindest way to describe Denise Richards acting would be to call it 'limited' - although she is easy on the eye which almost makes her poor acting forgivable.

Back to the praise, if a mobile infantry spending 90 minutes battling a bunch of giant creatures sounds like your cup of tea then you'll certainly enjoy this film. Once the first 30 minutes are out of the way then there is never really a dull moment. Aside from Denise Richards, the acting performances are generally good with Clancy Brown being a notable highlight. This being a Verhoeven film will ultimately mean that it won't be for everyone and those that are squeamish are advised to approach this with caution. This is far from Verhoeven's best work (Robocop and Total Recall are both definitely superior to this film), but as mentioned it's enjoyable cheesy fun.

Best satire since Dr. Strangelove

[DeadpoolX · 10/10 · 23 July 2003]

Starship Troopers is a subtle and insidiously subversive movie that proved frighteningly prescient in the wake of post-9/11 uberpatriotism. Both Heinlein's book and Verhoeven's film are valid and interesting political statements at opposite ends of the spectrum. Heinlein's novel was criticized as fascist at the time of its publication, and for all his obvious talent as a writer I'm inclined to agree. The movie is as much a sendup of the original novel as it is a satire of jingoist American politics. It really is a shame that despite the squeaky-clean heroes plucked straight from the soaps, the Mormon extremists, the multiple-amputee mobile infantry retirees and the propaganda shorts masquerading as news, the vast majority still seems to regard Starship Troopers as a stupid action movie and, for some reason, absolutely refuse to consider that it might be something more.

10/10

A pale reflection of the book

[Bernie4444 · 7/10 · 7 February 2024]

In defense of our world, school kids from Argentina willingly join the military upon graduation, as military service is required for full citizenship. During their term, they learn to adapt to their new environment and grow together or apart as they take part in many battles against big bugs from outer space.

Yep, it is another bug movie. Also, bugs are very big. Too bad for the people that read the book. There is no way to justify this movie to you. The first thing you may notice that that the body armor is missing.

This is sort of a stereotype on military types, with the grunts being boxy-shaped faces and bodies to match, the elite having pointy accouterments. Moreover, the gung-ho get their brains sucked out. This looks like a pilot for a TV series. The all-male associate soldiers from the book were replaced with female soldiers who improved the shower scenes.

If you just have to take the 'Fascist Utopia' thing seriously then watch a serious movie where there is still a character (Paul) sucked into the same situation by his teacher and others in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).

A work of art in space science fiction

[bcnkor · 10/10 · 14 January 2022]

With a magnificent script that includes everything, love, war, aliens, extinction of the human race, and with a great interpretation of all its actors, and great effects in space and surface warfare, they have achieved a great movie.

bad acting, BAD script, great special effects

[lord_fox · 6/10 · 6 April 1999]

This is a badly written excuse for people to run aroung blowing computer generated bugs to pieces. The dialog is straight out of a daytime serial. The relationships to "spice up the action" between characters are stupid and annoying. But the battle scenes are COOL. I wish this movie had no story, just those battle scenes. Rent it. Fast forward though the boring bits, goggle at the gore.

Potential never realized

[snovack · 1/10 · 3 January 2008]

This film had fantastic potential. Anybody can tell you that this was based on a book written by Robert Heinlein. In truth, however, all Verhoeven got right was that the main character was named Juan "Johnnie" Rico, and the enemy was the Bugs. To give this more context, let me add that the book was originally published in 1959. Keep this in mind. The story was written before Vietnam, only six years after the Korean Conflict had drawn to a close...only four years after the publishing of "The Return of the King". Remember that when you read all the commentary here about how this movie is a "Social Commentary". That is all Verhoeven, not Heinlien. According to the DVD commentary, Paul Verhoeven never finished reading the novel, claiming he read through the first few chapters and became both 'bored and depressed', the movie's message is "War makes fascists of us all", and that he sees the movie as a satire of American militarism. Great background research there Paul... The overall theme of the book is that social responsibility requires individual sacrifice. It is the only science fiction novel on the reading list at three of the four United States military academies. The novel was filled with life lessons and examples of the importance of civic duty. More importantly though, it had a REALLY cool element that would have translated very well on film. POWER ARMOR!!!! The book spends loads of time explaining the power armor that made the "infantry" the "Mobile Infantry". Soldiers didn't ride down in boats, they were shot from tubes in capsules (hence the term "cap trooper"), and their suits looked like a kind of giant mechanical gorilla. Rather than utilize one of the best ideas in the history of science-fiction warfare, Verhoven decided to create "Space 90210" and add in his own sophomoric commentary on soldiering and society. Pretty boys and girls in shower scenes might bring in the high-school money, but it certainly doesn't make a good movie. If you enjoyed this, I strongly recommend that you read the book. You'll know immediately why those of us who did were very disappointed. Fantastic potential, never even close to becoming realized.

"War makes fascists of us all"

[rooprect · 21 November 2014]

My title is a quote from director Paul Veerhoven who makes no attempt to water down his political views in "Starship Troopers", a merciless, satirical skewering of those superpowers throughout history who believe war solves the world's problems.

That opening sentence is a mouthful, so let me explain a little further. In the director's commentary, Mr. Veerhoven makes no bones about naming the USA as the greatest offender. In an awkwardly funny moment, his co-commenter, screenwriter Edward Neumeier, mutters "Yeah but we did save your ass in World War II." To which Mr. Veerhoven clarifies, "But this is not about World War II, it's about what happened *after* World War II." And thus, the entire philosophy is explained in a way that patriots as well as pinko commies can understand. "Starship Troopers" is a cautionary tale about what happens when war ceases to be a necessary evil and instead becomes an unnecessary thrill. It begins with some hilariously obvious propaganda satires, all about joining the military (including a funny scene of a 12 year old kid in full battle attire). The rest of the movie is peppered with such dark comedic skits, a lot like Veerhoven's "Robocop" a decade earlier.

Where the film is brilliant (or disastrous, see below) is in the way the battle scenes do thrill us, almost to the point that we lose ourselves in the hysteria of warfare, and only upon sober reflection do we realize that Mr. Veerhoven has just proved how easy it is to become a mindless minion of violence. The disastrous part is that I'm afraid many audience members never sobered up and walked out of the theater thinking "Go war!" Such is the pitfall of making a satire; you run the risk of promoting the very thing you seek to ridicule.

Something very interesting that Veerhoven did was to use giant bugs as the enemy. I mean, who doesn't hate bugs?? Certainly no human I know. And that's the point: by presenting an enemy that's so universally hated as a bug, Veerhoven turns the magnifying glass on ourselves and challenges us to answer why we hate bugs, why we like to kill them so violently (crushed until their guts spew out) or gassed so that they die of painful asphyxiation before our eyes. If you caught the message of this film, you'll probably think twice about stomping that little spider who had the misfortune of being sighted in your presence.

Oh a final note that's a very nice touch. There's a scene in this film where a bunch of kids are stomping on cockroaches. You'll be pleased to know that the cockroaches were fake, and literally no animals were harmed in the making of this film. Touché, Mr. Veerhoven.

Do you want to know more?

[Osmiumos · 7/10 · 9 November 2021]

Brilliant popcorn entertainment. It's like they set out to make the best deliberately cheesy, biggest budget B-grade movie ever. The acting is hilariously bad, the writing is sometimes brilliant (particularly the newsreel and recruitment adds) and sometimes horrible, the movie is both deliberately and accidentally funny. This is a classic, a cheesy guilty pleasure.

More blood!

Edit: I've just watched this again, still bloody fun, still loving "Do you want to know more?"... even more now as it's such a delicious contrast to the disingenuous and already tired "join the conversation" out here in the real world.

I hadn't rewatched this since my younger years fearing it would be too cheesy for older me to watch... I was wrong.

[Mcduff3601 · 9/10 · 19 April 2021]

I am blown away by how well this movie holds up after all this time. Don't get me wrong this is a solid B movie dressed up to look like a blockbuster. It has got some really cheesy moments but it all works really well. This movie is campy where it needs to be, cheesy and serious all at the same time.

It's clear they used a LOT of practical special effects wherever they could, mostly in human body parts and blood. This is a very gory movie, which I tend to shy away from, but in the way it is used here it works well. I love some of the lines like "they sucked out his brains!" it reminds me of campy 50's sci fi.

Despite this being a B(ish) movie they do a pretty good job at developing the characters. We see them as recent high-school graduates moving onto college or in this universe military training. We see them develop and grow as the story progresses. You end up caring what happens to these characters which for me is a mark of a well told story. Plus most of the human characters are used as cannon fodder against an unending tidal wave of baddies.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes action/sci fi movies with a TON of gore. Think of a cheaper, cheesier version of Aliens but with larger outdoor battle scenes that give the feeling of scale. Don't get me wrong this is not close to being as good as Aliens but it is still worth a watch.

A mind-messing schlock meisterwerk

[Daffodil · 7/10 · 11 September 1998]

If you think this film is shallow, you're watching it in a shallow way. It works on at least two levels at one and the same time; it's both an extravagantly gory, nasty action horror sci-fi flick, and a critique on modern American gung-ho attitudes to the rest of the world. The whole world has been federalized into a Nazi-style Union, with unmistakable Orwellian overtones; the world is divided into Citizens, who can vote, have children, get good jobs, etc., and non-citizens. At the suggestion that the bugs are attacking only in defence, having been interfered with by the Federation too many times, and that a 'live and let live' policy would save the most lives, the protagonists respond aggressively and not particularly intelligently. I won't go on; there's material for a whole thesis here... but think on - Nazi Germany and military America - are there parallels? The extremity of the suggestion is cleverly camouflaged by the macho action.

One of the best

[vonfidde · 10/10 · 10 September 2019]

Such an amazing movie, one of the few i watched many times. It's a masterpiece, when watching the movie i just can't stop smiling.

So Incredibly Bad Its Funny!

[jercius · 7/10 · 26 May 2007]

If the acting, lines, and scenes were just a little bit better, than this movie would be one of the worst of all time, but, since it completely sucks in every department, it has to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. The acting is incredibly bad, the lines are terrible, the props are horrible, possibly the worst sex-scene in history, the storyline is ridiculous, just about every single part of this movie is a catastrophic failure, and that is why I love it. One has to ask themselves when watching this movie "Why? Who could seriously make a movie this bad?". Hopefully, the directors realized how bad the movie was and just went with it. The whole concept is just stupid. Just incredibly stupid. If you want a laugh, definitely go and get this movie, you won't regret it.

I still can't believe that they sold kids toys of this movie.

[BandSAboutMovies · 8/10 · 26 October 2018]

Originally an unrelated script called Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine, this movie licensed the name Starship Troopers from the Robert A. Heinlein novel. That novel is as militaristic and fascistic as it gets. This movie? Well, upon its release, many critics saw it as a celebration of fascism. How anyone came to that conclusion is an absolute moron. This is a movie that rails against it from its very first frame, building on the mega mobile awareness that Verhoeven only hinted at in RoboCop.

There's no way to not reveal my politics as I write about this. I usually keep that out of these articles, but a constant source of worry for me is that our universe has done more than slide to the right; we've seen Nazi and fascist ideologies written off as "some good people." So when Verhoeven alludes to wartime newsreels and Triumph of the Will (the Mobile Infantry ad at the beginning is taken shot-for-shot from this film), he's doing more than just some satire. I have no idea how anyone can watch a movie where Doogie Howser is wearing full SS regalia and see it as an endorsement of militaristic ideology.

In the DVD commentary, the director states that he "evoked Nazi Germany's fashion, iconography, and propaganda because he saw it as a natural evolution of the United States after World War II, and especially after the Korean War." Obviously, if we believe conspiracy theory, the Nazi powers that be became part of our CIA, NASA and military/industrial complex. We won the war and became the enemy. Verhoeven motto for the film? "Let's all go to war and let's all die."

As manifest destiny takes mankind into the stars, they discover arachnids, called "bugs." While it's never outright stated, it seems like the bugs are several steps down the evolutionary ladder from humans and would have never attacked us if we'd just left them alone.

On Earth, citizenship in the one world government is a privilege that only comes from military service. That's one of the reasons to sign up. You also get to be a pilot. Or impress the girl you're in love with. That's how Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) joins up, trying to win the heart of pilot Carmen (Denise Richards). Then there's Dizzy (Dina Meyer), who is the way better choice, but as she's more masculine, Johnny never sees anything in her until it's too late. They also have a friend named Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris) whose psychic ability means he will be one of the ruling class.

The film unfolds in episodic form where we progress from basic training to initial battles with the bugs to the first meeting with one of the more intelligent members of their species, a "brain bug." Throughout, commercials and military propaganda fill the screen, always ending with "Do you want to know more?" That's ironic - real, uncontrolled information does not exist and executions air live on TV at 6 PM. This is the government-controlled media empire that we are constantly spiraling closer and closer to.

Every time Starship Troopers hints at the fact that humanity is doomed and that we're in over our head - like the disastrous battle on Klendathu - these messages nearly erase those feelings. And one only has to look at the climax of the film, where an army of masculine warriors gathers around a very female creature and celebrate the emotion of fear as people celebrate in a moment that should be the emotional feel-good close of the film. But it's hollow. And it's wrong. And the emotions that it makes you feel are false, put in there to teach you a lesson.

"Come on you apes! Do you wanna live forever?"

"They'll keep fighting and they'll win!"

"These are the rules. Everybody fights, nobody quits. If you don't do your job I'll kill you myself."

Yet every single authority figure in this movie has been scarred by the very Federation they serve, particularly Rasczak (Michael Ironside, absolutely amazing in every film and beyond that here), who goes without an arm until signing back up for service, his stump now replaced by quite literally an iron fist.

Gosh-awful.

[lambiepie-2 · 6/10 · 2 July 2003]

No matter how much one wants to look below the surface for a good film here, the bottom line is it came out gosh-awful.

I say this because "Starship Troopers" had so much potential for it going in! A good director, a good book its based off, an attractive cast, a wonderful message. All blown to bits like the giant insects.

I just didn't care. I was rooting for the insects at one point for the actors were annoying. There is action, but I am tired of 'acting and story' being compromised for 'action'.

Understand, I LOVE action. I love seeing things being blown up and being blown up real good. But I also like story, characters I give a hoot about, I like good pacing, direction not a lot of plot holes and decent special effects. At points you can see where the filmmakers went to other popular sci-fi films to help them out of their mess. They DIDN'T need to! That's why this film is awful, that's why it doesn't work.

This film is bad on so many levels. Not "Manos, Hands of Fate" bad...but bad because here you have SO much going for it and it fails miserably on everything its trying to get across. Even at blowing things up..and blowing them up real good.

Pass on this unless you're severely bed ridden and all other sci-fi films ever made in the United States, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, South America, Antarctica, and Asia you've seen at least twenty times before. Then give this one a look.

Overlooked classic

[bjerregaardrasmus · 9/10 · 15 August 2021]

The acting isnt always the best in this movie, but the crazy ahead of its times effects Is just mind blowing in the light of the time it was released.

Remember this was 2 years before Phantom of menace.

When you look back, this has to be one of the most enjoyable science fiction movies of all time.

Not the best sci-fi movie but had some noteworthy things...

[SPZMaxinema · 7/10 · 13 August 2023]

If you watch this movie, you'll immediately see how dated it is and not all of it is convincing anymore, mainly the special effects and the acting performances. However, many of the character deaths in the movie were handled very well and Clancy Brown was really great on screen a few times. I wish he was in the movie more. While the CGI isn't that good now, the design for the aliens was pretty cool and much of the production and directing felt ambitious with the kind of movie they were trying to make for the time. It felt like a more campy and larger-scale version of Aliens (1986) with more humor and a much more lighthearted tone. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, however I didn't have the worst time watching it. It was a decently entertaining ride! The gore and gross alien stuff were fun to watch!

Utter Trash

[zakariyamu · 1/10 · 27 June 2004]

Anybody who's actually read the great book by Robert Heinlein on which this movie is supposedly based will not help but give it a trash rating. The book is subtle, intelligent, well written, thought provoking and fun. This movie is none of those things.

I understand what the director is trying to achieve and I appreciate the underlying cynicism of the overly simplistic story. The point is Verhoeven did a major disservice to an exceptional novel written by one of the great science fiction writers of our time and for this he cannot be forgiven. Apart from that of course the movie itself sucks too. One of the commentators asks, "How to explain the poor showing of this movie at the box office?", I'll do it for you; Poor acting + Poor script = Crappy movie. Verhoeven would have done well to actually read the book, it would have helped. (He should have sent his script writer to school, which also might have helped). Avoid this one and if you think it is good go read the book first.