Directed by:
Paul VerhoevenScreenplay:
Edward NeumeierCinematography:
Jost VacanoComposer:
Basil PoledourisCast:
Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Clancy Brown, Seth Gilliam, Patrick Muldoon, Michael Ironside, Rue McClanahan (more)VOD (1)
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Starship Troopers charts the lives of elite members of the Mobile Infantry, a corps of dedicated young men and women soldiers fighting side-by-side in the ultimate intergalactic war... the battle to save humankind. The enemy is mysterious and incredibly powerful with only one mission: survival of their species no matter what the human cost. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
Verhoeven on drugs. :) It’s almost incredible how well this film works. Here we have a futuristically oriented mockery of militaristic nationalism, a bunch of schoolboys in love, sets like from Star Trek, and waves of nasty bugs spreading death in a very brutal and gory way. But most importantly, we have an avalanche of amazing insight, outrageously entertaining execution of both the individual action scenes and the concept of the narrative as a whole (the TV spots featuring the mindset of the society and the physicality of the bugs are not to be missed), Casper Van Dien as the male lead and a downright gorgeous Denise Richards as the female lead. A nostalgic sci-fi flick which, if we accept in time that we are watching a deliberate insane B-movie, is an almost inexhaustible source of entertainment. 80%
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One of the best anti-war films ever as far as I’m concerned. Shiny happy people brainwashed by propaganda that even Goebbels would envy fight to the last limb against sneaky repulsive bugs. The film's main positives definitely include the direction, excellent costumes whose legacy is crystal clear, the endless enthusiasm of all the soldiers, the comedic propaganda shots with chilling subtext, and the great supporting characters of Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside. Verhoeven failed to disappoint me again.
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Starship Troopers has on the one hand decent visual effects and a good dose of action, but on the other hand it has an incredibly dull script that makes you roll your eyes in all directions. Almost all of the characters are unlikeable to varying degrees, so I couldn't even root for them to survive – the only exception being Michael Ironside as Rasczak. (SPOILER!) Finally, I have to nitpick about the bizarre appearance of the bugs' main brain, which (not so) slightly resembled a certain body orifice.
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A beautiful example of how it's possible to make a B-movie with significant depth. And also a demonstration of how critics mostly don't get it. The question is whether Verhoeven really made such a groundbreaking B-movie or if the critics are right. I'd lean more towards the first option because, by the way, even the visual aspect is great, and the battles with the bugs are fantastic.
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If Paul Verhoeven had actually made the satire that so many of the reviews keep referring to, I would have enjoyed it; and yet the director isn't making fun of multiple genres at once. Instead, he's combining three genres together to occasionally try, sometimes awkwardly, sometimes decently, to engage the viewer. Still, I would like more than just oscillating between awkward dialogue, unimaginative training sequences, and the film's best aspect, namely the well-executed and action-packed fights with the enemy. I would like to delve deeper into the film, and the resolution of whether the main hero ends up with this one or that one, or pondering the different ways bugs can kill you, will never give me that.
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