Starship Troopers

An incredibly entertaining parody of everything that stood in Paul Verhoeven's way at that time. Brilliant internet interludes, brutal and unprecedented bloody action scenes that are almost flawless, likeable protagonists, excellent one-liners, Michael Ironside as the ultimate badass, and fantastic looking bugs. This is how an action-packed masterpiece should look, skillfully alternating suspense with light-heartedness. I admire the director, he truly wasn't afraid to use large amounts of blood and scored with that. If nothing else, even the skeptics will remember this movie because of all the severed limbs and heads. Brilliant fun and excellent score by Basil Poledouris. (2005-05-07)

How to stay true to the idea and structure of Henlein's premise while epically wiping your ass with it and its entire author. The inability of critics of the time to recognize the satire in a film steeped in Reiefenstal-esque angles and the sectarian milieu of a utopian Earth, not to mention the cast, demonstrates time and again the importance of building a sensitivity to the form of film, the Achilles heel of most film theorists. ___ Update 2021: I am convinced that there is no such thing as immunity to visual propaganda, and whoever thinks they have it is saying so in the name of propagandizing others. After years of rising above the propagandistic nature of Starship Troopers, it only just dawned on me that the proper reading is to succumb to it for a lovely 129 minutes and, through cheering on those beautiful young people, to enjoy that sense of power and purpose. It's an important cathartic experience that ultimately helps you be more sensitive to the natural need to fall for that propaganda and marketing in real life. (2019-08-25)

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. (2016-06-25)

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. (2019-08-01)

Verhoeven doesn’t mess around much. Starship Troopers was a commercial flop in the US, the Americans found no sympathy for the satirical undertones of the fascistic depiction of the human society of the future and the naturalistic gore scenes. When I went to see it, there was a little girl and her mom sitting next to me. The little girl loved it at first, the story unfolded like a sort of Beverly Hills 90210 from the future. Gradually, however, Verhoven's creepiness began to be revealed and the little girl and her mother couldn't stand it and ran away from the cinema. I, on the other hand, was in my element. State-controlled news and army recruitment, as if cut from the documentaries of the Communist era. Kindergarten children trampling little bugs to the enthusiastic applause of the teacher, it was like seeing our peasants exterminating the American potato beetle in the 1950s. The cerebral elite in long black coats, looking like Gestapo, a female lead dying in pain and with blood in her teeth – tell me, how many times have you seen a female lead die like that in a mainstream film? No, I'm not a pervert who revels in that, I just love Verhoeven's lack of inhibition, which he has demonstrated so many times before and which, in the case of this film, makes for a hard-to-digest affair that can't possibly have a chance at wider commercial appeal. And I get the feeling that Verhoeven doesn't give a toss, and that's what I like about him. Arms, legs and heads fly through the air with such frequency that it must have given the censors a hard time. And on top of that, those amazing visual effects. No, this is not mass entertainment, this is a cult-classic for weirdos. (2003-05-11)