Starship Troopers

1997 Directed by Paul Verhoeven

The only good bug is a dead bug.

Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs".

Casper Van Dien Dina Meyer Denise Richards Jake Busey Neil Patrick Harris Clancy Brown Michael Ironside Patrick Muldoon Seth Gilliam Rue McClanahan Blake Lindsley Steven Ford Ungela Brockman Bruce Gray Denise Dowse Amy Smart Tami-Adrian George Julianna McCarthy Dale Dye Dean Norris Marshall Bell Eric Bruskotter Matt Levin Anthony Ruivivar Brenda Strong Christopher Curry Lenore Kasdorf Teo Curnal Achilles Aulisio Show All…

Alternative Titles

Starship Troopers 1, Tropas Estelares 1 Las Brigadas del Espacio, Infanteria stelara, Svemirski vojnici, Vesoljski bojevniki, Svemirski marinci, Invasión (Starship Troopers), Vesmírna pechota

science fiction thriller adventure action

129 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Adam Friedland 10

I would let Denise Richards destroy my life. Ruin my credit, murder my family, fuck my ass, manipulate me into plotting to kill the president. I would sacrifice years off the end of my life, decades, I would die tomorrow. Just one kiss. All I need is one kiss Denise. My queen. My angel. I am so horny
Also never realized mazzy star playing during the bar fight lol
Review by Adam Cook ★★★★½ 32

There are two reasons why I dislike James Cameron’s Titanic: The first, and obvious reason is that it isn’t a very good film, but most importantly it was responsible for me missing out on seeing Starship Troopers on the big screen. So popular was Cameron’s behemoth that every other film was sold out thanks to people being unable to get into see Winslet’s breasts and DiCaprio’s bad acting.
The sheer spectacle of Verhoeven’s bug-blasting epic would have blown my mind on the big screen but thankfully it is still an undisputed joy at home too. Even back in ‘97 it surprised me how few people really got the film. Not only was Verhoeven very well known for his playful and…
Review by Griffin Newman ★★★★★

No one will ever sneak a film of this size through the studio system ever again.
Review by Neil Bahadur ★★★★½ 5

"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.."
Verhoeven actually has precious little to say about fascism which we don't already know (at least in the context of 2017) - but even moreso than the advertisements which resemble propaganda of both Republican and Democrat alike, what remains interesting is the dime-store teen angst plot devices, which in their generic qualities reveal to us the propagandistic nature of these devices themselves. More than a film about fascism, it remains relevant because it's a film about the nature of propaganda, media & spectacle.…
Review by matt lynch ★★★★½ 1

Goes so far out of its way to identify itself that it's almost impossible to understand how badly misread it was on release. Possibly the Verhoeven Rosetta Stone, not least because the Mad Dutchman was never afraid to show you how spectacular and seductive violence can be.
Review by David Jenkins ★★★★★ 3

1997: What the hell is this overly glossy, idiotic, militaristic apologia for fascism?
2007: Oops it was all for lols.
2017: Realism.
Review by Coolnilk ★★★★½ 4

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Absolutely enjoyed this. Wanted to check out more of Paul Verhoeven's directorial work as Robocop is easily one of the best films that he has ever made, so I decided to choose Starship Troopers based on some glowing recommendations as the next one and this did not disappoint me at all.
It honestly blew me away in a ton of aspects really as you could definitely look at this one in a variety of ways. It does feel like an epic space war film as there are a ton of remarkable action sequences sprinkled in here and there filled with gory brutality to satisfy anyone that just wants to have an entertaining time, which I surely did have. But this…
Review by K. Austin Collins 3

Denise Richards’s breakup video ... the editing, the costume change ..... To die for. I’m glad we have this movie, a monument to how fascinatingly pop-poised and interesting she is, and in on it. Verhoeven gets it. She needed other good directors. God I wish we had a De Palma with her. I’d even settle for a Canyons.
Review by Richard S. He ★★★★½ 4

François Truffaut once said, “It is impossible to make a true anti-war film, because the act of looking at violence is inherently exciting”. Robert A. Heinlein wrote, “Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor”. Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers would have had them both rolling in their graves. Verhoeven’s 1997 adaptation throws good taste — and Heinlein’s original novel — out the window. The rare film that indulges the horrors of war and the joys of watching it vicariously, Starship Troopers makes the wrong feel so appealing because, quite simply, it is.
Starship Troopers opens with what might well be 90210 in space. As the sensitive jock, doe-eyed love interest and the brainy joker,…
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★ 19

"Naked force has resolved more conflicts throughout history than any other factor."
Starship Troopers satirizes jingoism and military ideology by dressing itself up as a Nazi and making us laugh at it. From the Federal Network "Would you like to know more?" propaganda ("Join the Mobile Infantry and save the Galaxy!") to the pervasive "us vs. them" fascist mentality ("I'm from Buenos Aires, and I say kill 'em all!") to the drill instructor who misses the point of his own lessons ("The enemy can't push a button if you disable his hand!"), the film systematically reappropriates military iconography to make it laughable and expose its violent foundation. But the greatest reappropriation of all is the way Verhoeven's film itself takes…
Review by Evan ★★★★½ 7

Paul Verhoeven is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. He has easily taken the top spot as my favorite Science Fiction Director. Am I ever late to the party. Up until about 48 hours ago the only Verhoeven film I had seen was RoboCop; which is also fantastic.
Starship Troopers is the perfect space opera. It's got a ton of action, plenty of laughs, and cheesy romance. What's not to love?
Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★½ 11

Probably the best two hours I've had in the past week.

Recent reviews

Review by redrahzin ★★★

Better than some Verhoeven films. So dumb, and a little bit smart.
Review by Jonathan /Gomez ★★★★

Growing up is weird. As a kid I saw this and was scared of the bugs, and hoped they'd get squashed. Now, I spent most of my time gauging the satire, wondering if I'm living in a post-satire time (because I can definitely see how the first 2 acts feel pro-fascism), recognizing how insanely over-the-top the last act feels (so now the satire works again), wondering why the fuck the psychic-power thing was there if it only mattered in 2 scenes, and reflecting on how much Denise Richards nailed the "Career-focused sociopath" smile in her early scenes.
Man, I just wanted to shut my brain off and see Michael Ironside be Michael Ironside.
Review by KittyCatOnAcid ★★★½

I was suprised to find that this movie was actually pretty good and not just a meme.
Review by Drew ★★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Damn I could really go for some crab rn.
Two of the strongest jaws in film history acting next to Gary Busey's son. Mr. Krabs' VO, Hank from Breaking Bad, NPH, Ironside, what a fucking cast.
You know what to do! (Give this movie 5 stars and cry when Dizz gets speared
Review by Jaden Krahn ★★★★

War is only winnable through the Mind
Review by annelise ★★★★

Almost embarrassed by how much I was into this. I swear I was totally lolling at the satire 100% of the time I swear.
Review by Justin Middleton ★★★½

A solid twist from sticky teenage drama to grizzled war slopfest, but I can't help but want more of the irony or nods to the camera, even if at the expense of spectacular battle.
Review by chayzar ★★★★★

It still blows my mind this movie got made and released as is. Imagine tricking a studio into dropping today’s equivalent of $175M on a satire of a movie Nazis would make to celebrate themselves (even casting white leads as “Argentinians”). The Andy Kaufman-level deadpan jokes about fascism have (unfortunately) aged extremely well, and most of the VFX still look pretty fantastic for the era. A masterpiece from a legendary director.
Review by Neal Cross ★★★★½

Previous score (from memory of last watch years ago) = 4/5
I've not watched this for a while and to follow up Tremors, so I wanted something fun.
Starship Troopers absolutely nails the fun. After a stint away from Sci Fi, Paul Verhoeven returns to the genre that helped him make his name.
But Starship Troopers is a lot more than a Sci fi fun flick.
It is one of those films that in 1997 didn't make sense. In 2020, it is insane to see what Paul was trying to tell us.
Bugs that read our minds? Click bait news stories? "Would you like to know more?".
The shower scene is memorable for a man of my age, I was…
Review by JPavlicek ★★★★½

I don’t even know how to explain why I love this movie so much. It looks cool, and has such a great blend of actors in on the joke and actors taking it way too seriously.
Review by Kyle Brooks ★★★★★

A satire that also manages to be effective propaganda. So much so that the official US Marines Twitter account referenced it in a recent recruitment tweet.
Review by NutshellReviews ★★★★ 1

In a nutshell:
👞+🐜=👍
* GREAT casting, not because they’re amazing actors, but because they fit the tone/style so perfectly, which kind of makes everyone’s performances great, even if some aren’t privy to the air of ridicule the film purposefully displays 🎭
* Director Paul Verhoeven's favorite movie of his own, & while I don’t believe it’s his best (I’m a RoboCop (1987) guy), this is SO Verhoven that I’m not surprised he feels so close to it. If you love Verhoven, you’ll love this 🎥👏
* Solid score, adds to the flavour of the piece 🎵
* What’s not to like about Starship Troopers? I get it’s not for everyone, but I bet that all those peoples negatives (including the…