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…

"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.…

"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…

A bombastic, satirically stlylized, and thoroughly entertaining science fiction epic, Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers" offers a sly, hyper-violent ride. Revolving around a future war where humans square off against an onslaught of space bugs, the film sharply skewers the gusto with which youthful exuberance aligns with military movements while making statements about fascism and nationalistic zeal both historical and fictional. Verhoeven weaves an engrossing tale driven by special effects and its own wickedly involving sensibilities.

Taking place in a distant future where an Earth-wide military is assembled to face an extraterrestrial threat, the film focuses on a handful of young recruits as they train and, eventually, join the battle. Minor personal dramas and romances give way to the bigger picture…

Robert Henlein's 1959 patriotic military sci-fi novel is brought to the screen with an over-the-top satirical treatment that I thoroughly enjoyed (not to say that I didn't enjoy the book as well, though for different reasons). I seem to remember at the time of its release that there was quite a misunderstanding about Verhoeven's intent, something he went to some length (and considerable humor) to explain in his commentary track on the DVD.

I'm not sure how anyone who had made "Soldier of Orange" and grew up in The Hague as the allies were bombing the V1 and V2 rocket launchers near his home could produce a film with pro-Nazi militarist authoritarian overtones, but some folks did make this odd…

Perhaps it's a tad snooty on my end to say, but I'm amazed that few people seem to really "get" Starship Troopers in this day and age. Although it's a wonderful sight to see that it has acquired a cult following in more recent years, I would only have imagined that Paul Verhoeven's name being attached to adapt a novel written by Robert Heinlein - an author I've disliked for the authoritarian and borderline fascistic readings into his own text. And knowing where the satire present in RoboCop and Total Recall had leaned, the idea had only hit me as cheeky - and admittedly it was something that even went over my head the first time I saw Starship Troopers.…