Starship Troopers

A film by Paul Verhoeven (USA, 1997)

with Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards and Michael Ironside.

"This movie is surely entertaining: full of action and special effects and Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Robocop, and well, er, Showgirls) is not really an upstart either" I said to myself when I decided to check out Starship Troopers. I expected to see a fun brain-relief Hollywood product. I was surprised to find out soon Verhoeven's movie was not as silly as it seemed to be at first sight. Imagine a futuristic mix of Beverly Hills 90210 and Full Metal Jacket and add a pinch of Verhoeven's acid humor, you'll get an explosive satire of nationalistic societies. Just, at first sight, it looks more like fascist propaganda than satire, hence the controversy: some people might not get the "second degree" and would focus on the very slick body only. Sounds like déja vu; remember Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers? Well, let's not get into that controversy - last time (for the review of NBK precisely), it took me more than one page to weigh the pros and cons... So, what's my ultimate recommendation? "Would you like to know more?" Go check out Starship Troopers! At worst, it's fun and technically amazing; at best it's definitely interesting, you really feel like joining the Army!

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