Starship Troopers

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) is worried that he and his girlfriend Carmen (Denise Richards) will drift apart after graduation. If he were smart, he’d ditch her and hook up with Dizzy (Dina Meyer), who’s been pining after him for years. Yes, it’s tough living in a dystopian, futuristic, fascist society, particularly when the only viable career path begins with military service. It gets even harder when our heroes find themselves in the middle of a war against the Arachnids, gigantic, hideous insects from the planet Klandathu.

Part high-school drama, part ultra-violent war film, part political satire," Starship Troopers" is funny and genuinely horrific. I love it. Only Paul Verhoeven (who also directed “Robocop”) could’ve brought us this over-the-top action film with a twisted brain. None of the direct-to-DVD sequels have been able to capture the humor or charm of this picture. Not even close.

There is so much carnage and pureblooded jingoism present that it can’t be mistaken for anything but a comedy. It’s keenly self-aware of how ridiculous it is to have TV’s that broadcast executions live on TV but will censor a cow getting killed. What I like most about it is the way it blends so many different genres together. You come to genuinely like Johnny and the other recruits as they go through their training regiment. When the walking storm of legs and blades that are the Arachnids shred them, you care – or at the very least you are upset by how nightmarish their end was. I felt for Johnny, so disappointed that his high-school romance didn’t pan out the way wanted to… but I also laughed at how naïve it was of him to believe in that schmaltz. Don’t you realize what kind of world you live in? It’s a fascist Utopia with Mormon extremists, public lashings, selective elections and a whole lotta wrong everywhere… but don’t worry about it because we’re going to kill all those damn bugs!

Yeah, the actors are too old to be playing teens and some of the performances are a bit rocky in certain scenes. I know it probably wasn’t intentional, but I kind of like the way they are. It makes it feel that much more like an “American Pie” film that took a horrible turn. “Starship Troopers” features great special effects throughout and while I can understand why some may be turned off by it, I truly believe that it’s a smart, sharp and funny picture. Upon repeat viewings, once you get accustomed to the dismemberments and horrific deaths, you start to notice the intelligence in the writing.

Is "Starship Troopers" cheesy and ridiculous? You bet it is. But it's intentionally so. It helps keep the barf bags that would normally be filled at the halfway mark nice and empty and the laughs coming. (Theatrical version on the big screen, February 4, 2017)