W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K |^091
RETRO CLASSIC
STARSHIP TROOPERSYOUR TAKE
ON THE CLASSIC
“Honestly one of my favourite fi lms. Just
incredibly enjoyable and fun. A lovely blend
of satire and earnestness (it seems anyway).
Larger than life characters, cheesy sci-fi. Love
it.” @ Bol t_ 451“It’s a masterpiece that also somehow foretold
the ‘war on terror’.” @eds209“Genius sci-fi from the master. The Bugs are
only defending themselves and their right to
exist, but they’re not as pretty as the collection
of daytime American soap stars fi ghting for
the other side. A brilliant take down of fake
news and fascism, so clever that many didn’t
notice!” @KeithMansfi eld“What if the Bugs didn’t even launch the
meteorite which wiped out Buenos Aires?
What if the Federation used an accident to
spark a race war?” @ D a n n y11M“Classic. I hope PV gets to direct at least one
more big Hollywood sci-fi fi lm.”
@JamScone78“Classic... ultra violent but with Verhoeven’s
light touch, almost absurdist approach, makes
it seem less shocking somehow... This Robocop
& Total Recall all share similar qualities.”
@ m j d u f f y11“Great satire. Twenty years ahead of its time.”
@dan_dresdner“It was an excellent fi lm, whilst it diverged
from the book in several ways it added its own
character to the story and managed to have
a sly dig at sci-fi and the media at the same
time.” @JonnBlanchard“One of the greatest science fi ction fi lms of all
time.” @TLK _1983Neumeier, Starship Troopers delves into
similar themes of the corrupt elite and sheep
society. But this, too, isn’t Robocop. The
comedy isn’t quite as dark and the characters
do not have an inspiring story arc. There are
certainly faults here and saving the cookie-
cutter characters without any real pay-off can
leave a bitter taste. But its vision of the future
is unique and very interesting, keeping the
viewer just as beguiled as its characters by its
bold visuals and fun technology.
This is a future where attractive humans are
dominating other planets. Where telepathy
is possible and where there are fun sports
games that involve somersaulting over the
opponent. There is no class system (unless
you count military and non-military), there is
an abundance of wealth, the streets are clean
and there are just oh-so-many places we can
vacation now we’re taking over the galaxies.
But underneath all this sunshine and lollipops
there remains an ugly dominance; a rotten
society that’s pigeonholed the populace with
the promise of doing just the opposite. It’s an
inspired idea to have a corrupt but so-called
optimistic vision of a future full of the things
that politicians promise us today.
The Bugs are also a great enemy – scary
and unrelenting. When one falls (eventually)
another simply takes its place. They have
no emotion or empathy, it’s a continuous
deluge of seemingly inescapable wrath.
They’re bigger and stronger, with an almost
impenetrable exoskeleton, and they can rip a
person in half without the need for weaponry.
Their reptile-like, ugly exterior yet again veils
the fact that these creatures are obviously
acting in self-defense against a force blindly
subjugating anything and everything it fi nds.
The fi lm itself cleverly adheres to the
idealism of war while satirising it. On the
one hand showing absurd propaganda in
cutaways while being one itself; the war is
indeed glorious, Rico is merely stabbed in the
leg (and this future has medical technology
which can heal this quickly) as his fellow
infantrymen and women are slaughtered
around him, and Ibanez sports an attractive
cut above the eye as she emerges from
a space battle that’s decimated half of
humanity’s military. Why do these cardboard
cutout characters emerge unscathed? Thereis no somber contemplation on war’s futility
in Starship Troopers, there is no grand
moment of refl ection. But then again, when
one war is over, there is soon another on the
horizon. Even the fi lm’s closing credits show
our unscathed heroes in yet another military
recruiting video, encouraging others to join
them as the war continues.
It’s this complexity that keeps Starship
Troopers in the same list as Verhoeven’s other
works and the fact that it isn’t like Robocop
or Total Recall means it has a rightful place- it’s a mind-melting messed up trip all on its
own. The satire is obvious and dumb, just like
all good propaganda. It doesn’t mean that
people don’t take it seriously – the absurdity
of the movie only emphasises its point. War
is absurd. Starship Troopers is wonderfully
absurd, and if you would like to know more,
give it a watch (or re-watch) for yourself.
Starship Troopers is available on Blu-ray and
DVD from Walt Disney Studios HE.“THE BUGS ARE
A GREAT ENEMY- SCARY AND
UNRELENTING”
It’s an ugly planet,
a Bug planet...
WWW.SCIFINOW.CO.UK 091
RETRO CLASSIC
STARSHIP TROOPERSYOUR TAKE
ON THE CLASSIC
@Bolt_451@eds209notice!” @KeithMansfi eld@Danny11M@JamScone78Robocop@mjduffy11@dan_dresdnertime.” @JonnBlanchardtime.” @TLK_1983Neumeier, Starship TroopersStarship TroopersStarship Troopers delves into delves into
RobocopRobocopRobocopbold visuals and fun technology.
dominating other planets. Where telepathy
in Starship TroopersStarship TroopersStarship Troopersthem as the war continues.
Starship
TroopersTroopersTroopers
Robocop
Total RecallTotal RecallTotal Recallis absurd. Starship TroopersStarship TroopersStarship TroopersStarship TroopersStarship TroopersStarship Troopers“THE BUGS ARE
A GREAT ENEMY- SCARY AND
UNRELENTING”
ON THE CLASSIC
RobocopYOUR TAKE
ON THE CLASSIC
it.” @Bolt_451notice!”@JamScone78@mjduffy11@dan_dresdnertime.”time.”It’s an ugly planet,