Starship Troopers (DVD, 2002, 2-Disc Set, Special Edition)

In my Opinion, Starship Troopers could very well be one the best Pro-war films ever made. No one seemed to identify the satirical nature of the film when it was originally released. Some critics seemed disturbed by the fact that the "good guys" resembled Nazis. If one now re-assesses the film for intellectual merits, it would come to pass that all the satire of military power, might actually make a lot of sense now. Why has ST with its profound comments on war and human nature been relegated to the ranks of films like "Rambo" and "Universal Soldier"? One reason is that the satire is extremely subtle and that people are prejudiced against action war films. This is probably justified though since the vast majority of them are pure fluff. However, Starship Troopers ruthlessly satirize the genre while being one of the best in its category, which is a feat to be proud of. There is so much about this film to analyze that it might even take a book to cover it all, so I will stick to only one thing here: the alien bugs, which are the enemy in the film.

The Earth is at war with these bug creatures. Some are bug, small, and all are ugly and vicious. This is graphically demonstrated throughout the film but most notably via a propaganda commercial that the film presents to us as a futuristic version of "Why We Fight". At one point, a cow is lead into a pen holding one of these giant insects, which quickly cleaves the cow in two. We are horrified! These insects truly are barbaric, evil! Look what it did to that cow! They must be destroyed!(Yet how many of us had beef before seeing this movie?) Then the website narrator proudly states that people on Earth are doing their part in the war effort as we watch a woman and her children dump Earth bugs on the ground and stomp on them. These bugs are native to our planet. Like the American-Japanese in WWII, why are they getting picked on? How are the bug-stomping mother and her children any more humane and caring than the repulsive alien insects?

The film is insanely violent. People are literally cut to pieces by the smaller creatures and slowly, painfully melted by a plasma the larger insects spray. However, the alien bugs fair no better. The people and cows getting hacked up relentlessly in this film horrify us but we cheer as machine rifles and grenades blow the giant insects apart. The body count is high on both sides. It is all literally and purposely utter, senseless violence. But then at one point a psychic uses his powers to read one of the alien's emotions. He triumphantly yells, "It's afraid!" and a legion of human warriors jubilantly cheer at this pronouncement. Who's barbaric here? What is humanity? The bugs are clearly not "human", yet they are intelligent, advanced, and most importantly they have feelings. If they can be afraid, can they not also be sad, happy, in love? These are questions the writer has left to us to ask with out leading us by the hand through what could have been a much more preachy film.
Considering the fact that, in his book "Stranger in a Strange Land", Robert A. Heinlein,who wrote the novel upon which Starship Troopers was based,pointed out that there were millions of people already in America before the invaders came and ruthlessly slaughtered these "subhumans" on their own property. It is safe to say that there is a lot more going on in this film than a simple slug-fest.
I'm going to give this 5/5 for perfection in film to the max, even after 11 years.
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An action packed sci-fi epic starring Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards and Neil Patrick Harris in leading roles. The story follows Johnny Rico (Van Dien)a high school graduate from Buenos Aires who lives in the distant future, where Citizenship is no longer a birthright, but a privilege one must earn helping in bettering society or risking their life in the military. Rico together with his girlfriend Carmen Ibañez (Richards) and best friend, Carl Jenkins (Patrick Harris)decide to enlist, and while Ibañez and Jenkins get high positions in the military thanks to their achievements in high school, Rico only gets enrolled in mobile infantry. Sci-Fi fans will be thrilled with the action that takes place after the previous events, where infantry soldiers make a stand against the Arachnids or "Bugs", brutal insect life forms hailing from the planet Klendathu, who seek nothing but our end. Aside from the massacre that takes place, Starship Troopers handles some social and political themes, with some critics claiming the promotion of militarism and even fascism, this is shown throughout film in the form of television adds and general propaganda. If your looking for a great way to spend the weekend, this movie will not let you down, a must have for anyone who claims to love this genre.

With a combination of awesome graphics and cheesy lines,this movie is quite entertaining. Even Sci-Fi geeks will love it. Had to have it.

Although the acting is a bit cheesy, I loved the special effects & the entire premise of the movie, sort of a cowboys & indians theme gone wrong! I bought it to complete my collection.

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