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_Starship Troopers_ is the greatest pro/anti-war film ever made. This is something that no one seems to recognize considering that, when it was first released, most critics seemed to have been somewhat disturbed by the fact that the `good guys' resembled Nazis and that was about as far as they went before blowing it off as just another shoot-em-up. No one has bothered to re-assess the film since. Why has Starship Troopers 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 another is that people are prejudiced against action films. This is probably justified though since the vast majority of them are pure fluff. However, _Starship Troopers_ ruthlessly satirizes the genre while being one of the best of in its category, which is a feat that is quite brilliant. There is so much about this film to analyze and 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 creatures. They're inhuman, vicious. This is graphically demonstrated through out the film but most notably via a propaganda website that the movie 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 steak 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? These 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 Europeans came and ruthlessly slaughtered these `subhumans' on their new property, it is safe to say that there is a lot more going on in this film than a simple slug-fest.Read full review
In my opinion, one of the greatest "not really known about" movies ever. There's just something about it that really makes it memorable. Too bad I can't say the same about the second and third one made. Add being able to watch it on a PSP, on an airplane or train and you have the perfect movie. Buy it!
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Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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