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 - the war on...bugsSTARSHIP TROOPERS is both brilliant satire AND highly entertaining, well crafted sci-fi adventure flick. The concept behind it and what you get on the screen is a perfect parody of infamous WWII propaganda films. TROOPERS lightheartedly calls the viewer's attention to the propensity of propagandized, jingoistic humans for senseless violence without conscience, comicly using a war of humans versus mindless, souless, agressive "bugs" to make the point. In the top 20 best sci-fi films ever and a lot of fun. Rating: - Great MovieThis is a great movie. The seller did a great job shipping it to me- because I ended up getting it the very next day. Rating:  - An Entertaining Exercise in Gratuitous Gore and NudityThe soldiers of the future will be stupid, sexy and totally expendable. Remind me to leave a note to my great grandchildren telling them not to sign up for military service! The film is VERY loosely based on R. Heinlein's classic novel and borrows only the barest elements of its plot. P. Verhoeven's soldiers are kids right out of highschool: niave, petulant and easily swayed by lofty speeches about honor and duty. That, and they are full of blood and internal organs that are just begging to be splattered all over the place. The movie's fun is in the preposterously gruesome battle scenes between hordes of alien 'Bugs' and the tiny, poorly trained pin-cushions otherwise known as Humans. The troopers move from planet to planet, hand delivering nukes to the bugs while dying horribly and in large numbers themselves. All of this is not to be taken seriously, neither is the mostly superfluous love triangle between the main characters. Just sit back and enjoy the slaughter, boobies (if that's your cup 'o tea), and sly social commentary. Higher level brain functions are not required, but will reveal some added depth. Dolby 5.1 audio is available, but extra features are limited to director commentary. Rating: - Hoillywood screws upWhy write review number 775, you may ask? Starship Troopers is a movie very loosely based on an excellent Robert A Heinlein SF book from 1959. In the 1990's Director Paul Verhoeven tried with notable failure to make this fine story into an antiwar movie. Heinlein's story was just to good for Verhoeven's limited ability to ruin. There are two ways to watch this movie. Strait up as a good action adventure, or as a comedy. For the comic effect play the directors commentary while watching, and laugh as he tries to explain how this action movie is really an antiwar film. Its like getting two movies in one. You can enjoy the comedy even more if you read the short (205 page) novel first. you can read any of the other reviews for the story line ect. Rating: - Like a WW2 epic...with bugsAfter graduating from high school, Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) follows his girlfriend, Carmen (Denise Richards), and best friend, Carl (Neil Patrick Harris), to enlist in the military, but when war is declared between humans and a race of highly-evolved giant bugs, Rico proves that he is a hero in his own right. "Starship Troopers" can be best described as an over-the-top, unbelievably trashy remake of every World War II epic ever made...but with bugs instead of Nazis as the villains. Based of the comments that I have heard from critics and my friends, in the decade since this film was released, this is the sort of film that you will either love or hate, although I, personally, cannot imagine how anyone could not like this film. If you love really trashy B-grade horror movies, then you will adore this film. It is essentially a B-grade movie made on an A-grade budget. This film contains gratuitous violence, sex and nudity; disturbingly large quantities of bug blood; and Denise Richards. How could that not appeal? The script is a lot smarter than you would imagine, essentially it is a satire of war propaganda films, complete with newsreels and more scenes of bravery than I've seen since John Wayne's death. It is also directed by Paul Verhoeven, the man who gave the world "Basic Instinct", who impressed me so much with this film that I am now half tempted to watch the infamous "Showgirls".
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