Great write-up, Yoda.
Starship Troopers is a social satire in much the same way that Robocop is. It starts by making fun of futuristic media - mostly TV news - which has basically been a sad self-satire most of my life. Then it extends to the self-awareness of some of the characters - usually the "evil" ones, but again, this is an old staple of comic books, which both movies resemble. ST is weaker-acted than RC, just as Showgirls is weaker acted than Basic Instinct, so the follow-ups to both earlier films lose (or is it gain?) some points because Verhoeven can actually be seen as satirizing himself and his own brand of "exploitation" filmmaking as Yoda calls it. Maybe it is wrong to call Starship Troopers predominantly a satire, and I never have, but it is a partial one, and even more, a black comedy. I know that's another phrase which is often used to describe movies which are divisive or have problems with their tones, at least for more than a few people. But since ST is also a sci-fi monster war adventure with [satiric?] fascist imagery, there are plenty of ways to interpret and misinterpret it, from the director on down through the cast and crew to the critics and bloggers who first discussed it to those just watching it for the first time, no matter what one thinks.
Starship Troopers is a social satire in much the same way that Robocop is. It starts by making fun of futuristic media - mostly TV news - which has basically been a sad self-satire most of my life. Then it extends to the self-awareness of some of the characters - usually the "evil" ones, but again, this is an old staple of comic books, which both movies resemble. ST is weaker-acted than RC, just as Showgirls is weaker acted than Basic Instinct, so the follow-ups to both earlier films lose (or is it gain?) some points because Verhoeven can actually be seen as satirizing himself and his own brand of "exploitation" filmmaking as Yoda calls it. Maybe it is wrong to call Starship Troopers predominantly a satire, and I never have, but it is a partial one, and even more, a black comedy. I know that's another phrase which is often used to describe movies which are divisive or have problems with their tones, at least for more than a few people. But since ST is also a sci-fi monster war adventure with [satiric?] fascist imagery, there are plenty of ways to interpret and misinterpret it, from the director on down through the cast and crew to the critics and bloggers who first discussed it to those just watching it for the first time, no matter what one thinks.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page