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Despite the zenith of his popularity finding him regularly working with Hollywood’s biggest studios and directing major stars in effects-heavy genre films, you wouldn’t call Paul Verhoeven a hand-for-hire. Every single one of his biggest movies is laced with subtext and subversion, and yet people still can’t wrap their heads around the satire of Starship Troopers.
In fairness, critics were inclined to believe it was nothing more than the latest in a long line of expensive epics to continue the industry’s increasing obsession with advances in CGI, which contributed to an underwhelming reception and disappointing box office that saw the $100 million sci-fi live to disappoint.
And yet, in the quarter of a century and change since first landing with a thud, Starship Troopers has undergone a complete reappraisal. Rumor even has it that Verhoeven intentionally hired actors who he didn’t think could read between the lines so they’d play it with a straight face, which admittedly does help explain why so much of the acting is painfully wooden, although it enhances the razor-sharp deconstruction of the military-industrial complex, foreign policy, capitalism, fascism, and propaganda to no end.
Despite its reputation, though, the entire essence of Starship Troopers is still flying completely over some heads. On the cusp of its 26th anniversary, a Reddit thread asked if it “was intended as a satirical film,” and the majority of comments and responses are every bit as biting as the project’s own narrative undercurrent.
As scathing as some of the replies have been, that doesn’t make it any less remarkable that Starship Troopers is still managing to sneak its real message past modern-day viewers.