Starship Troopers (1997)

Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

The second film in our Paul Verhoeven pairing is one that fully displays the satirical nature of this director's work, much more so than the first film we reviewed. Moving ahead a decade, we find ourselves a couple hundred years in the future, and the world now lives under a single government. Unfortunately, it is a fascist government, one that lies to its citizens and seduces its young people into throwing their lives away in Military Service, all so they can become "Citizens" and earn the right to vote. This story follows high school graduates Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards), Isabel "Dizzy" Flores (Dina Meyer) and Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris) as they all decide to join the Federation Military and enlist in the war against the "Bugs," an alien species intent on protecting their territory after a group of Mormons decide to settle on one of their planets unasked. The true genius of Verhoeven's vision is on clear display in this film, and its depiction of the inherent violence and selfishness of humanity hits uncomfortably close to home! Plus, the trio reveal which "Movie Serials-turned-Films" they're focusing on for the next pairing!