Kooozey
Joined Sep 2020
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Reviews14
Kooozey's rating
I have to overrate this movie because I love it. But not in a "so bad it's good" kind of way. I think it's just really pleasant to watch. It's not really a good movie, but it's not awful either. Yes, a lot about it is silly. But it has great atmosphere and it looks amazing. I mean the shot of the Statue of Liberty covered in ice and snow? Come on.
The worst parts are A) The "happy ending", when probably most of mankind has just been wiped out. "Mr. President, we have great news! Ten people survived in New York!" That's the worst scene of the movie by far.
And B) Them not really explaining why Jack has to go to New York. Couldn't he have contacted the government right after talking to his son on the phone? Was it about bringing food or medicine? They never really tell you. Also didn't he say people must stay inside to survive?
Rating this movie 7/10 is ridiculous but I have to give it a pass because it feels like one long lazy rainy Sunday afternoon. As nothing more than entertainment, it actually works quite well.
The worst parts are A) The "happy ending", when probably most of mankind has just been wiped out. "Mr. President, we have great news! Ten people survived in New York!" That's the worst scene of the movie by far.
And B) Them not really explaining why Jack has to go to New York. Couldn't he have contacted the government right after talking to his son on the phone? Was it about bringing food or medicine? They never really tell you. Also didn't he say people must stay inside to survive?
Rating this movie 7/10 is ridiculous but I have to give it a pass because it feels like one long lazy rainy Sunday afternoon. As nothing more than entertainment, it actually works quite well.
A lot of people these days seem to think that Starship Troopers (a sci fi action movie about huge insects waging a war on mankind) is somehow a thoughtful satire on militarism and fascism and much more than just another dumb popcorn movie that is primarily made for 15-year-olds.
The truth is if we truly look at the movie through that lens, we give it way too much of a pass. It's not enough to just say "well it's a satire", to make it a good movie. What's more important is the question: is it a good satire? And here the answer is simply "no".
Yes, fascism needs its enemies. That's why it thrives on propaganda. That's what this movie shows. The only problem is: Fascism creates boogeymen and scapegoats. Things that in reality pose no threat whatsoever. That's why people get "otherized", dehumanized, and that's what makes fascism so dangerous and disgusting. The enemies in Starship Troopers are giant, flesh eating insects. There's nothing in the movie to suggest that they are NOT evil. The "Brain Bug" even sucks people's brains out. This is not satire, it's just stupid.
Well of course you could find a way to interpret this differently. Maybe the bugs didn't even attack, maybe it's all fake. That's cutting the movie way too much slack. There's a scene in which a spaceship is almost destroyed by one of the bugs' asteroids. This is not propaganda, it's really happening. They clearly are a danger to mankind (even if it doesn't make any sense, but that just makes it an even dumber movie).
Verhoeven himself said he wanted viewers to think "are these people insane?". Well that's a huge fail, because acting in self defense is not insane. If you wanna make a satire about a society militarized beyond belief then there's more subtle ways of doing this (a 1984 type movie for example). But i see, he wanted to make an action-packed monster movie in space, because that's how you usually rake in tons of cash.
Some interpret it as a satirical depiction of a "fascist utopia", as two hours of satirical propaganda. But it doesn't work that way either. Ever seen fascist propaganda movies about a fascist army failing with countless soldiers dying in the most gruesome way imaginable? Of course not, it would undercut the whole point of pro war propaganda, which is to depict war as all fun and games. Also whether bugs really are the enemy or just a fake enemy, why use infantry instead of chemical weapons, nukes or whatever?
There is only one interpretation of this movie that makes sense: it's trying to make fun of the novel. And all of Verhoeven's talk about politics, fascism, history and war is just pretentious jibber jabber. He simply didn't think this through at all.
Even if none of this were true, it still wouldn't be a good movie. You can't just take a bad movie that has bad dialogues, a bad plot, bad characters and generally a lot of embarrassing stupidity in it, wave a magic wand, say the word "satire" and it suddenly turns into a good movie. Everything bad in this film is satire, everything good is not. I heard someone say that this movie is the type of movie that a society such as the one shown in the movie would create. Very interesting idea! But it doesn't make the film any better.
The truth is if we truly look at the movie through that lens, we give it way too much of a pass. It's not enough to just say "well it's a satire", to make it a good movie. What's more important is the question: is it a good satire? And here the answer is simply "no".
Yes, fascism needs its enemies. That's why it thrives on propaganda. That's what this movie shows. The only problem is: Fascism creates boogeymen and scapegoats. Things that in reality pose no threat whatsoever. That's why people get "otherized", dehumanized, and that's what makes fascism so dangerous and disgusting. The enemies in Starship Troopers are giant, flesh eating insects. There's nothing in the movie to suggest that they are NOT evil. The "Brain Bug" even sucks people's brains out. This is not satire, it's just stupid.
Well of course you could find a way to interpret this differently. Maybe the bugs didn't even attack, maybe it's all fake. That's cutting the movie way too much slack. There's a scene in which a spaceship is almost destroyed by one of the bugs' asteroids. This is not propaganda, it's really happening. They clearly are a danger to mankind (even if it doesn't make any sense, but that just makes it an even dumber movie).
Verhoeven himself said he wanted viewers to think "are these people insane?". Well that's a huge fail, because acting in self defense is not insane. If you wanna make a satire about a society militarized beyond belief then there's more subtle ways of doing this (a 1984 type movie for example). But i see, he wanted to make an action-packed monster movie in space, because that's how you usually rake in tons of cash.
Some interpret it as a satirical depiction of a "fascist utopia", as two hours of satirical propaganda. But it doesn't work that way either. Ever seen fascist propaganda movies about a fascist army failing with countless soldiers dying in the most gruesome way imaginable? Of course not, it would undercut the whole point of pro war propaganda, which is to depict war as all fun and games. Also whether bugs really are the enemy or just a fake enemy, why use infantry instead of chemical weapons, nukes or whatever?
There is only one interpretation of this movie that makes sense: it's trying to make fun of the novel. And all of Verhoeven's talk about politics, fascism, history and war is just pretentious jibber jabber. He simply didn't think this through at all.
Even if none of this were true, it still wouldn't be a good movie. You can't just take a bad movie that has bad dialogues, a bad plot, bad characters and generally a lot of embarrassing stupidity in it, wave a magic wand, say the word "satire" and it suddenly turns into a good movie. Everything bad in this film is satire, everything good is not. I heard someone say that this movie is the type of movie that a society such as the one shown in the movie would create. Very interesting idea! But it doesn't make the film any better.
Millions of innocent men, women and children died in Indochina due to the American assault and indiscriminate bombing and shooting of civilians. Why on earth would you create some nice heart-warming fairy tale about the plight of an American pilot who probably participated in the slaughter? At the very end we see a long shot of hundreds and hundreds of American military planes with the music suggesting that what we see is somehow the most beautiful thing imaginable, proof that there is still hope in this world of ours. This may be the single most twisted, heartless and disgusting thing i have ever seen in my life. Ask one of the civilians who had to spend years (!) in caves trying to survive the onslaught about what kind of emotions that image triggers inside them. You can't ask the millions of people who are dead due to the bombs and chemicals (Agent Orange) dropped on their home country by people like "Little Dieter".