Starship Troopers

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Starship Troopers

R

1997

2h 9m

Sci-Fi

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

82 Reviews

70%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

In the distant future, the Earth is at war with a race of giant alien insects. Little is known about the Bugs except that they are intent on the eradication of all human life. But there was a time before the war... A Mobile Infantry travels to distant alien planets to take the war to the Bugs. They are a ruthless enemy with only one mission: Survival of their species no matter what the cost...

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Critics Consensus

A fun movie...if you can accept the excessive gore and wooden acting.

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Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

03/16/2023

Director Paul Verhoeven blends the conflicting elements of intentional camp and perverse sincerity into a single tone—and he doesn’t resort to simple irony.

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Jason Bailey

Vice

11/14/2017

In its early scenes, 'Troopers 'is basically a goofy high school movie, complete with love triangles, a big game, and a school dance (and sex) after. Once they've begun infantry training, the flexing of machismo so over the top, it can only be satire.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

06/20/2005

B+

More effective as a satire than as an action extravaganza.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 12

3/5

Might not be the revisionist masterpiece some make it out to be, though its message does hit a lot harder than when audiences merely thought they were getting a bombastic sci-fi spectacle.

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Ray Pride

Newcity

02/13/2025

10/10

Cruelly visionary... You should see Verhoeven’s immense satiric mastery on the big screen, you should. (Beware those who identify with the bugs.) You want to know more.

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Todd James

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)

08/06/2024

3/5

Despite the high-tech special effects, director Verhoeven allows for a lot of campy fun. This movie does not take itself seriously.

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Joseph

@Joesysgabosh Feb 7

Worth watching top 10 movie

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Griffith J

@griffithxjohnson Jan 6

It’s cheesy & campy but fully aware of itself while subtly adding themes of fascism & military glorification. Taking tons of inspiration from 60’s & 70’s science fiction, the tone is familiar & inviting. Adapting tough source material by writing a more narrative focused story works well. Yet what is special about the book is heavily glossed over & ultimately makes for an underwhelming film. It’s bold with the outrageous violence & use of CGI/practical effects but paired with some solid social commentary on the philosophy of war.

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Ray C

Nov 22

Starship Troopers is cheesy and full of wooden acting. But, it's also a lot of fun.

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Nov 19

I'm giving this 5 stars because I think it's the first R movie I've seen from start to finish. I think I was in kindergarten when I watched it. Used to call it the "bug movie"!

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William W

Nov 10

A criminally underrated sci-fi satire masterpiece!

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Ernestas R

@Calicifer Oct 19

My personal favorite. It's one of those movies which has modest budget and unknown actors, but everything comes into play and they just nail it. Actors give A tier performance. Movie script, while cheese and slow at the start, is entertaining. Then it ramps up to war and it is just one iconic, generational moment after another. Movie is also very clever with its ideology. It's the movie which convinced that democracy is not the optimal way to rule the country. Something given freely has no value. It's amazing political messaging which is smart, not shown into your throat and leaves you to evaluate ideas on their merits. I was amazed by Anarchids back then and the absolute scale of the fighting. It was brilliant then and we agreed that it was damn good movie when I had rewatched it with my friends. Definitely one of the classics. The only shame that universe never went anywhere. Writers and directors didn't had any respect for their own material and made half assed parodies out of it.

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Paul Verhoeven

Director

Casper Van Dien

Johnny Rico

Dina Meyer

Dizzy Flores

Denise Richards

Carmen Ibanez

Jake Busey

Ace Levy

Neil Patrick Harris

Carl Jenkins

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Synopsis

In the distant future, the Earth is at war with a race of giant alien insects. Little is known about the Bugs except that they are intent on the eradication of all human life. But there was a time before the war... A Mobile Infantry travels to distant alien planets to take the war to the Bugs. They are a ruthless enemy with only one mission: Survival of their species no matter what the cost...

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Producer: Jon Davison, Alan Marshall
Screenwriter: Robert A. Heinlein, Edward Neumeier
Distributor: Trimark Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Big Bug Pictures
Rating: R (Nudity|Graphic Sci-Fi Violence/Gore|Some Language)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 7, 1997, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $54.7M
Runtime: 2h 9m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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