All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Average User Score: 7 (119 sources)

Submit Movie Review

Review this film

Tell the world what you think of Starship Troopers

Your Score:

reset score

Write Your Review:
When writing your review, remember to keep the language clean.

Submit Review Cancel

The_MOW

-1

Agree (1)

Disagree (0)

"Arachnids" and humans are at war, and "Johnny Rico" (Casper Vab Dein) has decided to join the military to fight the "bugs." Even though his parents, especially his father (Christopher Curry), object it and order him...
[+] Read Full Review

"Arachnids" and humans are at war, and "Johnny Rico" (Casper Vab Dein) has decided to join the military to fight the "bugs." Even though his parents, especially his father (Christopher Curry), object it and order him to go on vacation. He refuses, and joins the military. He joins his beautiful girlfriend (Denise Richards), in military training. However, after taking an exam, he is assigned to Mobile Infantry, while she is assigned to Flight School. He is also joined by his best friend (Neil Patrick Harris, and his female football team mate, "Dizzy" (Dina Meyers), who tries to make him forget "Carmen" (Richards). Now, after not being the best soldier-in-training and making a huge mistake resulting in the death of a fellow soldier, "Rico" decides to stick with the service as things begins to heat up in the war. This movie reminds me a little of the "RoboCop" films with the fiction television broadcasts and TV commercials in the start of the movie. It then goes to straight out action movie. One thing you will notice immediately is the special effects. They are perfect if you ask me. The starships look very realistic, and the "Arachnids" are amazing. The "Bugs", as they are nicknamed for obvious reasons, look incredibly realistic. Their skin and movements really make them look like the real thing. And they are perfectly blended into the scenes. In fact, the special effects still hold up about 11 years later. I thought the cast was really good. Even when the lines were a little poor. Many had really good chemistry together, especially the main performers. But, I think Harris was trying too hard to act "military" when he rejoins the story near the end. Another thing you can't help but notice is the costumes. I can see many of the outfits in the battlefield. However, Richards looked horrible in what I think was a dress uniform she wore in one scene. The jacket looked too big on her, which was by design in the shoulders. Even the hat looked horrible on her. There is a lot of action in this movie. Lots of explosions and gun play. However, despite the "Bugs" being explained in the movie as intelligent creatures, I just did not see any intelligence in their attacks, if any. To me, the "Arachnids" appeared to be defending their homeworld from invaders that had no reason for their attack. I don't think that the movie did a clear explanation as to why the "Arachnids" are attacking the humans. It felt to me that the audience was left to assume the reason for their attack. I also found some weak character development in this movie. We get people who are introduced to the audience, but their relationships with main characters are not really explored. We do get how they are connected with the main players, but we get no depth into their relationships. One thing that parents of young children should be aware of is that this movie is pretty violent. If your child is of an age that can not understand that the "Arachnids" are not real, then you probably might not want to have them see this movie. Also, some of the things seen are pretty graphic, and should not be viewed by really young children due to how graphic some things are. For some reason, the majority of the blood comes from the "Arachnids." You will see some major injuries, but the amount of blood that pours out is not as much as you would expect -- especially when an artery is sliced. This movie is not for people who don't like gore, even though this is pretty mild. I also would not allow younger kids to watch this one. Despite the minor problems, I would put this in your top three selections to rent if your first one is unavailable. Or check it on On Demand like I did.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted jul 30, 2008 5:18 am pt

chocola18

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

Well this movie is good at most but the ending is not stisfying. How easily it was to end the the war by drilling that bug. I don't agree with an ending like that. Well But that drawback doesn't stop this movie to become one of my favorite.

Report Abuse

Posted dec 18, 2007 8:16 pm pt

alyssa01

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

I rhink that this is a very good, exciting and interesting! it adds the right amount of sci-fi and romance. I think the dynamic of the realtionship between between the three main characters (Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards) is great.

Report Abuse

Posted sep 11, 2007 4:42 am pt

Lynxan1

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

Not a great film, that's true, but certainly more fun then it should be aloud to be. If your looking for a more serious look at the material, look for the unfortunately unfinished Roughnecks CG show.

Report Abuse

Posted jul 9, 2007 8:08 am pt

delta_116326

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (1)

one of my favorite movies of all time. pretty spectacular.

Report Abuse

Posted jun 17, 2007 3:52 pm pt

Yagr_Zero

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

From director Paul Verhoeven comes Starship Troopers, an action fest full of blood, gore, and nakedness. The usual for science fiction from Verhoeven. Starship Troopers is one part an all-out action film and another part a satire. The action...
[+] Read Full Review

From director Paul Verhoeven comes Starship Troopers, an action fest full of blood, gore, and nakedness. The usual for science fiction from Verhoeven. Starship Troopers is one part an all-out action film and another part a satire. The action features some fantastic special effects bringing to life the amazing giant bugs. The satire seen in this film is shown in small segments of propaganda that are quite comical and provide a different look into the world of Starship Troopers. For those who want to know, the world of Starship Troopers is based on the Nazis winning World War 2, which brings the fun in the propaganda segments.

The story centers around Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), who, after his parents perished in an asteroid strike, goes to war against the Bugs. On the way, Rico joins the famed Roughnecks and helps in the capture of one of the lead Bugs. The rest of the cast aren't big names, with the exception of Denise Richards, and they do an okay job in the acting department, which is the weakest point of the movie.

Overall, Starship Troopers is a nice sci fi movie that features some of the best special effects for its time. But unfortunately, aside from the great action, it's the acting from a pretty unknown cast that brings down the movie from being great. If you're looking for a good action movie, then Starship Troopers might satisfy your taste.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted may 7, 2007 3:06 pm pt

kaysow

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

Acting and setting is kind of amateurish, but that only serves to bring a unique feel to this unique, gory and ultimately classic sci-fi warmovie.

Report Abuse

Posted apr 23, 2007 2:56 am pt

CTUBauer24

-1

Agree (2)

Disagree (0)

I do think the effects are good but the movie is just to awful and boring for me to care for it at all my rating is 2 stars.

Report Abuse

Posted mar 22, 2007 3:22 pm pt

ReptileAcid

-1

Agree (2)

Disagree (0)

This is on of those movies you either love or hate. Well, I love it. Starship Troopers is a fun ride to watch. The acting and the story aren’t that good but the special effects, the music and the action scenes are awesome. Paul Verhoeven...
[+] Read Full Review

This is on of those movies you either love or hate. Well, I love it. Starship Troopers is a fun ride to watch. The acting and the story aren’t that good but the special effects, the music and the action scenes are awesome. Paul Verhoeven has done a decent job here.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted mar 1, 2007 12:55 am pt

dmarex

-1

Agree (1)

Disagree (0)

An interesting and thrilling action SF movie about a group of troopers on a death mission. It's got amazing special effects and great cast and all of that combined with action makes a perfect blockbuster.

Report Abuse

Posted jan 28, 2007 12:42 am pt

• [+] USA Today
  
  100
  This twisted space opera serves up carcasses in six-digit figures but is foremost a sendup for the ages.

  by Mike Clark | Read Full Review »
• [+] San Francisco Examiner
  
  88
  Jingoistic politics are not proper or prudent in the pluralistic human society of the 1990s. It's much easier to assuage these baser urges by facing a real nonhuman enemy that just wants to kill you. War is gore. You or them. That message is the real strength of "Starship Troopers," although many may find it morally flawed. No matter, this is powerful entertainment that appeals to our most basic instincts.

  by George Powell | Read Full Review »
• [+] Entertainment Weekly
  
  83
  The movie is sensationally exciting, but its hey-kids-let s-put-on-a-war! story line plays like Beverly Hills, 90210 recast as a military-recruitment film for the Third Reich.

  by Owen Gleiberman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Variety
  
  80
  A spectacularly gung-ho sci-fi epic that delivers two hours of good, nasty fun.

  by Todd McCarthy | Read Full Review »
• [+] San Francisco Chronicle
  
  75
  The film's special effects are astonishing, but the most notable and unexpected thing is its tone.

  by Mick LaSalle | Read Full Review »
• [+] ReelViews
  
  75
  Although none of the characters are fleshed out much beyond the comic book level, we nevertheless find our sympathies aligning with them.

  by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  67
  Wall to wall blood 'n' guts laced with surprisingly keen social satire, much of it targeting the fatuousness of media culture.

  by Russell Smith | Read Full Review »
• [+] Time
  
  60
  Maybe the filmmakers are so lost in their slambang visual effects that they don't give a hoot about the movie's scariest implications. [10 Nov 1997, p.102]

  by Richard Schickel | Read Full Review »
• [+] TV Guide
  
  60
  This is a movie nasty enough to kill off the major characters twice and still manage to serve up a happy ending.

  by Sandra Contreras | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Sun-Times
  
  50
  Faithfully represents Heinlein's militarism, his Big Brother state, and a value system in which the highest good is to kill a friend before the Bugs can eat him. The underlying ideas are the most interesting aspect of the film.

  by Roger Ebert | Read Full Review »
• [+] Christian Science Monitor
  
  50
  Paul Verhoeven's movie takes more action than ideas from Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel, which is just as well, considering the book's goofy suggestion that military veterans should control society from top to bottom.

  by David Sterritt | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
  
  50
  The word "arachnid," as it's said so contemptuously in the movie, begins to sound suspiciously like "Iraqi," and indeed, we soon see the elite bugs are hunkered down in their desert fortress, resisting the mighty air assaults of the Federation. The conclusion of our story involves unearthing the chief bug.

  by Liam Lacey | Read Full Review »
• [+] Los Angeles Times
  
  50
  What Ed Neumeier's script provides instead is a cheerfully lobotomized, always watchable experience that has the simple-mindedness of a live-action comic book, with no words spoken that wouldn't be right at home in a funny paper dialogue balloon. Not just one comic book either, but an improbable and delirious combination of "Weird Science," "Betty and Veronica" and "Sgt. Rock and His Howling Commandos."

  by Kenneth Turan | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Reader
  
  50
  A collection of shots and characters designed to circle the globe rather than to say anything much about either the filmmakers or the audience, a triumph of multinational capital at work rather than of people or ideas.

  by Jonathan Rosenbaum | Read Full Review »
• [+] Dallas Observer
  
  40
  What makes the claptrap in Starship Troopers so flabbergasting is that it's monumentally scaled.

  by Peter Rainer | Read Full Review »