Insanely brutal and distressingly gruesome, Starship Troopers appeared amid a whirlwind of controversy when it was first released in 1997.
Accusations of glorifying violence, right-wing militarism and fascism coupled with a perceived lack of depth kept cinema audiences well away.
But a quarter of a decade on, it appears Starship Troopers’ biting satire may have gone over a lot of people’s heads at the time.
It made just $54 million in the US against a budget of $105 million – a huge failure for a movie backed by such a major studio as Sony.
However, time has been exceptionally kind to the perhaps misunderstood Starship Troopers - which currently enjoys a healthy 7.3 rating on IMDb. And it now currently ranks as one of Disney Plus's Top 25 most-watched titles globally.
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'Latest in a very long line of brain-dead, effects-heavy shooters'
Critics absolutely panned Starship Troopers as the latest in a very long line of brain-dead, effects-heavy shooters lacking in any real substance.
But Robocop director Paul Verhoeven was always better than that, sneaking in a razor sharp satire that deftly wielded heavy themes such as militarism, foreign policy, capitalism, fascism and propaganda all hidden beneath a daft, intergalactic adventure.
The dystopian film, which stars Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards and also features Michael Ironside, is set in a far away future where high school kids are encouraged to become citizens by joining the military.
Little do they know they will soon be embroiled in a massive war against a planet of alien insects – and the fate of humanity rests squarely in their hands.
Starship Troopers was notoriously violent at the time, with graphic scenes such as people being beheaded by flying bugs.
Intensely graphic scenes
Elsewhere a man is shown with bloody stumps after being sucked into the ground, while another poor chap has a hole in his head which another sticks his fingers through. Definitely not for the squeamish!
Originally released in UK cinemas as a 15 certificate, the movie was so graphic it was upgraded to an 18 for home viewing, with it currently sporting a 16+ rating on Disney Plus.
'A misunderstood R-rated sci-fi cult classic'
Entertainment website We Got This Covered recently declared Starship Troopers a ‘misunderstood R-rated sci-fi cult classic’ and were effusive in its praise, saying “come for the spectacular set pieces, ignore the largely one-dimensional acting, stay for the biting acerbic wit and impressively orchestrated cosmic carnage”.
On IMDb, user Bcnkor gave it 10/10, saying it was ‘a work of art in space science fiction’.
Elsewhere, Bulgerpaul also gave it 10/10, saying ‘Starship Troopers is a cheeky inversion of Star Trek's post-currency, post-scarcity universe, one where wartime becomes further obsolete and diplomats are valorized (sic) over generals, and where social castes are non-existent.’
BrandtSponseller gave it 10/10, saying ‘the negative buzz kept me from watching this film for a while, but I'm glad I've seen it now!'
Nogonomasters gave it 10/10, simply saying ‘has it all’.
What do YOU think? Have you seen Starship Troopers? Did the 90s have it right that it’s a braindead piece of nonsense, or is it biting satire? Let us know in the comments
