Watch Starship Troopers now: it’s reality, not sci-fi

[daftandbarmy]

On the bounce.....


Watch Starship Troopers now: it’s reality, not sci-fi

The way the film foreshadows the “war on terror” is striking. A righteous war, caused by a seemingly unprovoked attack that kills multiple lives on our soil – later found to be in retaliation to an aggressively probing foreign policy? Check.
A horde of initially enthusiastic soldiers worn down by a less sophisticated but more cunning army that uses its surroundings to its advantage? Check.
Wave after wave of increasingly blunt methods of propaganda? Check.
Essentially, you could swap the word “bug” for “terrorist” in the film and you’d get the western media’s appraisal of the Middle East since the early noughties.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/09/starship-troopers-reality-west-war-terror-paul-verhoeven-science-fiction-genius

 

[FJAG]

Sorry but this article misses the point completely.

I think I was one of the only three people in my high school who read Heinlein back in the very early 60's. It was (and is) a terrific book that explored many subtle issues and was then what science fiction was always supposed to be: a commentary on present day society. Heinlein wrote the book as a a protest against the US's decision in 1958 to unilaterally suspend nuclear testing. It's more a philosophical novel than a shoot'em-up action story.

If you want a good understanding of the book, then read Wikipedia; it gets it right:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers

I anticipated the movie with great excitement (to the point where I took the evening off during a very heavy examination for discovery in a major case to see it's premiere) only to be let down completely by that piece of crap.

The movie itself was started from a completely unrelated script:

The film started life as a script called Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine.[2] When similarities, especially the "bugs", were pointed out between this and the novel Starship Troopers, plans were made to license the rights to the book and tweak character names and circumstances to match. Verhoeven had never read the book, and attempted to read it for the film, but it made him "bored and depressed", so he read only a few chapters:

"I stopped after two chapters because it was so boring,...It is really quite a bad book. I asked Ed Neumeier to tell me the story because I just couldn't read the thing. It's a very right-wing book".[5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers_(film)

Instead of subtle development of complex issues, Verhoeven does a Johnny-one-note on the theme and:
:

. . . states his intentions clearly: the film's message is that "War makes fascists of us all". He evoked Nazi Germany's fashion, iconography and propaganda because he saw it as a natural evolution of the post-World War II United States

There is nothing here about terrorists (the film was done before 9/11). Usher is grasping in his article. If you try hard then you can make any old movie be about terrorism. IMHO his article is about as shallow as the movie was.  :2c:

If there's anyone out there who hasn't read the book. Do it. It's well worth the effort (even if Verhoeven didn't think so)

:remembrance:

 

[medicineman]

I too was disappointed by the movie, having read the book...and even had an enlightened moment when I realized the battle school was in Wainwright.  The movie could have (a) followed the book a bit more (b) used some of the stuff from the book given when it was made, special effects wise and (c) could have dropped the neo-Nazi BS Paul Verhoeven decided to colour it with.  The movie vaguely used the plot and the title, and for the most part, all similarities ended there.  It reminded me well of the day to day drudgery of being in the military - 95% boredom, 4% excitement, and 1% real scary stuff.  I think the movie was more like "Dr Strangelove" than today honestly...without Peter Sellers and George C Scott.

MM

 

[daftandbarmy]

Sorry but this article misses the point completely.

I think I was one of the only three people in my high school who read Heinlein back in the very early 60's. It was (and is) a terrific book that explored many subtle issues and was then what science fiction was always supposed to be: a commentary on present day society. Heinlein wrote the book as a a protest against the US's decision in 1958 to unilaterally suspend nuclear testing. It's more a philosophical novel than a shoot'em-up action story.

If you want a good understanding of the book, then read Wikipedia; it gets it right:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers

I anticipated the movie with great excitement (to the point where I took the evening off during a very heavy examination for discovery in a major case to see it's premiere) only to be let down completely by that piece of crap.

The movie itself was started from a completely unrelated script:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers_(film)

Instead of subtle development of complex issues, Verhoeven does a Johnny-one-note on the theme and:
:
There is nothing here about terrorists (the film was done before 9/11). Usher is grasping in his article. If you try hard then you can make any old movie be about terrorism. IMHO his article is about as shallow as the movie was.  :2c:

If there's anyone out there who hasn't read the book. Do it. It's well worth the effort (even if Verhoeven didn't think so)

:remembrance:

Good things about the book: Power Suits. Personal Nukes.

Good things about the movie: Co-ed Showers. Personal nukes.

The worst movie ever, of course was the remake of the movie. It was so bad that I've erased it from my memory banks....

 

[beirnini]

I haven't read the Heinlein novel but if one accepts the fact that "this Paul Verhoeven sci-fi action satire is loosely based on the fiercely rightwing novel that shares its name", with emphasis on the "loosely" then the movie does stand up rather well on it's own over time as daftandbarmy suggests: It is a fairly prescient piece of fiction.

Perhaps a movie more deeply sourced from the novel would be better, or perhaps the movie completely misses the mark on the underlying politics, but regardless considering all the CIA-fluffing and other 'Triumph Of The Will'-esque dreck that Hollywood is churning out lately this movie is an important artistic counterpoint.

 

[FJAG]

I'm with daftandbarmy on the shower scenes and quite frankly, I liked Denise Richards notwithstanding her limited acting skills (or maybe it was just poor direction).

"Prescient piece of fiction"? I've reread the article and all that I come up with is that Verhoeven copied themes and concepts from numerous post-Vietnam anti-war and action movies and jumbled them into a science fiction film. This is 20/20 hindsight at best. Hell, if you want to you can argue that the Star Wars films "foreshadow" the war on terror but from an Islamist point of view (starting right from the moment that the protagonist arises from the desert to when he uses spiritual powers as he prays and sprays his way to victory). And don't even get me started on the Dune series.

Take Verhoeven at his word; the film was about fascism. Its more a retrospective incorporation of such films as "Die Brücke" then any clairvoyant view of the future.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Br%C3%BCcke_(film)

:remembrance:

 

[daftandbarmy]

I'm with daftandbarmy on the shower scenes and quite frankly, I liked Denise Richards notwithstanding her limited acting skills (or maybe it was just poor direction).

"Prescient piece of fiction"? I've reread the article and all that I come up with is that Verhoeven copied themes and concepts from numerous post-Vietnam anti-war and action movies and jumbled them into a science fiction film. This is 20/20 hindsight at best. Hell, if you want to you can argue that the Star Wars films "foreshadow" the war on terror but from an Islamist point of view (starting right from the moment that the protagonist arises from the desert to when he uses spiritual powers as he prays and sprays his way to victory). And don't even get me started on the Dune series.

Take Verhoeven at his word; the film was about fascism. Its more a retrospective incorporation of such films as "Die Brücke" then any clairvoyant view of the future.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Br%C3%BCcke_(film)

:remembrance:

‘Kelly’s Heroes’ was a pretty accurate war movie IMHO. Or the Dirty Dozen. Donald Sutherland makes the perfect ‘average’ soldier

 

[Jarnhamar]

Was Donald Sutherland the all them negative waves guy?


Powersuits and pocket nukes would be awesome.

I've taken to emulating their attitude towards recruits that quit or can't make it in the army.

 

[NavyShooter]

I read the book in the 80's as a high school student.  GOOD.

I watched the movie when it came out....Denise Richards....co-ed showers....nice. 

Coming anywhere near what Heinlen wrote?  Nope.  Not by any stretch.

It was a confirmation for me that most, if not all movies will divert significantly from the books.  My introduction to this was Hunt for Red October, which was, incidentally, the first movie I ever saw in theaters.

Having read the book, way too long ago, you've now inspired me to go check kobo for it.

NS

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Hate to burst your bubble, NavyShooter: my first movie in a theatre was the Sound of Music.

A Captain with seven children ... made me want to go to sea to get away from them.

 

[FJAG]

Hate to burst your bubble, NavyShooter: my first movie in a theatre was the Sound of Music.

A Captain with seven children ... made me want to go to sea to get away from them.

Ben Hur  ;D

:cheers:

 

[Haggis]

The worst movie ever, of course was the remake of the movie. It was so bad that I've erased it from my memory banks....

There was a remake?

 

[jollyjacktar]

Other related stuff.  Makes the first one look Oscar worthy.  Hell, makes Nicholas Cage movies as of late look Oscar worthy. Like Indianapolis...

 

[daftandbarmy]

There was a remake?

Two, sadly for the species.

 

[dimsum]

Two, sadly for the species.

The animated series "Roughnecks:  Starship Troopers Chronicles" was more in line with the original book (with power armour and such).

 

[daftandbarmy]

The animated series "Roughnecks:  Starship Troopers Chronicles" was more in line with the original book (with power armour and such).

Bold move, admitting that you watch cartoons like that

 

[FJAG]

There was a remake?

Several sequels and a remake allegedly in the works:

Four sequels, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004),[123] Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008),[124] Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012)[125] and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017) were released as straight-to-DVD films respectively. In December 2011, Neal H. Moritz, producer of films such as The Fast and the Furious series and I Am Legend, announced plans for a remake of the film that he claims will be more faithful to the source material.[126] In 2016 Mark Swift and Damian Shannon were reported to be writing the film.[127] Commentators have suggested that a reboot would be as controversial as the original book.[10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers#Adaptations

Information on the animated series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles is here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roughnecks:_Starship_Troopers_Chronicles

:cheers:

 

[dimsum]

Bold move, admitting that you watch cartoons like that

What can I say - I have little shame left. 

 

[dapaterson]

Rocket Robin Hood = greatest space cartoon of all time.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Rick and Morty