26 years before Helldivers 2, the sci-fi film, which received rave reviews, set cinemas on fire.

Culture News 26 years before Helldivers 2, the sci-fi film, which received rave reviews, set cinemas on fire.

split hair

Were the producers of Starship Troopers fooled by Paul Verhoeven by lining up tickets? This is the question we ask ourselves when we analyze this funny film’s headbanging as unpredictable as the movements of a frightened cockroach. What would the director of RoboCop and Basic Instinct have said to get the financiers to agree to sign a check for around $100 million for the war against the giant insects? Maybe he guaranteed it would just be an action film with warlike aliens that space marines have to exterminate for humanity to survive?

Or maybe he promised it would be a highly influential adaptation of a best-selling sci-fi book.Stars, beware!Published in 1959 by Robert A. by Heinlein (Starship Troopers in the original version)?

“A new kind of enemy, a new kind of war” we read on original posters of the time. All the elements of an endless blockbuster seem to be coming together: a director whose popularity has grown thanks to two sci-fi films (RoboCop, Total Recall), a screenplay inspired by a book that was a hit, an array of actors with physicality. Flawless and more budget than Men in Black. What could go wrong that the press and public avoid it when it comes out? It is simple: the art of caricature, satire, humor used by Verhoeven has not been appreciated at its true value. The film, which cost around $100 million, will bring in just over $120 million.

“Humor is the bladed weapon of unarmed men” wrote Romain Geary.The meaning of my life“, “Because it is the best weapon that man has created to fight against himself“we read”Origin of Heaven” With Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven used the weapons of fascism to better combat primal militarism.. Apart from that, some press and viewers did not understand the subtlety. The combative aesthetics, the codes of the propaganda film, the youth sacrificed on the altar of brutality… everything that the director himself plays for the better distance is unfortunately taken too literally. Critics did not have to look far to accuse Starship Troopers of fascism, as the book on which it was based, “Stars, beware!” is a work that many advocate for imperialism.

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Tear off the legs

Let’s describe it”Terrible movie“, Creation”indecent“, or”Endless Splash”, Starship Troopers was mistreated by the press upon its release. In France, in Cahiers du Cinema n°523, it is said that “Starship Troopers is not a film for seasoned viewers. It was developed to attract as many young Americans as possible during the holiday weekend, ‘Video game-addicted virgins who enter a room like they’re in control of a game like Doom’, with the sole aim of seeing everything in their visual field. Further, we can read that “to see a film on a screen in Paris today is a misconception. An indiscretion. An evil”.

Casper van Dien’s square jaw, Neil Patrick Harris’ Nazi-inspired costume, battles with disproportionate violence… What was supposed to be the director’s and screenwriter’s intentions definitely went against them. Scenes bordering on burlesque that punctuate the feature film, such as these propaganda ads where we see children squashing vermin on the playground, are seen as sadistic. The fact that military strategy is always more ambiguous, which is Verhoeven’s criticism of the army, is seen as a weakness of the story. Finally, the love stories between the various protagonists, emphasizing the fact that they are only young adults sent into a conflict that surpasses them, are analyzed mechanically to appeal to a teenage audience. Even if the film had been classified as “Forbidden” (Prohibited to those under 17, unless accompanied by a parent).

When the film hit American theaters in 1997, Sony aired a short production of the film where we watched a casual Paul Verhoeven try to explain the film’s themes as simply as possible. “You join the army and that’s fine. If you want to become a citizen, you must enter federal service“It declares before adding”This is linked to the idea that sacrificing oneself for one’s country is a good thing. Helping your friends survive is a good thing… even if you die yourself” It concludes: “It is also the film Paradise Lost. The innocence of youth has been replaced by the brutality and hardship of war” before admitting to being inspired by World War II for certain elements of his film, such as the antagonism of enemies. It is not certain that these announcements, placed in a marketing tool dedicated to the largest number of people, have invited critics and viewers to understand the true subject of the film..

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The animal that comes up (again).

Worn at their best by actors such as Casper Van Dien (Sleepy Hollow), Denise Richards (Sexcrimes), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Clancy Brown (Detroit: Become Human), Dina Meyer (Saw), Michael. Ironside (Total Recall) or Jack Busey (Shasta), Starship Troopers is a movie to watch, even in 2024 if you like sci-fi at all.. In recent days, it has received renewed interest due to the release of Helldivers II.

According to information from Television statisticsWhile it topped the 100th most popular films ranking on 14 February, The feature film jumped like a grasshopper On February 20, 2024, placing itself at the 19th position. As we said in a previous article, with a peak of 457,000 simultaneous players on Helldivers 2 in the last 24 hours, it was almost certain that many curious people are going to watch (or rewatch) the film that inspired the first episode of the Helldivers series.

The similarities between the two productions are truly numerous, whether in terms of the appearance of the Terminides, the over-the-top antagonists, the general tone of the game, the green splashes, etc. The biggest thing Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers have in common? It is that there is errors everywhere! Big bushy ones, little chubby ones, big wrinkly ones… there’s something for everyone. We can also write with a touch of cowardly irony that the battle sequences in Starship Troopers begin only an hour after the film, which, in a way, recalls the endless queues before starting the game in Helldivers 2. A flaw that annoys some. Early adopters Those who haven’t been kind in their comments on Steam, where recent reviews average below “average“

Subscribe to Disney+

Today, Starship Troopers can be seen on Disney+, Amazon Prime or Apple TV. It can apparently be purchased on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. On the cover of the physical versions, we can read as a teaser: “Humanity has just become an endangered species” or :”Only one goal: to survive” while it might be more judicious to print: “War has the worst brains“