STARSHIP TROOPERS 4K BLURAY

It has been nearly a full decade since Starship Troopers was released in 1997 and still the eye-popping CGI graphics still haven't been beaten. Just watch the film and you'll see that the graphics are absoloutly phenomenal, the alien arachnids and starships are very, very impressive and don't actually look like they should belong in a video game like many other CGI's.The film is set in a future where your either a civilian or a citizen. A civilian will not have the rights to own a house, have babies and many other things that should seem like privelages. On the other hand a citizen does have them rights because they will have done service in the military.Okay, now for the story:Young Johnny Rico (Casper van Dien) is in high school where his buddies including his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards) join up to the military and become citizens. Seeing that Carmen is going, Johnny enlists too.Johnny ends up being a top infantry soldier while Carmen is a top Starship Pilot with Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris) who has an eye for Carmen (who wouldn't!).The training sequences are very merciless (see a drill instructor stick a soldiers hand to a wall with a knife to demonstrate how vital your hand is in battle and also breaking another soldiers arm) the training also seems quite fun with the pretend gunfights for example.The films battle scenes are mind-blowingly spectacular including giant exploding arachnids, severed limbs, plenty of decapitations, thousands of buckets full of gore creating an action packed splatter fest.Dutch director Paul Verhoeven still adds the satirical feel as he did in Total Recall and RoboCop and still keeping the cool ultra-violence as decribed before. He also makes the film not too serious like RoboCop with the tounge in cheek adverts and news bullet-ins.When I first watched it, it gave me an impression of a futuristic Full Metal Jacket, going through grueling training then going into horrific battle.All in all it is a fantastic movie, packed with gore, satire and humour that is sometimes is a little hysterical and for a great price it could well be yours!

What a superb film! Very funny, with detailed world-building and worthy of multiple viewings. Let me try to dismiss some of the criticisms:(1) It endorses fascism. No, this film is a parody of fascism! Like all the best and cleverest satire it is sympathetic with its target. For instance it evinces a real warmth, pride and sense of belonging in Federation society. But let's not accuse 'Tom and Jerry' of promoting domestic violence.(2) It is cheesy. Yes, it takes plastic, shiny cheesiness to a whole new level. It's a work of haute fromage.(3) The acting is wooden. No, the acting is excellent. It's merely that the characters are two-dimensional. This is deliberate. However they remain exciting and watchable as they enthusiastically embrace their roles in the quest for citizenship.(4) It is disloyal to the book. OK, this one may be true. I haven't read Heinlein's book yet...Btw, anyone noticed a slight resemblance to Ender's Game? Militaristic society, young characters, 'buggers' --> 'bugs'

This is such an interesting movie! TL;DR If you've never seen it just watch it & think about it later.This was based off a book by Robert Heinlein. Like most good science fiction the story acts as a vehicle for larger concepts. It it he does a fair job of showing what a decent limited Democracy of the future would look like. As a film its a cool action movie & stands up even though its several decades old at this point.What makes it so interesting though is that the director Paul Verhoeven (as he admitted) never even bothered to read the book & tries to paint it as a pastiche of a totalitarian society - completely missing the point of the whole thing. Yet, despite his ham-fisted, silly fascistic imagery throughout he can't help but make some of the core points of the book - entirely contrary to what he intended.Watch the film & enjoy it - its fun, but maybe look at some of the analyses online & even read the book. Its a classic.

For UK collectors, this edition is region free and will play on region B players. The steelbook is one of the best looking yet, however the packaging was flimsy and it arrived dented in 2 places. However this movie has one of the best 4K transfers from an older title that I've seen, alongside the movie being great! Highly recommended if you can get one undamaged.