To the comment made in the intro... I started watching a lot of these react channels when I was staying at a hotel waiting to get surgery for cancer. Yours was one of the ones I subscribed to... and still here a year later watching.

"This could be either extremely campy or a complete bloodbath" Paul Verhoeven: Why not both?

The satire in this movie was so on point that some people actually thought it was a fascist film.

"The only good bug. Is a dead bug. Would you like to know more?" Lol. This classic was ahead of it's time.

Paul Verhoven deliberately used "Pretty but bad" actors for the movie. To accentuate the cheesy feeling and propaganda in the story. A movie about young and beautiful people in a fascist "utopia" that are eventually only good for.....killing bugs.

This is film, RoboCop, and Total Recall are perfect examples of Satire.

"They just found a legendary Pokémon and that thing looks Pissed Off" i dunno why but that line had me fricking dying 🤣😂

I think one way to describe the visuals in this movie is "brutiful".

Neither critics nor audiences appreciated the film’s commentary when this came out, but post 9/11 America and the propaganda machine that it spawned showed that Paul Verhoeven was actually prescient.

RIP to the best person in the movie, then immediately RIP to the second best

Gotta love Paul Verhoeven! This and Robocop are absolutely amazing!

I really, _really_ recommend watching Red Letter Media's video on Starship Troopers after you've seen the film for the first time. And then watching the film again after the RLM video. It helps a lot getting into the underlying subtext of Starship Troopers. There are also a thousand tiny details that are very easy to miss in this. Like a scene where a _black_ officer walks through the frame who has SS-runes on his shoulder flaps. Like, actual Nazi symbols. There is _so_ _much_ stuff in this, but it's very successful in steering your focus away from it. Seriously one of the best movies of all time and criminally underappreciated.

Verhoeven was a staple in my childhood and the visual effects in starship troopers are still amazing, miniatures and cg working together in harmony.

The sci-fi context lets you recognize the absurdity in propaganda you might otherwise have grown up with, and internalized.

1997 was an amazing year for movies and their impact on pop culture. This, Boogie Nights, Titanic, L.A. Confidential, this list goes on and on

The one thing that I love about this movie is the levels it exists on. For example… This movie is a propaganda film that exists in the universe it takes place in. It exists for recruitment purposes, hence no matter what the troopers say or do, it’s always shown as being heroic. The film actively lied to the audience, but we aren’t the intended audience, the people of this universe are, so naturally they’ll accept anything the Federation tells them. When the planetary defenses allows the asteroid past its defense grid, it’s not because they used it as an excuse to get the Fed involved in another war to keep its citizens under their control, “it’s because the bugs are bad, duh!” It doesn’t matter that the Arachnid Quarantine Zone is thousands of lightyears away and for them to actually be able to calculate their aim or have the ability to fire asteroids at the Earth, that it would have had to be done before the Federation even existed, “because the bugs are bad, DUH!!” Also, they call them arachnids when they only have six limbs, making them insectoid. It’s because ‘arachnid’ is a slur to make them sound scarier for propaganda. They’re even compared to ‘gross/disgusting’ cockroaches despite looking nothing like them and being far more intelligent. Even with the presence of the brain bug, the propaganda still won’t let them been seen as anything equal to humans because that hurts the narrative of human superiority and bug inferiority. “I find the idea of a bug that thinks OFFENSIVE!!” TL;DR: the movie is both a satire of propaganda and literal propaganda for the universe it takes place in and Paul Verhoeven and Ed Neumeier are geniuses.

'They just found a legendary Pokemon and its pissed off' Dude, now that made me laugh!

The book was crazy different and still Eff Carmen

The Teacher/Lieutenant is pretty awesome. "Rico, we've got an urgent briefing for the war effort son!" See's the girl... "Nevermind fam, get you some ass!" Now THAT's a leader!

"There has to be a deeper commentary there" You understood what literally no critic at the time realized. :D

Oh hell yeah! This is Paul Verhoeven in all his pulpy glory!

The movie is a commentary on American Fascism, Military Propaganda, and Jingoism. You'll notice the uniforms they wear are eerily similar to Nazis. Paul Verhoven grew up in Nazi Occupied Holland, so he's always been vocal against the rise of fascism in America. He actually adapted the movie from the novel to kind of shit on the novel, which he viewed as extremely fascist and Militaristic. So the movie is highly critical of it's source material.

One of the great satires of our time.

James' every reaction to Carmen is a mood

Me again. My uncle was the production designer for this also!

Maaaaan Bug's Life sure looks different! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema FIRST TIME WATCHING JUJUTSU KAISEN Tuesday. Enjoy the day!

You can find 1,000 movies made after this with effects that look 10 years older. Holds up so well. Great tight script, great music, overflowing with amazing world building and attention to detail.

Yes, there was a deeper message intended when making this film. Verhoven's premise for this movie was "war makes fascists of us all," though there is some disagreement to how well he succeeded in that regard. This movie is based on the Heinlein novel "Starship Troopers" (which Verhoven famously didn't read before making the movie) and is a very different tone from the movie based on it. The premise of the book is that only people who are willing to take personal responsibility for the government should have any voice in it and Heinlein goes out of his way to show that everyone who joins the Mobile Infantry (or any Federal Service) is there by choice. Also, technically speaking the humans started the war: a group of colonists decided to settle on a Bug planet despite being warned by the government not to, and the Bugs in their hive mindset viewed this as an invasion by humanity and retaliated with the asteroid strike. In the book, the Federation is involved in multiple conflicts over the course of the movie with several different alien races of which the Bugs are only one. To state my own biases: I am a fan of both the book and the movie and believe both have merit in their opinions, though reality is rarely so simple.

It was a social commentary about fascism, but it was fun and entertaining with great effects. Paul Verhoeven's films always have an underlyng socio-political message or commentary. It's in all his movies like "Robocop", "Total Recall", "Basic Instinct", Flesh + Blood", "Hollow Man" and even the cult favorite hated by critics "Showgirls". I enjoyed all of these films.

"What the- *sucks teeth*" Yes. Yes we are with you on her being whack from the drop. P.S. "every nfl coach" is Jake Busey! Gary's son Definitely has got his fathers attributes! And "nuking respectfully" is definitely brutiful. Love this movie and your channels! Keep up the fun!

"I can't help but think there's a deeper social commentary happening" - The movie is a brilliant and often misunderstood satire of fascism.

This movie is a great satire about fascism. Paul Verhoeven was so great back in the day. Btw, the buddy is Jake Busey, son of Gary Busey

My childhood was comprised of this film, and Sesame Street.

Naw, you totally nailed it! This was a totally self aware satire commentary. It was relatively poorly received because few understood how intentional everything was. I loved it in theaters both times, and still do the "I've-lost-count" times I've seen it since!

“A combination of Saving Private Ryan and A Bug’s Life” Genius

Most of us have had a Carmen in our lives, but the lucky ones found themselves a Diz.

Brutiful: Adjective. Elegant, awe-inspiring displays of extreme violence.

"He's the coolest person" Exactly my thoughts when I was watching this the first time as well. :)

My wife and I wrap the kids chrismas presents the night before christmas. We'll drink a bottle of wine, watch Starship Troopers and wrap presents until the wee hours of the morning. This has been our holiday tradition for over a decade. We absolutely love this movie.

I keep getting reminded how insightful and hilarious James is.

It seems like nobody talks about the author of the book. Robert Heimlien was a famous science fiction author in the late 40’s and 50’s. Many of his novels were about the far future but this is about earth at war. A lot of the campy features are RH versions of America after the war. It really is about a commentary about war, society, youth and lots more!

I am ashamed to admit that I didn't realize who the *real* villains were until Doogie Howser SS triumphantly announced the Brain Bug was afraid and was met with cheers. In fairness I was only 12 when this came to HBO and was still averting my gaze at heavily adult things.

Michael Ironside is one of my favorite character actors ever!! He can play a hero or a villain. Plus his name is awesome.

"I wonder if there's some deeper social commentary.... in Starship Troopers" Understatement of the century lol

I always liked this movie, first off the “dumb action” then later on for it commentary on nationalism, propaganda, fear baiting, media, and human arrogance. One would have to be willfully blind to not see that these tactics have utilized very recently around the world… from any side of the political spectrum.

Whenever this movie comes on I yell "Medic!" at every gruesome death.

I’ve been binging through your vids tonight. I’m loving the content duder! Hope this helps the algorithm in some way!

Ahh yes, an underrated classic. Great reaction bro. 👍

13th Warrior Superb cinematography Superb cast Superb soundtrack Superb battle scenes Superb adventure Bet you don't watch it just once.

This is a certified hood classic

This channel has been my total saviour during lockdown. Plus I now look at movies in a new depth. Keep up the amazing work!!

"What's it thinking, Colonel?" ........ "It's afraid... its afraid!" Love that bit and the practical effects on that bug. Man that thing is vile.

This is a cult classic that is just as fun to watch now as it was when it came out. If you don't take it too seriously and just enjoy the ride, it is priceless

The Animated Series is pretty good to. Roughnecks: Starship Troopers

I saw this at a midnight showing opening night. It was probably the loudest, roudiest and enthusiastic movie crowd I've ever been a part of...and it was great!

I saw this on opening day in 1997! It took the audience maybe 45 minutes to get into it, but by the end, everyone was hooting and hollering and having a great time.

Loved when they’re all in the compound with the epic music playing 😂 they really need to make a game on this

This film was Verhoeven's attempt at displaying the downfalls of fascism. He shot it in the style of the old "Why We Fight" World War 2 propaganda videos. Their entire society is fascist and the swing he was taking here was to show the protagonists and their society in the positive light they attempt to shed on it, while at the same time letting us as the audience see just how fucked up their society (and by extension, fascism) is. It isn't a brilliant film but it's one of the best critiques on fascism we've had in this medium and it's enjoyable enough to watch a few times for sure. Thanks for the great content, keep it coming man!

Thank you for being real. So many "first time" watchers are not at all that or look up everything before hand. Way to have your own ideas. This is one of my Top 10 movies and have seen it times without count. You do it justice for a first watch and are so versed in the language of cinema and story. You truly deserve this channel and the success that I hope it brings you. Keep watching films and speaking about them.

Thanks for the uploads man. I always enjoy your commentary. However you think of it I’ve been going thru some shit and your reactions help and give me some laughs. You also have great insight. Have a awesome day man

Ahh, the glorious Starship Troopers, a hugely entertaining sci-fi satire that unifies and brings harmony to audiences both left and right with the one thing everyone can agree on: Carmen is just the worst. Team Diz!

Hey James - considering the artistry used in making the film and the quality of the gore - I think brutiful is a totally apt term to use. Also hoping you do more Kuraswa soon, I bet you will love Yojimbo and or Seven Samuari.

One of the most underrated sci-fi films imo. You know that headshot during training was different when the fuck slipped out lmfaooo

The director meant this to be a social commentary movie. Many people don't see it but you got it James. It is not just a movie about a war with bugs.

"The bugs can warp asteroids to other solar systems." Can they, though? During the entire movie we never see evidence of the bugs invading a planet, only humans going to planets where the bugs are. An asteroid thrown by bugs would take probably millions of years to reach earth, and it would probably miss. I think humans did it and blamed the bugs.

Thinking the bugs were dumb the entire time is how American generals, politicians, etc. thought about the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong in the 60's.

This was so much fun to watch you react to! This is my first time watching your stuff but you got a sub!

One of the most underrated scenes in the film is with the recruiter with no legs, in the book it shocks Rico, later he goes back to ask him more questions and finds out he had prosthetic legs and can walk, he asks him why he doesn't wear them and the recruiter says its to put people off from joining. Its the same reason his teacher didn't wear a false hand in school, they actively attempt to dissuade people from becomeing citizens due to the danger. Another intresting point is in the book his father actually survives the attack and ends up joining Rico's unit

The book this movie was based on is a masterpiece of Science Fiction and political commentary. Robert Heinlein was a genius.

I absolutely think there is a commentary going on here, above and beyond the basic story, and that's before pointing out it was directed by the guy who directed films like RoboCop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct. I think it's intended to look superficial on the surface, a bunch of attractive young people fighting the enemies of humanity, monstrous space bugs. But we also have the interspaced propaganda videos that portray the bugs as the equivalent of cockroaches, while we are shown that they are actually rather advanced, and it's at least suggested that it is the humans who are invading the bug's space, as opposed to the standard opposite (we only see or hear of humans attacking bugs worlds; the only attack by the bugs is done from their home planet). We are told in the political science lesson at the beginning that only those who've served in the military have full citizenship rights and that military service is a high ideal, but we are shown that the soldiers are thrown into a meat grinder time and time again with the cost in lives just kind of glossed over. I don't think it's an accident that the military uniforms look vaguely Nazi-ish.

Yeah, as others have said below, director did RoboCop and Total Recall (Original) and he has a way with satirical social commentary. This is based of the book call the same name Starship Troopers, check it, much better than the movie (most are) and is not a long read...it's a si-fi classic. Love the movie though when it came out and still watch it from time to time as well as the aforementioned movies mentioned above.

I was in boot camp in Summer 97 when this movie came out in theaters and i was able to watch the movie at the theater on base (Ft Gordon, Augusta, GA) when i got to my Advanced Individual Training. I went with a group of about a dozen guys and we loved this movie because it allowed us to laugh at our own boot camp experience and compare it to the over the top scenes in the movie. I haven't watched this movie again since then, so it was pretty funny remembering so many scenes that had us rolling back in the day. As always, keep up the great reviews James, you're one of the best on KZfaq!

Please react to The Crow if you haven't already seen it.

If you like sci fi just wait for the new DUUUUUUUUUNE! Im pumped

This is honestly one of the deepest movies I've ever seen. Thank you for covering it, it was absolutely delightful to watch you be on this wild ride. I'll see you on Patreon, my dude.

You might be the only reacter that picked up on the satire of this film, and I love that the filmmaking was what clued you into that. The director really knows he's doing when he frames his scenes, and is hyper aware of the tone he's crafting. In order to really pick up on the satires direct references, you would have to be up on Cold war Era and earlier propaganda. Comments already have a lot of this covered, I'm really happy you brought it up though. Many reacters don't seem to care about artistic intent, and more about the entertainment, you're threading that needle splendidly! Many thanks!

The great thing about this film which a lot of people at the time misunderstood was that it was made as a propaganda film from a future f*scist society, i.e. it's an artefact from the future. If you compare the style and the plot to those kinds of films, you'll see many similarities, e.g. the cheesy melodrama, the over-the-top p*triotism and n*tionalism, the deus ex machina, the plot that sometimes defies reason. Even the rationale for the war is a massive logical leap that is nigh impossible -- Light years away from Earth, an asteroid was dislodged and sent on a trajectory to Earth in an attempt to attack it? That doesn't make any sense. That's like a pocket shot in interstellar billiards by a race of aliens that don't even have interstellar travel let alone the ability to know that humans exist. But it's just the kind of rationale that a human society as in the film would generate to justify and perpetuate a war against an external and literally alien enemy.

"Do you want to live forever?!?" EDIT: Empathy for the captured Brain Bug is the intended effect. Showing a mortal enemy forced into submission as a test subject is a representation of innate cruelty and total apathy. The Bugs fought as the Citizens fought: In defense of their people, of their homes.

Paul Verhoven is a genius because he manages to satirize big blockbuster films and their tropes while simultaneously making them cheesy but enjoyable if it all goes over your head. He also did Robo Cop and the original Total Recall.

It's always fun to see people find this movie and say "i've never heard of it" it's one of the greatest satire films of all time, by the one and only Paul Verhooven.

When I first saw this in 1997, I hated it. Starship Troopers had been one of my favorite sci fi novels since childhood, and had been one of my father’s favorites, as well. I initially felt like the movie was mocking the book, and mocking the military itself. Over the years, I’ve come to see it as mocking military propaganda and the propaganda-like war films of the past. I still don’t particularly like the movie, but I’ve made peace with it.

In Nazi Germany they used to use propaganda to compare Jews to insects. Verhoeven grew up in the Hague while occupied by Nazi forces and his fear and absolute loathing of fascism is only equaled by his understanding of just how insanely persuasive it can be. NPH literally walks in dressed in SS garb. They attack and dehumanize their enemy. You watch this movie having a blast and almost never realizing until it's too late that you've been cheering on Nazis. That's his point.

This was the first rated R movie I ever saw in the theater. I was 12 years old and my friend and I bought a ticket to another movie and snuck into this one. It's such a fun movie, and I love the lore of the Starship Troopers universe.

i watched most of yout videos over the last couple weeks, since i discovered you and im kinda suprised you havent done "falling down" yet. definitly a must watch imo

The similarities between this and the book by Robert A Heinlein: Some of the names are the same. I can't recommend the book enough. This relatively short, and has a far deeper sociopolitical commentary. Mind you, I still love this movie because it's wild, silly fun. And about helping out... Gotta confess, James, your reactions have been helping me get through some stuff. Recovering from a foot amputation, being alone during the pandemic isolation, and various miscellany with all of that. Watching you react to some of my favorites, like this one, is a lot of fun. Oh... and since I can't afford to join Patreon and the like, I'm going to request once again that you watch "Superman: The Movie" from 1978. It was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE when I was a kid... and how could it NOT be with a tagline, "You will believe a man can fly."

The commentary is so odd too because for any if you who've read the books it's virtually the exact opposite...it was definitely intentional because the book is very much pro-military, pro-corporal punishment and so on, verboten basically took the general plot, made it movie worthy (because the book is a little dry, it's mostly just philosophical discourse like you saw in the class at the beginning) but then made it almost a total pulp flip side to convey the opposite message. Also, that scene in the shower where they're all naked? Apparently Verhoven got naked to film it so everyone else was...uh...comfortable I guess?

"But I also feel kinda weird killing things from their own planet" I believe you got the point of the movie

Starship troopers: a cinematic gem decades ahead of its time.

Yes! So many people misunderstood this movie when it came out. Enjoy!

The movie is somewhat entertaining. However, the book Starship Troopers and the film "adaptation" have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The book is fantastic.

This was a ride, man. You think you've seen all possible reactions of a movie, but you always pull through!

dude I love your reactions I love the stuff you point out I can tell you have a deep knowledge, love and Mastery of film

When this movie came out, the satire didn't resonate with anyone. It was just another dumb action movie. 20 years later, the backdrop to this whole story is downright horrifying.

It 100%is a satire on Fascism and colonialism. Verhoeven was explicit about it. You were picking up the subtext with… why are we attacking these creatures on their own planet? Well, because we’re imperialistic assholes is why.

Dude you’re KILLING it with the commentaries lately. Been putting out some of my favorites. I’m so glad you reacted to this crazy ass movie. You’re right, it doesn’t hold ANYTHING back. Pure insanity. Do yourself a favor and skip ALL sequels.

One of my favorite movies of all time with great commentary on the military industrial complex.

Many fans worship this movie as a "brilliant satire of fascism". I'm in the process of making a video that challenges that notion. Most of the arguments people make are either unsupported by the film or just completely made up. I still love the movie & see it more as a coming-of-age tale where naive kids get a crash course in personal sacrifice & responsibility...the kind of stuff many geeks love to label "fascist".

The book kind of unironically lays out this fascist society, so Verhoeven decided to lean all the way into it and go full satire. Too few people picked up on it at the time

Love the Satire genre. Great reaction as always bro! This is one of the best sci-fi horror films of all time!

Trivia: The Drill Sergeant is Clancy Brown. Who played Kurgen in Highlander, the corrupt guard in Shawshank Redemption and is also Mister Crabbs in Sponge Bob. WHenever we him in a film, especially in a small part, my family all yells: "And Clancy Brown for the win!" I don't know where it started, but it's always true.