It’s a nod to one of the best Satires made in the Nineties…Starship Troopers which hit theaters 25 years ago. Like most movie goers, I saw it the first time and thought, “Hmm, pretty decent Sci-Fi/Action flick. Not sure it needed an R rating.” The only hint I caught then was how the former Dougie Howser resembled a Gestapo officer near the end. It was one of the earliest movies I was a projectionist for in North Carolina too. With additional viewings via that part-time job, I noticed the uniforms being modeled after the German army of WWII.
Not until a few years later and, sadly, the September 11th attacks did I realize how Paul Verhooven and screenwriter Ed Neumeier were yanking our collective chains in making a dark comedy about Fascist-Militaristic society. Keep in mind, Faux News had only been on the air for over a year when Troopers was debuted, we weren’t aware of such blatant bullshit or the polite word, misinformation. Here’s it’s a masterpiece and it’s up to the audience to figure it out. I’m guessing the war elements were more deceptive in making it as obvious as it was in their earlier team-up for Robocop. I’ll buy that for a dollar!
I just wish they didn’t predict the current future. The blank check Dubious Bush received was disgusting and I knew he’d lead us into disaster. While watching this, you can easily substitute the name Arachnids with Arabs or Muslims and ta dah! Troopers transforms from entertainment to a documentary. Now the problem is domestic with home grown terrorists represented by an established political party and con artist, self-proclaimed Sky Marshall!
Meanwhile, it was also fun laughing at the whining of Heinlein followers which are a subset of Libertarians. Verhooven and Neumeier didn’t really keep much of the pro Fascist novel intact. Verhooven was quoted as saying he only read two chapters before he was too bored to finish the story. I would agree after listening to the followers defend their guru who comes off like a 20th Century Joseph Smith, namely in the author’s propensity for underage girls and how they all can’t help being smarter than the masses. Yeah, definitely a recipe for remaining emotionally stunted at 14.
In closing, if you ever get the chance, watch the second sequel, Starship Troopers 3. Neumeier cranked up the dark humor and it was good to see Casper Van Dien return.