Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers has the Reich stuff…
Starship Troopers’ genius lies in its ability to give everyone what they want. There are guns, nudity, explosions, a love story and giant bugs for the popcorn crowd; then there’s an ironic political commentary for anyone who cares enough to notice it. The balancing act is unique: one minute the movie’s showcasing the spectacle of CG arachnids assaulting a desert fortress; the next minute RoboCop-style ad-breaks are force-feeding us a satire of Nazi propaganda-speak: “The only good bug is a dead bug!” yell citizens as kids stamp on Earth’s harmless insect population. Simultaneously exemplifying and satirising Hollywood cinema (while outrageously skewering America with that Nazi iconography), Verhoeven’s multi-levelled soap opera is so shockingly violent, subversive, exciting and funny that you almost can’t believe they let him get away with it.

Starship Troopers opens tomorrow in UK cinemas.