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From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: A fresh take on the Star Wars films
Date: Sun, 12 May 2024 15:53:34 -0000 (UTC)
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Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>On 5/12/2024 6:44 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>>shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>>Sat, 11 May 2024 22:35:20 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>>Fri, 10 May 2024 19:06:45 -0400, moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:

>>>>>Well, *somebody* with wit had to have been behind it.  That much
>>>>>tongue-in-cheek can't have been accidental.  Fwiw, the Internet seems
>>>>>rather definite that Verhoeven (a dedicated Liberal) was satirizing.

>>>>Got a cite on that? Sounds like an interesting article or two.

>>>https://collider.com/starship-troopers-review-satire-at-its-best/

>>>The cold hard truth of Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven's 1997
>>>follow-up to his infamous 1995 Showgirls, is painfully obvious from
>>>the start: this is not Oscar bait. The acting is wooden, especially
>>>from lead actor Casper Van Dien. Denise Richards' performance is also
>>>suspect, playing aspiring pilot Carmen Ibanez. The only actors that
>>>stand out are the steady veterans Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside.
>>>What Starship Troopers is, though, is satire at its best, with
>>>Verhoeven masterfully weaving social commentary and potshots
>>>throughout the film.
 
>>And here's the thing. He's not. He thought he made a straightforward,
>>action, adventure, film, and any social commentary or potshots escaped his
>>notice.

>IIRC he has said it was supposed to show how evil Nazis are.

Verhoeven ain't Mister Subtlety. That's why I said he took so many cheap
shots. Did he have something new to say? Not at all.

But he wasn't up to the challenge of making a decent adaptation that
entertained without satire.

I love RoboCop. The social satire works. That is an entertainment movie
and it just had no right to be. It was plagued with so many pre-production
problems it almost didn't get made. Peter Weller creates a fully-drawn
character later in the movie as he starts to remember his former life,
despite the helmut. That's a difficult acting challenge.

Verhoeven's other good movies are... I forget.