Dir. Paul Verhoeven. 1997, 129 mins. 35mm. With Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards and Dina Meyer. Starship Troopers marks the second collaboration (after RoboCop) between maximalist director Paul Verhoeven and dystopian visionary screenwriter Ed Neumeier. Against the wishes of his bourgeois parents, 23rd-century rich boy, Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), decides to enlist in the military upon his graduation from high school. Rico goes on to fight an alien race nicknamed “bugs” on the desert planet of Klendathu alongside former classmates and friends from basic training, proving his strong mettle across various setbacks and heroic acts. Archly trumpeting both fascistic jingoism and over-the-top goofiness, Starship Troopers has a lot to say about the present day militaristic overreach of a certain world power, and none of it is good.