The one redeeming merit for director Paul Verhoeven's film is that by remaining faithful to Heinlein's material and period, it adds an element of sly satire. Heinlein intended his story for young boys, but wrote it more or less seriously. 'Starship Troopers'' proposes a society in which citizenship is earned through military service, and values are learned on the battlefield. Heinlein was of course a right-wing saberrattler, but a charming and intelligent one who wrote some of the best science fiction ever. It doesn't really matter, since the Bugs aren't important except as props for the interminable action scenes, and as an enemy to justify the film's quasi-fascist militarism. You'd think a human race capable of interstellar travel might have developed an effective insecticide, but no. Grenades work better, but I guess the troopers haven't twigged to that. Three or four troopers will fire thousands of rounds into a Bug, which like the Energizer Bunny just keeps on comin'. Their method is to machine-gun them to death. Human society recruits starship troopers to fight the Bug.
