Starship Troopers

If you want science fiction that respects its own premise, Starship Troopers is available in Australia on Disney Plus, and in the US on Netflix and YouTube TV right now. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. With 5,564 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Casper Van Dien leads a cast that never lets the concept overwhelm the characters. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Disney Plus.

Starship Troopers is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. Starship Troopers uses its genre premise as cover for asking bigger questions. Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs." Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer lead a cast that makes the ambitious moments land. Starship Troopers came out in 1997. What separates Starship Troopers from lesser genre entertainment is a willingness to let the concept cost the characters something. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Starship Troopers is satisfying on multiple levels — something to watch and something to think about after. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Casper Van Dien grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Once you are in, you will want to talk about it.