19 March 2005

Verhoeven (1997-2000)

1997 - Starship Troopers - A great sci-fi flick with non-stop action. I know Verhoeven intended this as a parody of fascism, but the popcorn spectacle of the film obscures most of this (other than the obvious FedNet spots). It's certainly more fun, anyway, to watch the movie cheering for Rico and company, rather than lamenting the young people's decision to voluntarily step into the state's meat grinder.

2000 - Hollow Man - Perfect invisible special effects grafted to a mediocre story. The basis of the idea is solid: when you know you cannot be seen, your morality can turn invisible as well. It worked best in the original Invisible Man movie. Here, it only leads to a slasher movie-style ending in which a group of people are picked off one by one by a monster. I wish Verhoeven had made Fade by Cormier instead.

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