11 Hated Sci-Fi Movies That Became Cult Classics

Though thoroughly trashed as exploitative B-movie trash by critics upon release, Starship Troopers has undergone an almost forensic re-appraisal. And for good reason; director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop) grew up in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, so one must wonder why he'd make a seemingly pro-facist, pro-military film.

Verhoeven told actor and frequent collaborator Michael Ironside, "If I tell the world that a right-wing, fascist way of doing things doesn't work, no one will listen to me. So I'm going to make a perfect fascist world: everyone is beautiful, everything is shiny, everything has big guns and fancy ships, but it's only good for killing f*****g Bugs!"

It helps that the original script was unrelated to the Robert Heinlein novel, which indeed is pro-fascist, xenophobic and often racist. All it took was shoehorning in a few plot details to make it a full-fledged adaptation. So it helps to look beyond the giant bug and human viscera and take note of Verhoeven's subversive style; portraying the media as propaganda and the military often rash.

If that's not enough, the first scene in the film is shot-for-shot a scene from Hitler's favourite director Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will. Verhoeven wasn't much for subtlety.