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Since its release more than 25 years ago, more and more people have come to realize that Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers is actually something close to a masterpiece. (Well, except for one Twitter user, who went viral with his tone-deaf take on it.) The 1997 film, which is set in a future in which young army officers battle against massive alien bugs, is a hilarious send-up of the military-industrial complex and the ideologies that propel it.
Given its incredibly specific tone, though, it’s fair to say that there aren’t a lot of movies out there that are like Starship Troopers. That doesn’t mean there are none, though, so we’ve done our best to come up with a list of three great sci-fi satires that will remind you of what Starship Troopers is able to achieve.
Mars Attacks! (1996)
One of Tim Burton’s least hyped films, Mars Attacks! is a pretty straightforward story about what would happen on Earth if Martians invaded. While something like Independence Day takes that story with a certain amount of seriousness, though, Mars Attacks! emplys the opposite approach.
The film is a camp comedy where Jack Nicholson has two roles, James Bond‘s Pierce Brosnan plays a scientist, and all of Washington, D.C. is totally destroyed by the end of the movie. It’s one of the very best sci-fi comedies of its kind, and one of Burton’s most underrated films.
Mars Attacks! can be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime Video.
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Ostensibly a parody of Star Trek, Galaxy Quest has built up its own fandom thanks to its tremendous success. The film follows a group of actors who once starred in a Star Trek-esque series as they discover that real aliens exist — and that the aliens believe these actors are actually the characters they played on the show.
Thanks to brilliant work from a great ensemble cast, as well as a premise that lends itself to plenty of comedy, Galaxy Quest is a sci-fi romp of the highest caliber, and it’s also surprisingly moving when it needs to be. Add in a dash of Tony Shalhoub’s expert comic timing and a healthy dose of Alan Rickman, and you have a genuine comic masterpiece.
Galaxy Quest is streaming for free in Pluto TV.
They Live (1988)
John Carpenter has long been a master of sci-fi satire, and They Live might be his magnum opus. The film tells the story of a working-class guy who discovers that the entire world he believed he lived in is actually run by aliens who look like people.
The film is both deeply silly and a little bit serious, as it suggests that everything from the news to advertisements is designed to hypnotize the populous into unthinking compliance. Is it a pretty blunt allegory? Undoubtedly, but it’s one that Carpenter manages to pull off with aplomb.
They Live can be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime Video.
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