Years ago the Dutch-born Verhoeven made a splashy Hollywood entrance with two thrilling, inventive sci-fi pictures, ““RoboCop’’ and ““Total Recall.’’ Then he formed an unholy alliance with Joe Eszterhas and unleashed ““Basic Instinct’’ and ““Showgirls.’’ ““Troopers’’ is a welcome U-turn, but though Verhoeven rehashes ““RoboCop’’ gimmicks –parodying newscasts, splashing cybertext across the screen–there’s no soul in this machine. The dewy cast of unknowns has nothing to do but wait to get their brains sucked out by bugs.
The battles and the bugs, to be fair, are magnificent. Special-effects designer Phil Tippett has the time of his life here: his sprawling army of giant spiders, beetles and wasps outdoes even his famed Velociraptors from ““Jurassic Park.’’ Ultimately, though, it’s depressing to see a director as good as Verhoeven give audiences nothing but special effects and gore. If ““Starship Troopers’’ becomes a smash–and it may, though it’s not as rousing as ““Independence Day’’ nor as funny as ““Men in Black’’–it will confirm the director’s basest instincts. And it will be a wonder if he ever makes another good movie.
