You're being nudged for guilty-pleasure laughs. These actors are like visual effects themselves. Several are refugees from prime-time soaps, and their pretty faces form perfect contrasts to the gruesome creatures. With its futuristic military and vile foes, Starship Troopers evokes Aliens . This is fantasy violence, not reality violence.
TV news is more disturbing.
Speaking of which, screenwriter Ed Neumeier plays with Heinlein's concept of a fascist Utopia by using the same kind of TV-news parodies he popped into RoboCop , this time as brazen propaganda. Yet for all their patriotism, the starry-eyed soldiers aren't political. They're dedicated volunteers who leap into the fray with excitement, resolve and an oddly innocent romanticism. Their love stories, like their adventures, seem straight out of an old comic book. You won't really care who gets the girl, as long as the bugs keep coming.