I've heard all sorts of stuff about the commentary of the movie so i decided to go buy the damn DVD so I could hear it for myself what exactly was said.



Verhoeven: But what it says of course in this scene is that the war did not start, was not started by the Bugs. [...] In the beginning of the movie, you think basically the bugs attacked, that the bugs are bad, that the bugs have to be destroyed. This is Klendathu it has to be destroyed! That's what the first item of the movie says. But now later you find out that it's only part of history. Because the real history started with the Mormon extremists setting up a colony in a territory they were not asked to come into. Which is Klendathu, let's say the Arachnid territory. And we, basically after they retaliate, they retaliate by killing the Mormons but also by sending a meteor to Buenos Aires as we see later in the movie. Then we get really pissed off and forget about all that. "Oh look at that meteor! How bad! We have to attack!" And that I think is the politics of the movie.

So the Bugs did send the meteor but it is acknowledged that they were retaliating. They didn't start this war.

I also found the last snippet I included very agreeable - the "you can only presetnt this topic in this way." You find that a lot of the more objective books about controversial topics or figures are panned as supporting said topics/figures. People don't want complexity. They want anything they don't like to be demonized as much as posible. As such, i can see why this movie was attacked for being fascist (even though it is anything but) because they never came outright and said 'these are bad people supporting a bad system" and they didn't portray the society as some sort of hellish Mordor-like place.

Not that Voerhoven is on the side of the bugs. He specifically refers to the Brain Bug as "an evil god." The writer meanwhile was surprised that people felt sorry for the Brain Bug in the end. I know I felt bad for it.

But you know, let's just strip away all the political messages and bulltrout. Just think of the attack on Klendathu and the egotistical, boasting "war! Hell yeah!" Mobile Infantry. Don't you just ge ta huge grin on your face when all their hoorah bulltrout is interrupted by the Arachnids stomping the holy hell out of them? I know I do.

Also if you are in any way sensitive about how much America sucks, don't buy the DVD and listen to the commentary because you will end up really hating Verhoeven.