The Verhoeven Paradox

Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers. Those 3 movies make Paul Verhoeven one of the great scifi movie makers.

Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers.

Those 3 movies make Paul Verhoeven one of the great scifi movie makers.

But between Recall and Troopers, Verhoeven made the thriller Basic Instinct, notorious for Sharon Stone’s leg crossing moment, and the movie widely considered the worst ever made — Showgirls.

Verhoeven’s movies were “peak Hollywood”, peak se…