The Starship Troopers Trilogy
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Starship Troopers (1997)
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Rated: R
Runtime: 129 min
“Starship Troopers” to me is one of the best science fiction movies of all-time. It gives you everything you want; great action, nudity, cool monsters and Michael Ironside.
I learned last year that there was actually a trilogy to this movie so I went and watch the other two “ST” movies and here’s what I’ve got to report.
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)
Directed by: Phil Tippett
Rated: R
Runtime: 88 min
Now this sequel was made 7 years later and with 5% of the budget from the original but that still doesn’t excuse this embarrassment of a motion picture. The beginning of the movie is absolutely laughable due to how poor it is with totally lame sets and VFX that look like they were made by a suburban teenager on his Mac. The feel and atmosphere of the original “Starship Troopers” is thrown in the trashcan for a storyline that feels like a crappy horror film. What’s even worst than some of the VFX are the horribly coordinated action/fight sequences.
The one shining moment in this film is that Kelly Carlson/Pvt. Charlie Soda (the blonde above) does get completley nude but that’s really the only positive thing I have to say about “ST2″.
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008)
Directed by: Edward Neumeier
Rated: R
Runtime: 105 min
Now here is the real sequel to “Starship Troopers (1997)”! Directed by Edward Neumeier, who was the screenwriter for the original, the universe and world of the roughnecks truly lives on in this film. Hell, even Casper Van Dien is back as Johnny Rico. Yes, the style, the action, the nudity and everything that made you love the first one is back, and guess what this movie didn’t have a huge budget either, but yet somehow Neumeier found a way to make it work.
If you loved the first one then you’ll really dig this; the Federal Network propaganda ads, awesome bugs with great action sequences and there’s even a new superweapon that bears the same name as the subtitle of the film. “Starship Troopers 3″ was my surprise film of 2008 and I’m anxious to think what the Starship Troopers Universe could be like with another film and maybe this one could get back to the $100 million budget of the first one. Imagine the possibilites!