Starship Troopers 3: Marauder Review by Bobby LePire. Edited by Courtney McAllister.

 

While the second film in the “Starship Troopers” franchise is a travesty, it must have done well enough as Ed Neumeier was not only contracted to write another installment, but got to direct it as well! Are his instincts as a director a marked improvement over Phil Tippet’s? Or does he fall into the same trap as many first directors? The answer to that shall become quite evident as 'Casper Van Dien Month' hits the halfway mark.

 

The plot largely ignores the second movie, thank goodness-

The Outer Colonies have come under attack from several new kinds of bugs, which kickstarts the Second Bug War. A key line for the Federation during this new campaign is the planet Roku San. The Federation presence there is overseen by Colonel Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien. Yeah, he’s back!). Superstar singer/ Sky Marshall Omar Anoke (Stephen Hogan), and his trusted second in command Dix Hauser (the awesome Boris Kodjoe, who, quite frankly, isn’t in enough movies)- an old friend of Rico’s- pay a surprise visit to the planet. During their stay, the bugs break through the front, and a massacre happens. The Sky Marshall successfully escapes, while Rico and Hauser stay to help fight. The ship carrying Anoke crashes onto the desert planet OM-1. While awaiting rescue, Capt. Lola Beck (Jolene Blalock), Holly Little (Marnette Patterson), and Chief Bull Brittles (Stelio Savante) trek from the escape pod to a downed carrier. Back on Earth, religious fanatics are protesting the Federation at every turn, and are being arrested for it! Meanwhile, Rico is rescued from execution (he’s blamed for the loss at Roku San) by Hauser, and is assigned to a secret project to help rescue the downed personnel. Will political backstabbing sabotage the rescue attempt?

 

The first sign that this is a better film than “Hero Of The Federation” comes before the film proper has even begun. The very first credit to appear on screen is that of “Paul Verhoeven Presents”. This did not appear anywhere on the second movie, and with good reason. It is fairly apt here, as this is a more direct and proper sequel- with returning leads, similar tone, planet hopping, etc. So less than a full second into the movie, and things are already looking to improve.

 

The plot as I outlined above is pretty solid and entertaining. A sense of fun pervades through the whole production, and the quick pacing keeps any one scene from lasting too long. As much as I may have enjoyed the main plot, there is a subplot involving government cover-ups, treachery, and backstabbing I don’t think is too successful. I understand why it’s here- to give Hauser not just more to do, but really strong motivation to save Rico. Unfortunately, I don’t believe Admiral Enola (Amanda Donohoe) could get so many people to join in her charade and to help the cover-up of her ultimate plan to become the new sky marshall. The Federation has always been strong on reporting wrongdoing and suspicious activity, so I find it quite unbelievable that this exists. Now, I am not naive, I get that corruption happens and if you bribe the right folks, several things can go your way, but here, it’s a little too convoluted for its own good. Suppressing the sky marshall’s signals for a rescue from OM-1? Check. Attempting to arrest and execute everyone discussing the signals? Check. Having a few henchmen she’s promised promotions to? Check. Suppressing the fact that Anoke found bug religion? Check. WIth each new, convoluted turn, the movie gets a tad more ludicrous, in a head scratching manner. Why not just let Anoke get discovered, and brand him a traitor? Bam! Enola gets what she wants, and the rest of this could still happen in a mostly similar fashion.

 

The movie’s religious tones wouldn’t have suffered for this change at all. The first movie had politics, this one has religion. This film is fairly heavy-handed with this- Lola openly despises the very religious Holly, everything with Anoke, and the protesters are all religious based this go around. A lot of the visuals of the film, especially at the end, invoke traditional Christian imagery, mostly to pretty good effect: the Marauders’ guns are in the shape of crosses, they land in a halo like formation, the Sistine Chapel hands etched onto barren, cracked land, the Marauder troopers bathed in light in a crucifiction like pose. However, as stated, the movie is very in your face with it, a tad overkill really. And as much of the satire lands, I am not completely sure if I totally get the point Neumeier was trying to make here- at the end, it is shown that religious extremism only gets you killed (Anoke’s blind faith to the Bugs destroys him, all the protesters are arrested and hung), but after witnessing Anoke’s demise, Holly inexplicably convinces Lola that the only way to survive is to pray, and so she does find religion, and they are saved.

 

I understand that this film is aimed at taking down the fanatics more so than the moderate believers, but with lines such as “Everyone looks for God, in their own way”, which if followed through properly would be a great way of showing Lola that she has faith in the Federation and Holly in God, and they are very similar for that; or the humorous line Holly speaks after discovering the bug-religion Anoke follows, “But it’s the wrong God!”. Again, this is a nice way of showcasing religious intolerance amongst those that do believe in a higher power, and how ridiculous that is, but the fact that Anoke is killed by his god, while Holly lives because of prayer, seems to undercut the previous point I mentioned. However, at the end there is a great moment that perfectly satirizes how politics are used in religion- during a news segment, Holly is shown to have become a Federation sanctioned preacher, and states that “A- God Exists. B- He’s On Our Side. And C. He wants us to win”. Yeah, that is pretty good.

 

Casper Van Dien is better here than in the first film, but he also has eleven years more experience, so that’s to be expected. He returned because Neumeier asked him to, and it is quite clear that Van Dien is having a blast reprising his most iconic role. His chemistry with his co-stars is solid; he and Kodjoe especially feel like old friends. This helps to overshadow that Dix and Lola are so similar to Carl and Carmen (two of Rico’s best friends from the first movie), it is a little distracting- Dix is military intelligence, dresses in that SS style uniform, and makes tough choices, even if other must die for it, so you know, a slightly reimagined Carl. Lola is a tough, reckless, and unorthodox fleet captain with a history involving Rico (it is implied romantic, but never state), which is the basic characterization of Carmen.

 

None of that is meant to take away from the impressive performances of Boris Kodjoe or Jolene Blalock. Blalock is believable as a stern, but fair captain that always tries to be level-headed, but knows that the risky options can definitely pay off if employed properly. She handles herself well during the action scenes, and plays against the CGI creations well. Her chemistry with Kodjoe is excellent, and seeing as how their two characters are in a relationship, that is a good thing. Kodjoe is tons of fun here, being impulsive in a destructive way, but still smart enough to know how to hide that side most of the time. While that sounds like odd character traits, he makes them gel well.

 

Marnette Patterson as the praying Holly is good. Some of her line deliveries are a bit whiny, but she sells the determined faith very well. Stephen Hogan is wonderful and charming as hell as Sky Marshall Anoke. His singing voice for the # 1 hitsong “A Good Day To Die”, which is why he’s a megastar, is very good. His turn from desperate to invigorated believer is fun to watch, and the hammier moments never go too far. The rest of the cast is solid, if a bit unmemorable.

 

The practical effects, animatronic bugs, and creature molds were handled by Tatopoulous Studios, of “Underworld” and “Pitch Black” fame. While the intercutting from a CGI to animatronic close-up isn’t seamless, the effects do look great. The details on the bugs, especially on OM-1, are outstanding. Given that there are several new bugs- including a gigantic, exploding roly poly that is launched like a grenade; a “Screamers” type bug that screams to turn human brains into mush, is very cool to see; and a “War Of The Worlds” alien reference scorpion that shoots plasma from its enormous tail (I am certain these two movie references were intentional, but could be wrong)- there are several uses of practical and animatronics, and they all have interesting designs, and look cool. Once again, the CGI, despite being a bit rubbery in appearance, has a weight to it, which helps sell the threat the Arachnids pose.

 

The Marauders, basically a revamped version of power armor from the source novel, are eight or nine feet tall, dark forest green, and decked out in several guns. When just standing stationary on the space station Sanctuary, they (and the giant shadows they cast) look fake and too shiny. However, once in action, they move believably, causing the earth around them to shake. All the guns fair in a realistic (enough) way, and this fight, despite being too short, is my favorite in the film. It’s just so damned cool to see these things in action.

 

Casper Van Dien’s return is welcome, and he does not disappoint. Paired with a game and willing cast, this movie is fun. The special effects mostly work, and the new bugs look pretty cool. The satirical tone almost entirely works, but it gets a little muddled near the end. The main plot is solid, but the secondary plot gets too convoluted to truly work. Despite some small flaws, this film is fun as hell, especially if you love the first movie as much as I do.