Released: August 2017
Directors: Shinji Aramaki, Masaru Matsumoto
Rated R
Run Time: 87 Minutes
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Genre: Action/Science Fiction/Animation
Cast:
Casper Van Dien: Colonel Johnny Rico
Dina Meyer: Dizzy Flores
DeRay Davis: One-Oh-One
Luci Christian: Carmen Ibanez
Justin Doran: Carl Jenkins
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: Am I missing something? Is there some reason why 2017 is the year of the number 5? Since the year began, we’ve seen franchises reach their fifth entry or higher. Underworld, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alien Covenant(Prometheus doesn’t count as an Alien movie), and now, Starship Troopers. I understand Transformers and Pirates. Those franchises are extremely popular and make a lot of money. Underworld surprised me, because the 4th movie didn’t make a whole lot of money. It wasn’t a complete flop, but it did not impress. Prometheus did well enough to re-ignite interest in the Alien franchise, so that one I can also understand. But, how in the hell did we get a FIFTH Starship Troopers movie? Last time I checked, nobody asked for it, and yet here we are. So….how is it?
3 years after the events of Invasion, Johnny Rico finds himself demoted and assigned to a boring outpost on a Mars colony. Why? Apparently he allowed a Bug Queen to get to Earth before destroying her. As a result, he was punished. Finding himself training new Martian recruits, the space station that they are on comes under attack from Bug plasma that’s coming from Mars. Apparently, nobody knew about the sneak attack the bugs made on Mars, except for a small number of people that include the newest and youngest Sky Marshall. Forced to abandon the space station, Rico and his recruits find themselves stranded on the surface of Mars. It’s not the worst setup in a science fiction film. In fact, I found it pretty interesting. However, the film falls back on tired and boring cliches that really feel out of place in a Starship Troopers movie. It’s not the first film that deals with a government conspiracy to annihilate a colony that’s being insubordinate. When you discover the reason why something like this is happening, it really takes the edge off, because it’s so damned stupid. It’s a semi-decent premise that’s botched by some really awful writing.
As I said, the writing in the film is god-awful. Most of the characters are so annoying that you can’t wait to see them die. The only two characters that you really give a damn about are Johnny Rico and Dizzy Flores. There is a surprising amount of character development there. On the flip-side, when you realize how and why Dizzy shows up, you’re left wondering what the point was in addition to being creeped out. So, that basically leaves Johnny as the only character that you can get behind. Overall, the acting is generally atrocious with some extremely over-the-top acting. Casper Van Dien returns to voice Johnny Rico. This is the third time he’s played the character, and you know what? He’s still got it. Dina Meyer also returns to voice Dizzy. She’s also quite good, despite being in the film for only a few minutes. Everybody else is a complete and utter waste. It certainly doesn’t help that the dialogue is cheesier than the original film, and the original movie was pretty cheesy at times, but in a good way. Here, they’re just referencing and repeating one-liners from the original movie, and as such, don’t have the meaning they used to.
This is the second Starship Troopers film to be animated, and honestly, it’s not shabby. The ship and creature designs are absolutely phenomenal. In fact, the entire look of the film is really good. The action sequences are surprisingly intense and well-crafted. You’ve got big explosions, tons of bugs and some pretty epic space sequences. That being said, the human character models are awful, with some really terribly lip-synching. When Dizzy kisses Johnny, it looks like two plastic dolls going at it. It’s pretty creepy, actually.
Sadly, Traitor of Mars, like all the other sequels, doesn’t get why the original film was so damned good. The original film, while on the surface, may not have been a terrific movie, it’s when you peel back the layers that you get something extraordinary. The original Starship Troopers was a satire, going after fascism and the ways we consume media. The film was a lot smarter than most people give it credit for. Was it ever going to be as good as the book? Not a chance. Honestly, considering how the first film ended, a sequel was not entirely out of the question. It could have been done very well, if Paul Verhoeven had returned to direct. Instead, Starship Troopers 2 and 3 got saddled with extremely low budgets which, in addition to a terrible script and horrible visuals, got torn to shred by the audience. Not even Van Dien’s return as Rico in the third movie could’ve saved it. Invasion was actually a pretty decent flick. While some of the animation was a bit….off, it had some pretty spectacular battles, and plenty of the red stuff to go around. Traitor of Mars could’ve been the sequel to turn things around for the franchise. Instead, it only hammers home why the sequels sucked. Honestly, not even the presence of Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer can save this train-wreck of a film. Visually, it’s very interesting, but there’s no substance beneath it, and the characters are mostly irritating. I can’t recommend this one to…well….anyone. Good visuals and decent action are not enough to raise this film from the depths of mediocrity.
My Final Recommendation: When it comes to the Starship Troopers sequels, Sony should’ve gotten in there and killed ’em all. 4/10.