Starship Troopers: Invasion

The computer game visuals of this CG animated film by the director of Appleseed goes beyond the visuals. It doesn’t only look like a videogame cutscene (those video parts in-between the action in computer games) extended to a feature film’s runtime, but it also feels like it because the characters act like characters in a videogame and not like they would in real life or even other movies.

“Starship Troopers: Invasion” is apparently a 2012 sequel that takes place years after the events in the first Paul Verhoeven movie (Casper van Dien’s Johnny Rico character is now a general), but it has less in common with the Verhoeven movie or even the 1959 Robert Heinlein novel than any generic space videogame where the characters dance around in high-tech body armer and advanced robot suits. James O'Ehley said in his review, “Any hint of irony – what made Verhoeven’s funny “fascists in space” movie so memorable - is also jettisoned as the characters spout hammy videogame dialogue. Some scenes are in fact so unintentionally OTT campy that they’ll make you roll your eyes.”

O’Ehley said, “The plot involves a group of Federation troopers having to stop a spaceship filled to the brim with so-called “Bugs” – an arachnoid species that serve as cannon fodder for our one-dimensional heroes - from reaching the Earth. Plot holes abound. In Heinlein’s original novel the so-called Bugs were an intelligent specie with particle beam weapons and spacecraft.” Here – and to be fair the previous movies too – they are just dump extraterrestrial creatures with no technology at all. (It is a little difficult to build and fly spaceships without any working thumbs in the end.)

At the start of the film, we see a space station located on an asteroid being overrun by so many Bugs. Later on, it is told that “Bugs can’t fly spaceships.” Then how did they get aboard that asteroid to being with?

O’Ehley admitted, “The animation is okay-ish, but some of the human figures’ faces reminded me a bit of this guy to be honest.”

Once you discard any thoughts of this being a real sequel to the 1997 movie or the Heinlein novel – in the end, take away the Bug alien look from the storyline and you have a generic space action flick – then “Starship Troopers: Invasion” is a passable thoughtless way to pass 90 minutes.

If you want Verhoeven’s irony and humor, then forget about it: this is about as irony-free as you would think. If you want your movies to be more like computer games with non-stop action and boring characters quoting videogame cliches, then this is for you.

I honestly don’t know who this film would be for, but I don’t think everyone will enjoy this film, despite it being animated. If you want to give it a pass, you won’t be missing anything.

Alright everyone, look out. Because next week we’ll be wrapping up “Starship Troopers Month” with the second animated movie. Is it any better than this one? Tune in next week to find out. Also, sorry for posting this late. I had a crazy Friday.