Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars

The first “Starship Troopers,” closely following the style of “Robocop,” writer Ed Neumeier’s debut team-up with director Paul Verhoeven, was an intense satire on neo-Nazism that incorporated all the accessories of 1940s fascism altered into outer space and reimagined for a generation that would eventually get a president like Donald Trump. JR Southall said in his review, “But there’s no point in creating satire that only appeals to those who already agree with your point of view, and Verhoeven’s film certainly contained enough carnage to cater to the knuckleheads who might take it on face value.”

Southall noted, “Just like Robocop, Starship Troopers spawned a cottage industry that the writer has found himself trapped inside, and here he is twenty years on, reuniting with star Casper van Dien for the third time in this fourth sequel.” Neumeier’s sense of satire hasn’t left him, and despite how bad fading returns damaging the franchise – we’re firmly into animated sequel area here – “Traitor of Mars,” released in 2017, is in some respects, according to Southall, “quite a pointed polemic on the perils of isolationism. Brexiteers will undoubtedly miss the point.”

With maverick Johnny Rico having been demoted to a training station on Mars, far from the Bug war, there’s obviously more going on than we see. New Sky Marshall Amy Snapp (Emily Neves) is unhappy about Mars’ request for independence, and with a perfect fall guy we see in the return of Carl Jenkins (Justin Doran, with Neil Patrick Harris being a huge star), she has a plan that will side-line those aggravating Martians permanently. What she doesn’t see is the determined tenacity of manhunter Rick and ex-girlfriend Carmen Ibanez (Luci Christian, replacing Denise Richards) – or indeed his other ex-girlfriend Dizzy (Dina Meyer, making a ‘surprise’ return).

Southall noted, “Like the animated Resident Evil films, this is an instalment that knows exactly what it wants to be and hits all its targets squarely on the jaw. The double-dealing that underpins the plot is so apparent it barely counts as intrigue at all, and this being Starship Troopers we don’t mind the characters lacking in dimension; Neumeier’s film series have always favoured ideas over authenticity anyway – and the animation is so slick it’s only when our protagonists remove their helmets that we truly realise it isn’t live action. So our quirk-distinguished heroes are thrown into a variety of situations, with the next bout of shooting or blowing things up never more than a few minutes away.”

It's not very engaging, and other than in its politics it doesn’t say a whole lot. However, that’s besides the point. This is a polychromatic thrill ride for the fans who enjoyed the polychromatic thrill ride of the original film, and in those ways, it does its job.

This may not be any better than the last time they tried an animated sequel, but it’s fine for what it is. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see these animated spin-offs, but I won’t force anyone. If you enjoyed the first one, then you might get into the animated movies or not. I guess it will be different for everyone.

Now we have ended “Starship Troopers Month.” I hope all of you enjoyed it and…wait a minute. Next month is October. You know what that means…HALLOWEEN MONTH!!! Stay tuned because I will be looking at certain films directed by someone who had his own ups and downs in his career.