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Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation |
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Saturday, 14 August 2004 |
 
Heinlein meets Night of the Living Braindead
When we left our movie heroes at the end of Starship Troopers, Johnny Rico and his buddies had captured a "brain" bug and saved the comically fascist humanity of the future from invading hordes of giant spiders. It is now five years later and the war is not going so well for some troops
Part 2 starts with a group of troopers caught "behind enemy lines" and seemingly abandoned and out of contact. They must retreat until they eventually find an old outpost as well as a few more troops. Soon, it becomes apparent the bugs have a completely new weapon which is likely to put them in control of the war.
Unlike the original version, part 2 is more of a dark horror film than an outright action satire. It's main weakness is the obviously limited budget, but extends to weak story and dialog as well as generally poor acting. It is also a bad sign when an actor who was killed in the first film, in this case Brenda Strong who played Captain Deladier, returns to star in the sequel. Starship Troopers 2 attempts to cover up it's low budget by setting the movie on a planet which has no daylight. Unfortunately, this planet is obviously a soundstage. One positive is that the few bug scenes which actually appear onscreen are generally quite well rendered. Computer technology has obviously improved and gotten cheaper since the original was released in 1997.
Fans of the original movie who are expecting a similar sense of humor will probably be disappointed. This installment opens with some feeble attempts to mimic the media propaganda of the original, but for the most part, it has a completely different feel. The small amount of action in the opening sequence is soon replaced with rather formulaic attempts at development of character and tension. For a few moments, it even seemed as though it was headed toward a bit of soft core sex romp. Ending with the trademark, pointless sacrifice by the "Hero of the Federation" Starship Troopers 2 is probably leaving the door open for yet another movie attempt.
The most disappointing aspect of Starship Troopers 2 is the involvement of actor Ed Lauter as General Shepherd. Lauter has had a long history as a particularly notable and talented character actor, appearing in roles ranging from Star Trek: The Next Generation to The Longest Yard. Lauter, and possibly Strong, are the only remotely capable actors in the entire cast. With dialog this awful, however, it is difficult to imagine anyone not coming off badly. Starship Troopers 2 is just short of the "so bad it's good" distinction. Mostly it's just bad.
Starring: Ed Lauter, Brenda Strong, Richard Burgi, Kelly Carlson, Cy Carter, Tim Conlon
Director: Phil Tippett
Written by: Edward Neumeier
Cinematographer: Christian Sebaldt
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Rated: R
Running Time: 91 mins
Release: 2004
Reviewer: John Rice
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