This is really a mess of a movie. The combination of bad special effects, genuinely horrible acting and dialogue, and the poorly scripted sociopolitical issues that are brought up throughout come together to create a stew that is downright putrid (but still edible if you're really, really hungry or just masochistic). And considering how clever and action packed the first Starship Troopers was (despite diverging from the seriousness of Robert Heinlein’s original novel), this movie was especially disappointing. The sub-tv fx budget for this film is evident from the out-of-place CG rendered bugs through, and (what I believe to be) the reuse of scenes from previous movies. Seriously. Don’t even get me started on the super brain bug. All this with the exception of a period of about a half-hour near the end of the film in the desert where the photography and cinematography was actually pretty well done.
In an attempt to give the movie depth, a number of political issues are raised, but instead of carrying the movie, they are instead dragged along, never really revealing anything insightful or stimulating. The evangelism or entertainmentalizing of politics through the Sky Marshall is perhaps the most relevant of topics today, though it never really crosses the line into mockery like the first film. I’m not even going to try and explain the religious undertones that turn and take center stage in literally the last 15 minutes of the film. In short, there is nothing to be learned from this film. Other things that were ridiculous include the introduction of yet another even-smarter-bug (super saiyan syndrome), and a kiss under the backdrop of an exploding planet. Yes. Seriously. It also took me an unusually long time to finally place the lead actress as T’pol from Enterprise, which in part explains the horrible acting (sorry).
That said, I still love the whole Starship Troopers universe and those funny Federal Network ads, but if any franchise could benefit from a Christopher Nolan/JJ. Abrams reboot, this would be it.
Rank: D- (A PET scan would be more fun... and a lot more insightful)
