Ok, what I just don’t get is how is it possible for a movie, even if it is direct to DVD to be so bad?
Surely it has to have a bigger budget than most television shows… And yet, it looks like it was made on a shoe string budget!
What I’m talking about here is Starship Troopers 3: Marauder.
I loved the first movie that came out in 97. I didn’t much care for the sequel which of course was direct to video. But then again, it was exactly what I expected. After all, it was made on a low budget and it showed.
And it was more of a horror movie than something that belonged in the Starship Trooper’s universe. But, I digress.
Now take a television series like, oh I don’t know… Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, hell even Battlestar Galactica (the re-envisioning, not the original). Each episode must have a minuscule budget compared to that of Marauders… and yet even a season opener or Finale looks a thousand times better!
Could someone explain that to me?
As per usual here is my disclaimer. I will not give away any spoilers other than what you can see on the trailers that you can find online and elsewhere.
WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS! I’ll warn you in advance.
Ok, the movie is pretty simple. It’s a giant bug hunt, with plenty of political satire thrown in for fun.
It doesn’t work.
First spoiler, albeit a minor one.
The satire was well played in the first movie, and pretty much non-existent in the second movie. Well, they overdid it in this one.
Way too much.
Come on, hangings for being against the war? Speaking your mind? If that sort of thing happened for real, well, there would be out and out revolt and civil war. It was humours at times, but they really should have toned it down.
Anyhow, back to the bug hunt – there were plenty of bugs to be seen, and it wasn’t too badly done, although you’d think that in the eleven years since the first movie that they would use computer technology to make the bugs look even BETTER than the original.
Nope. That wasn’t the case. It wasn’t bad, but come on; I’ve seen computer animation on the small screen that was better done. And the live interaction with the warrior bugs? Please… it was something right out of an 80’s movie, but not as well done!
Oh, the acting was so over the top it was laughable. And not in a good way. I feel bad for Casper Van Dien – he was the worst of the bunch, but not by much. Shame that he’s been delegated to pretty much nothing but direct to DVD movies…
Warning number 2, last spoiler directly ahead…
The only thing that I thought was kind of neat in the movie was the introduction of the Marauders… something that was sorely missed in the first movie. You know the thing that made Heinlein’s novel a classic… the powered armour.
I have to say that is probably where the vast majority of the movie’s budget went. Straight ino the special effects for the Marauder sequence.
And even then it wasn’t all that great. Computerized powered armour going up against hordes of alien bugs.
You want that sort of action, do yourself a favour and buy or rent the much better Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles. A computer animated series that was out back in 1999.
Believe it or not, despite my trashing the movie, was wasn’t that hard to watch. I guess I simply had high expectations and I was disappointed. After all, look at so many Canadian productions like the Stargate Franchise… you’d think that a direct to DVD movie would have that sort of quality.
It just isn’t so.
As to the special features, it had your ever present commentary with director Ed Neumeier, and actors Casper Van Dien and Jolene Blalock. There was a truly horrible music video ‘it’s a good day to die’, as well as two featurettes – The Bugs of Starship Troopers 3 (which wasn’t that bad, actually, kind of fun to watch), and Enlist, the Marauders mobile infantry. Sorry, but I didn’t watch that one.
It’s ok, it’s worth renting if there isn’t anything better to watch.
2 out of 5