Back in 1997, Starship Troopers surprised pretty much everyone. What initially looked to be a clunky sci-fi alien shooter turned out to be a finely tuned blend of gung-ho brutality and political satire. As such, Paul Verhoeven’s brash bug-bashing opus quickly garnered cult status and left fans wanting to see more of the Federation’s antics.
Unfortunately, the almost unwatchable Starship Troopers 2 – Hero of the Federation nipped any hope of a successful franchise in the bud while third instalment Marauder was also a bit pants…even if it was an improvement on its predecessor. Like a kid endlessly pumping coins into an arcade machine, the tenacious producers’ have had another crack at success with a fourth outing, this time in CGI form. While their never-say-die attitude borders on admirable, it’s once again failed to pay off as Invasion is another dose of bug-flavoured trash despite being the best of the sequels.
Invasion reunites Johnny Rico, Carmen Ibanez and Carl Jenkins as they battle the bugs for control of a remote outpost. Naturally, things go spectacularly tits-up when the aliens manage to once again gain the upper hand. While it’s not short of action, this all-CGI adventure manages to fall at a good few hurdles. Firstly, it’s just not funny. Taking itself way too seriously, the only remote bit of humour comes from gratuitous nudity, but other than that, it’s distinctly dry on laughs. It may not seem like much but, considering the first flick’s tone, this is a fatal flaw for an instalment that’s trying desperately to undo the damage done by Hero of the Federation and Marauder.
Another big issue is that Rico, Ibanez and Jenkins look and act NOTHING like their live-action counterparts (despite Casper Van Dien being one of the producers, so he was even there to model for Rico). This means that, despite being canonical, Invasion doesn’t even feel like it’s in the same continuity. With a lot of set pieces looking like they’ve been ripped from Aliens, Event Horizon and the videogame Dead Space, this Starship has been steered even further away from the magic that made the original so unique.
On the plus side though, there’s some meaty action and the animation isn’t bad. In fact it’s clear that a fair amount of TLC has been applied here just in the wrong places. With a decent script, a bigger budget and being shot live-action with the original cast, this would have been the Starship Troopers sequel we’ve been waiting 15 years for. Instead it feels little more than a drawn out computer-game FMV sequence.
The extras offer little in the way of respite. On board are the usual fare of audio commentary, deleted scenes and a lengthy ‘making-of’ featurette. As always with Sony titles, the film’s trailers are MIA. What is of note however is the gag reel. Consisting mainly of unnecessarily crude dialogue, slapped over the top of the existing action, it’s hardly pant-wetting stuff but it’s still a lot closer in tone to the original movie. Go figure.
Overall Verdict: While Starship Troopers’ premise lent itself to more instalments, this instantly forgettable piece of CGI fluff won’t do anything to satiate the hunger fans have had since 1997. Would we like to know more? No, that’s quite enough from the Federation, thanks.
Special Features:
Filmmaker Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
The Making of Starship Troopers: Invasion
Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Sponsored Link: If you like sci-fi movies you can watch movies online for free with LOVEFiLM.