Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004)

... I Had To Look No joke - I purchased my "Starship Troopers II" DVD in 2006 (used, $1, eBay) and have only just found the patience to watch it. Oh, I knew it sucked. Artless, low budget in-name only sequel to the Paul Verhoeven B-Movie anti-blockbuster. Itself an in-name only film treatment of the Robert Heinlen novel, which remains un-filmable due to its subtle complexities. And I'm not just talking about the powered armor or right wing agenda. The book was written with objectives in mind which are at odds with 21st century pop culture sensibilities. Verhoeven's film will have to do.He refused to lower himself to reprise his movie just for money but some of the high-caliber talent behind it reunited for an inevitable franchise that has been correctly shipped direct to the DVD pressing plant, never illuminating one cinema screen. Crap like this belongs on DVD, no offense to genius Phil Tippett, who not only broke ground with his bug creations for the first film but pretty much wrote how outlandish creatures are currently portrayed onscreen with "Jurassic Park". And no offense to Ed Neumeier, who not only scripted the original film but had pushed the hyper violent cyberpunk epic previously with "Robocop". They are pros and knew what they were doing when putting this very forgettable film together. I trust they were well paid for their time.The cast is blameless. Only one player returned from the Verhoeven film, specifically steel-eyed Brenda Strong (ship's Captain Deladier) who is brought back as a cigar-chewing female Sergeant, and while it's not a problem I don't get why. Ed Lauter lends temporary credibility to the first few minutes as a besieged MI general cut off from any hope of rescue with a small squad of troopers whom he promptly sends off into the jaws of a plot device. Its name is Dax, he is played by actor Richard Burgi, and is the best thing about the film, which threatens to come to life a couple times when he is onscreen. The second best thing is the steampunk catapult Suitcase Nuke defense system for a lost outpost only he knows how to operate, and its deployment at about the 25 minute mark is the film's climax. It's all downhill from there, including just knowing that a certain character is going to switch off a certain device at a certain moment and guarantee certain doom for anything else of an original nature happening at all.It's not just that it's a smaller, meaner film. Small films can still be ambitious + convincing, and I like it mean sometimes. It's not just that the core plot component is derivative. The original is about the most derivative film ever made (except maybe "Robowar", LOL) but used its appropriation with bombastic unapologetic glee. Here they just check off the cliches like numbers on a list: The lost unit cut off from rescue, the creepy abandoned base with a power shortage, the gaggle of offbeat personalities making up the speaking roles (the Black Guy, the Crazy Guy, the Techno Nerd, the Green Rookie Scared Witless), the ass-kicking females who are suddenly hot when stripped to a muscle shirt with their hair down, the quirky shifty-eyed loser with the secret, the nympho who was game enough to do a nude scene, the resentful anti-hero pressed into action by circumstance ... Et cetera. The way the film is photographed is an immediate tipoff: Almost everything is murky, cloudy, smoky, dimly lit. All hallmarks of low budget science fiction filmmakers who are trying to obscure the low budget components of their low budget sets. The main abandoned base location is also helpfully half demolished, meaning that the set designers only needed to drag in heaps of junk to obscure a few functioning prop pieces like doors and make the lights flicker. Computer generated effects fill in the gaps including the bulk of the monster design and none of it boasts the improbable believability of the first film's visceral impact. The violence, gore, and sex are unearned checklist items to be covered without the fun factor which made the first movie such a guilty pleasure masterwork. This one is just guilty, mostly with snitching its premise from the early "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Conspiracy". Which got the job done in 48 minutes for a fraction of the cost & is still a genuine freakout the first time through.But whatever. After twelve years of not knowing I had to look and got what I deserved. No hard feelings either -- I was fortunate to see the first film in a near riotous screening at an 8th Avenue theater in NYC the week it was released; Complete strangers high-fived each other on the way out. Nothing could ever live up to that experience and I think the filmmakers were aware of it, kept their sights aimed low. Put a mean little film together, made some money, and moved on to other projects. Worth a rental or $1 used DVD, you'll get what you pay for. Beer may help.

I am firmly convinced that these producers really don't like science fiction at all...the first incarnation was a complete disrespect to a Master Author, having almost no relationship to the book. Now they further trash a potentially excellent story line with disrespect for the viewers. No coherent dialog in this movie, and not much noticeable acting either. It begins with a battle in total darkness, with a sandstorm to add to the confusion. Then someone begins shouting incoherent orders...no evidence of discipline at all, just a rowdy free for all with a zillion bugs milling around in the sandstorm. It frankly goes down hill from there. Of course two minutes in you were assured this movie was at the bottom of its creative life anyway.If you are looking for interesting entertainment, this one ain't it!

The sequel to Paul Verhoeven's gloriously OTT sci-fi satire Starship Troopers begins with a squadron of the Federation's mobile infantry fighting off wave after wave of attacks from the enemy 'bugs'. Under relentless assault, they make a break for an abandoned outpost. When they reach it, they discover the incarcerated Captain V.J. Dax (Richard Burgi). While trying to secure extraction, can the troopers trust Dax, stay alive and even trust each other?What should be noted immediately about Starship Troopers 2, is that it's budget of $7,000,000 is not even anywhere close to the first instalment's, so anyone expecting the same kind of movie are going to be sorely disappointed. This is a sequel that has to be judged on it's own merits, while making little in the way of comparison to it's mega-budget predecessor.The movie wastes no time in getting to the action, opening with firefights and wasted bugs. Once inside the outpost and things settle down, things take a different hue. The claustrophobic confines of the outpost gives things more of the feel of a slightly camp horror movie, replete with nervous tension, dimly lit corridors and the psychics' terrifying but confused premonitions.Things are helped considerably by the engaging performances of the cast, particularly from Burgi, Brenda Strong and the ever dependable Ed Lauter. The script is certainly full of hammy lines and is quite predictable, but as proceedings rumble on, the schlock horror, bonkers story line and enjoyable performances provide quite an irresistible mix. Some of the satire of the first film makes it in there too, as well as a healthy sprinkling of irony.The main thing to remember with Starship Troopers 2 is that it's not meant to be taken too seriously. Certainly, it's cheesy fare at times, but it's competently made within the confines of it's budget and the enthusiasm of the cast and crew are evident. Although the sets are slightly repetitive and the cinematography is sometimes unimaginative, there's a satisfying blend of CGI effects and old school gore that makes up for that.A snappy, schlocky and enjoyably daft movie, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is well worth a look for B-movie enthusiasts and fans of the first instalment alike.

You know what despite some 'shoddy' parts I think it was good. I mean it was a low budget film and to be honest I enjoyed it. I mean what are you expecting for $7,000,000 avengers had $220,000,000 to play with. With that budget this is not going to attract the worlds best actors and animators nor have the best effects but it was good. Satirical scenes in it too yet I think some actors shone though. And they found ways of making 'the bugs' a far better threat to human kind thus maybe more menacing. Overall you have to take this as a B movie and for a B movie it's damn good so what if the effects look like they were on cheaper software at least they didn't reuse footage the whole time.