The first “Starship Troopers” was mind-numbingly stupid.  Paul Verhoeven took what many consider to be a fine example of a science fiction novel, completely gutted it, and produced a campy, big-budget CGI affair that featured horrible acting and an even worse script.  I loved it.  While much of it was intentionally tongue-in-cheek, the “so bad it’s good” qualities of the rest of the film make it a staple of my DVD collection. 

Four years ago, “Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation” went straight to DVD and managed to undo everything enjoyable about its predecessor.  The bugs took a back seat to a ridiculous plot featuring a group of marines trapped in an isolated bunker while a murderer picks them off one by one.  It tried to survive on name recognition alone, but passed unceremoniously onto Blockbuster DVD shelves just waiting for some unsuspecting sucker to ruin his night by shoving this garbage into his disc tray.

So now we arrive at “Starship Troopers 3: Marauder”, which I removed from its shrink wrap and slid into my laptop, fully expecting to want to kill myself no more than ten minutes in.  I was actually pleasantly surprised.  It shares much in common with the first film (though it doesn’t feel like a retread) and is written by and directed by Edward Neumeir, who wrote the screenplay for both “Starship Troopers” and “Robocop”.  The budget is bigger than the second (though still not big by any means), and there are scenes that actually make you forget you’re watching a bad movie.  It’s not great, but neither was the original, and while it may not have the staying power that “Starship Troopers” possesses (I know of several people who still regularly watch it), it gives you a ton of action and a lot of the camp and irony that was sorely missing the second time around.

“Marauder” sees the return of Casper Van Dien as Colonel Johnny Rico, commander of the Federation forces protecting a farm planet from the swarming bugs.  After the arrival of Sky Marshall Anoke (Stephen Hogan), the compound defenses break down and all hell breaks loose.  Anoke escapes with Lola Beck (Jolene Blalock) and a group of survivors to OM-1, a remote planet with some nasty surprises.  After a brush with the law, Rico is tasked with leading a group of marines on a top-secret mission to rescue the survivors from impending doom. 

One thing that remains interesting about the first film is that Verhoeven (and Neumeir, of course) got audiences support a militaristic, fascist government in their support for the Federation.  The officers dressed like Nazis, citizenship was based on military service, and free speech was seen as a tool of the weak.  All of that is back here.  Executions are televised and those who pursue peace are seen as terrorists.  Fear is used as a means of achieving conformity and the punishment for dissent is severe.  It’s a little more heavy handed this time around, but I really liked the play on jingoism.  In Heinlein’s book there was no satire whatsoever, and the militaristic Federation had no blemish and no weakness, and it makes for an uncomfortable read at times.

When it was released in 1997, “Starship Troopers” had an enormous budget and some fantastic special effects.  For the most part, they still hold up to big budget titles being made now. 

This is not the case with “Marauder”. 

The budget for “Starship Troopers 3” is understandably limited, and there are times when the bugs look downright horrible (up close especially).  In a very smart move, however, Neumeir finds alternate ways of showing the bugs.  Either on monitors, through infrared scopes, through silhouettes or at distances, Neumeir is able to create the illusion of thousands of bugs without actually having to show them more often than necessary.  It makes the battles much more claustrophobic, and while at times the visuals suffer from serious Sci-Fi Channel syndrome, they aren’t the worst ever.  The big battle that punctuates the first half hour of the movie is actually pretty intense, and I think it’s a great example of how to create a huge battle on a limited budget.  The guns aren’t as cool as they were in the first film (but thankfully so much cooler than those in the second), but there are some very neat visual tricks which make the whole low budget feel much more bearable.  There is also a great deal of footage from the Federal Network, the futuristic interactive propaganda machine that televises everything from political speeches to executions, always asking, “Would you like to know more?”  These scenes capture the tone of the original perfectly, and I’m glad they made a return here.

The acting ranges from decent to downright terrible (which for this series, is a good thing), but usually hovers more in the decent territory.  Van Dien is actually a better actor than he was 11 years ago (though not by much), and he easily jumps back into the title role.  I also though Stephen Hogan did a good job as Anoke, and I think he had some of the best lines in the movie.  The only times the acting really dips is because of poor script choices, as when the film gets bogged down in the second half with some weird commentary on religion.  It seems really forced and it’s even more stupid, and I really would have just axed it.  I know it’s supposed to be socially relevant, but it’s ineffective and horribly delivered, and I think it may make people forget about the above average first half of the movie. 

“Starship Troopers” fans finally have a sequel worthy of the name, even though it’s served up in straight-to-DVD form.  For everyone else, if you didn’t like the first, you certainly won’t like this one, and if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must watch to test your tolerance of campy, tongue-in-cheek action flicks.  If you make it through and are still hungry for more, skip straight over the second film for the true sequel.