Director: Shinji Aramaki
Writer: Shinji Aramaki, Shigehito Kawada, Joseph Chou (Screenplay) Robert A Heinlein (Novel)
Starring: (Voice Talents) Luci Christian, David Matranga, Justin Doran, David Wald, Andrew Love, Leraldo Anzaldua
Plot: A black op has gone terribly wrong. Now, Captain Carmen Ibanez and a hardcore trooper famed as Major Henry “Hero” Varro must lead a team of battle-weary troopers to find the missing ship and discover what went wrong.
Tagline – Everyone Fights. No One Quits.
Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Great Once the Action Starts
Story: Starship Troopers: Invasion starts as we see how the war on the bugs has continued on, with Captain Carmen Ibanez losing her ship to paranormal general Carl Jenkins, while the soldiers barely escape the ship alive.
Returning home the ship gets a call from Captain Johnny Rico who needs the crew to go on a rescue missing for the very ship Jenkins has taken which has turned dark, with the soldiers agree on one stipulation, that their Major Henry ‘Hero’ leads them despite being under arrest.
Thoughts on Starship Troopers: Invasion
Characters – Carmen Ibanez is the Captain of her own ship, one which she is has lost control of because of people above her command, she wants it back and will do what it takes when the ship goes dark and is in need of rescue. Still the character we know from the very first live-action movie, she will not let anybody hold her back from her part in the war. Johnny Rico assigns the ship to go in search of the dark ship in space, he does answer to others, only here he will need to turn to his old friends to get what is required. Carl Jenkins is the one that has taken the ship, his paranormal warfare department sees hope in taking another queen, only his mistake will lead to the events in the film. Hero is the leader of the solider that has been arrested, they refuse to fight without their leader who will always put his soldiers first. We do get the typical group of soldiers with their own vices, be it macho, sniper skills or religious, every type you could imagine.
Story – The story here follows the next chapter in the war, seeing how the paranormal warfare unit are looking to us the bugs to the human advantage, only the experiment goes wrong leading them to needing rescuing from a bug infested ship. This is a much darker movie that we are used to seeing, with the events all taking place in a life or death tone like the first, putting most of the action on the ship in space does help contain, showing how the bugs have evolved to deal with human conditions, rather than just their own home world. We do get a lot of baggage in the first 30 minutes or so to introduce all the new soldiers we are likely to see die, to try and give thin backstories for them, but once the mission starts we get everything he need.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action plays into the blood spatter that we see through the film, using the sci-fi elements of the space and bugs strengths to the films advantage, easily being the most exciting part of the film.
Settings – The film does use the settings to keep everything contained on one ship at a time, we see how the soldiers are caught in the middle of a life and death situation where they must fight to survive.
Animation – The animation in the film does work, it does have a more adult feel, with this being a more adult theme film, which all works for the film.
Scene of the Movie – The new bug.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We do spend too much time meeting all the different soldiers who you know will be disposable.
Final Thoughts – This is a darker sequel to the original live action film, it does show the continuing conflict between the three friends from school who have all gone in different directions in the military fields to fight the bugs.
Overall: Darker Sequel.
