Starship Troopers 3: Marauder |
  • USA / South Africa / Germany • 2008 • 105m •   • Directed by: Edward Neumeier. • Starring: Casper Van Dien, Jolene Blalock, Stephen Hogan, Boris Kodjoe, Amanda Donohoe, Marnette Patterson, Danny Keogh, Stelio Savante, Cécile Breccia, Garth Breytenbach, Graeme Richards, Tanya van Graan, Antonio Summerton. • Music by: Klaus Badelt.      The war against the Bugs continues! A Federation Starship crash-lands on the distant Alien planet OM-1, stranding beloved leader Sky Marshal Anoke and several others, including comely but tough pilot Lola Beck. It's up to Colonel/General Johnny Rico, reluctant hero of the original Bug Invasion on Planet P, to lead a team of Troopers on a daring rescue mission.
|
Trailers:
| Length: | Languages: | Subtitles: |
Review:
The story goes two ways. The main story lines are that of Johnny RicoDix Hauser and the tale of the people lost on a distant planet, with Lola BeckSky Marshall Anoke being the leads. Both of these tales are interesting and surprising ones. They are the settings for the larger issues especially religion and various takes on it. This is always a great subject for the characters to explore. First of all we find out that Johnny Rico somehow kept his sanity in the long years of war and developed a lot of heart. Last time we saw him, he was "a part of the grinder". Now he's a soldier with soul, a soldier who can't obey orders if they are not right or just. When I did the interview with Casper he said "Johnny is now a true warrior." CVD skillfully shows that aspect in the movie. Van Dien is Johnny Rico and he owns the film. This performance alone makes the movie a must see. Dix Hauser (Boris Kodjoe) is by the book guy who learns that the mind is like a parachute and works well only if it's open. Good piece of acting by Kodjoe.
Now on to the actors of the second story. Jolene Blalock creates a very feminine, sexy and strong character of Lola Beck. Lola Beck rules! She's cool, she has commanding skills, she's every troopers wet dream. This role is yet another example of the fact that Blalock is a "acting-chameleon" and can play totally different roles. She is an actress with a very wide range of acting skill. When you see Jolene you can be so blinded by her beauty that you may not notice how talented an actress she is. Luckily in TROOPERS 3 Jolene has a chance to play some really dramatic scenes. She has great chemistry with her partners especially with Dr. Wiggs (solid Danny Keogh) Bull (Stelio Savante in a top form), and Holly (the lovely Marnette Patterson).
The little older, wiser generation is represent by two talented people: Amanda Donohoe and Stephen Hogan. I personally remember Donahoe for her role in "The Lair of the White Worm". It still is one of my fav movies. I'm sorry I couldn't get an interview with Miss Donahoe for our site. Maybe next time... Very talented English actor Stephen Hogan has a giant screen charisma and watching him on the screen is an absolute delight. He steals every scene he's in. All other actors make their characters memorable... from Cecile Breccia (Hi Cecile! You made Link Mannion both super sexy and tough, and the French accent was such a turn on ;-) to Joe Vaz as "Peace Terrorist" Elmo Goniff. The casting is tip top.
The thing that was brought up on a lot of discussions are the effects in the movie. The question was always the same: With the a lot lower budget how can you compete with still state of the artageless visuals from Tippett Studio? It's a mission impossible, isn't it? Well, the answer is yes and no. I have to say these effects are very good especially if you think they are in the movie with a budget of 18 of the typical big summer blockbuster. There are more than 400 visual and special effects in this movie, they are wonderfully diverse and not a repetition by any means of the "movie magic" from the previous films.
In STARSHIP TROOPERS 3: MARAUDER there is the ambitious amalgamation of wonderful miniature effects (The Scorpion Bug is amazing), CGIs and practical on-set effects. Sometimes it works remarkably, sometimes a bit less remarkably, but there are some amazing "instant classic" scenes (battle on Roku San, space sequences, Le Grande Finale, new Fed Nets etc ). Great work from the team lead by Robert Skotak. He did the impossible!
Speaking as big fan of the original film and someone who invest a lot of heart and time for this franchise (I'm the creator of STARSHIP TROOPERS 3.NET) I can honestly say that STARSHIP TROOPERS 3: MARAUDER is a worthy sequel to the Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece. It has everything you've been counting for and more. Of course it's not a 100 million dollars follow up that some of us have dreamed of, but it's great anyway. The budget limitations didn't break the magic of ST.
But the most important thing is: By this film Ed Neumeier proved that there is still a lot of life in the STARSHIP TROOPERS universe, that this world is still as fascinating as eleven years ago and still can be a great allegory to the current political situation. There is a lot more to explore in ST-verse. Let's hope for more TROOPERS stories (the 4th movie, the TV series) in the future! Of course with Ed, Casper, Jolene and the rest of the gang on board!
Review by Anoke from the Internet Movie Database.
Movie Database