“Come on, you apes, do you want to live forever?” Beginning on the first of May, famed director Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers is streaming on Netflix. Thanks to its futuristic patriotism and propaganda themes propelling this movie into the mainstream, this never-ending Earth versus insect epic has created a fan base that thrives. As seen in the first film, characters like Johnny Rico, Dizzy Flores, Carmen Ibanez, and Carl Jenkins are undeniable. They have all left a mark on the expansive lore of this science fiction saga.
While there is no question that the 1997 original film is the most popular, there are five installments in the Starship Troopers film series. Why do these four sequels seemingly remain under the radar for fans of the franchise? This could be due to the much lower budgets or the fact that they all vary in style. However, contrary to popular belief, they’re not as bad as critics have made them out to be.
‘Starship Troopers’ Is a Science Fiction Franchise Unlike Any Other
Produced by TriStar Pictures and Touchstone Pictures, the first Starship Troopers used its $100 million budget to create an engaging visual universe, showing life on Earth, planetary battles, outer space fleets, and all sorts of Arachnids. Made for only $7 million, 2004’s Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation focused on up-close horror and shock visuals (think John Carpenter’s The Thing). The entire movie takes place inside an abandoned watchtower and features all-new characters. A mind-controlling bug starts taking over the stranded troopers in gnarly sequences.
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Hero of the Federation will keep you entertained throughout, but just be warned. The movie does not show a theater of war but instead plays out like a side-story, highlighting the trials and tribulations of one singular squad. The differing genres put some die-hard fans on edge, but it is refreshing to see a different perspective. Starship Troopers 3: Marauder attempts to fix the mistakes of the second by expanding the world, showing plenty of scenes in non-war settings, and bringing back Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico.
Surprisingly, Rico’s cold patriotism is dialed down a bit (he favors friendship over fighting), but the over-the-top nationalism is back. Satire is always a good thing for Starship Troopers. Fans of the first film will find themselves right at home once more because there’s plenty of bug blood-splattering, political drama, and Arachnid variety here.
‘Starship Troopers’ 4 and 5 Are Animated
While the religious overtones can make Marauder feel a bit too crowded at times (bugs, the United Citizen Federation, and God now too?) and the CGI is a bit iffy, this third entry from 2008 introduces a kaiju-sized bug and mechs for our UCF troopers to fight in. There’s also a bit of inspiration from Star Wars and Dune with the movie’s sand planet and Sarlacc pit-esque scenes.
The last two entries — 2012’s Invasion and 2017’s Traitor of Mars — are different, to say the least. They are both adult-animated features (made in part by a Japanese animation team), and both were released without much fanfare compared to the previous three. Both films see various main characters return. Ibanez, Jenkins, and Rico have prominent roles in Invasion, while Flores replaces Ibanez in Traitor of Mars. Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer return to voice Rico and Flores for the latter.
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Admittedly, Invasion feels like a compilation of video game cutscenes. The suits are bulkier, and the animation is computer-generated (and dated). However, the immense attention to sound detail is excellent, and the animation medium gives the story much more breathing room than the previous live-action iterations. The plot might be too bulky for some, but true Starship Troopers fans will have more than enough to sink their teeth into.
Traitor of Mars is a direct sequel to Invasion. Rico and his hard-knock personality return as he leads a novice squad to save the Mars population from a massive bug nest and a corrupt politician. The animation is much more fluid, and the characters are more life-like than ever before. This feels like a proper adult animated feature.
The ‘Starship Troopers’ Sequels Stand Out on Their Own Merit
Though a bit short, the best thing about Traitor of Mars is the bittersweet reunion between Rico and Flores (better known as Diz). 20 years is what it took to get these two characters back together, and the chemistry between the actors (their voices, in this case) hits just as well as it did in 1997. Not to mention, the film boasts some phenomenal bug scenes. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Arachnids at once. The latest entry also uses animation, showcasing many environments amid war, meeting rooms, and ships. Invasion may be good, but Traitor of Mars is great.
As you can see, every sequel deviates just a bit (or a lot) from the late ’90s live-action original Starship Troopers. Whatever the reasons (monetary, directors creatively leaving their mark), they are all worth a watch. This science fiction franchise might have gotten a bad rap in the past, but it’s about time we all looked at these films from a new perspective. The war on bugs never ends, and neither should our hope for Starship Troopers. All five films are available to rent on Prime Video and Apple TV. The original Starship Troopers is streaming on Netflix.
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