'Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars' Reintroduces a Fascinating Sci-Fi Property

I extremely liked Starship Troopers (a very enjoyable film re-imagining of a Robert A. Heinlein novel that I haven’t had the chance of reading yet, despite owning and having read several of his books).  However, except for the Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles animated series, I haven’t seen any other Starship Troopers media outside of the original 1997 film.  Thus, when I watched Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars, I wasn’t aware that it was a sequel to an earlier CGI movie, Starship Troopers: Invasion.

Fortunately, Traitor of Mars didn’t really require any previous knowledge of Invasion to be followed and enjoyed (though I was slightly bothered of not knowing why John Rico is now wearing an eyepatch like he’s some sort of a Metal Gear Solid character).

The plot centers on Col. John Rico (voiced by the original actor of the character, Casper Van Dien), demoted from general after the events of Invasion, who is now in charge of a satellite station orbiting Mars and training Martian recruits.  When a political conspiracy sets in motion an unexpected Arachnid invasion of Mars, Rico and his team of inexperienced rookie troopers discover that they are only ones that can save the planet from annihilation.  Meanwhile, General Carl Jenkins (Justin Doran) finds out who’s the mastermind of the plot – the power-hungry, Emma Watson look-alike Sky Marshall Amy Snapp (Emily Neves) – and gets captured, but not before telepathically contacting his and Rico’s old friend, battleship commander Captain Carmen Ibanez (Luci Christian), to instruct her to come to Rico’s aid.  Also, despite dying in the original movie, Dizzy Flores (also voiced by the character’s original actor, Dina Meyer) has a role to play in the narrative, and the explanation behind her presence is predictable but kind of brilliant.

Like the original film, the storytelling also cuts to a couple of goofy news segments, complete with “Would you like to know more?” closing.  However, unlike the original film, the main storyline lacks a satirical feel.  Thus, the whole “news” shtick leads to some pacing problems and conflicting tones.

It also has a couple of noticeable plot holes.  Nevertheless, I was actually never bored, so I didn’t care much for its flaws.  For a direct-to-video film production, the animation is great, which particularly benefits the vigorous, nigh-exhilarating action sequences.  In addition, there are some terrific non-action moments as well – most especially the scenes between John and Dizzy.  It also has a strong overall sense of nostalgia going for it.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars isn’t perfect.  But it’s a compelling re-introduction to the Starship Troopers property, while making a case that it has ample things to offer – characters, lore, setting, and bug-killing action – to be a fascinating sci-fi piece beyond the satirical appeal of the original film.

Also, it reminded me of how badly I want a Starcraft movie to happen – regardless of whether it’s animated or live-action.