Starship Troopers: Invasion

• (スターシップ・トゥルーパーズ インベイジョン, Sutāshippu Turūpāzu Inbeijon)
• Directed by Shinji Aramaki
• July 21, 2012 (Japan) / August 28, 2012 (US)
• Based on the 1959 novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Voice Cast

• Carmen Ibanez-Luci Christian
• Carl Jenkins-Justin Doran
• Johnny Rico-David Matranga
• Major Henry “Hero” Varro–David Wald
• Lieutenant Otis “Bugspray” Hacks-Andrew Love
• Ratzass-Leraldo Anzaldua
• Lieutenant Tony Daugherty-Sam Roman
• Tia “Trig” Durer-Emily Neves
• Ice Blonde-Melissa Davis
• Holyman-Kalob Martinez
• Kharon-Chris Patton
• Shock Jock-Adam Gibbs
• Mech-Jovan Jackson
• Chase-Corey Hartzog
• Chow-Josh Grelle
• Gunfodder-Karl Glusman
• Captain Jonah-Shelley Calene-Black
• Crysoch-Noel Burkeen
• High Command-Andy McAvin
• Communication Officer 1-Michael Keeney
• Communication Officer 2-Kris Carr

After a mission goes wrong, an experienced captain and a hardcore trooper must lead a team of battle-weary soldiers to locate a missing ship and find out what went wrong.

While not perfect (but thoroughly enjoyable), I have a special place in my heart for all the Starship Troopers films so I was game for this when I first learned of it even if it was not live action. Starship Troopers: Invasion is a CGI direct-to-video sequel to the original Starship Troopers at the minimum. I honestly have a little trouble telling if it ignores the other two films entirely or partially. For instance they are back to bullets having switched to energy weapons previously.

This continues with framing the arachnids as the aggressors with humanity as the victims rather than humanity having started a war unnecessarily. While there are shades of authoritarianism and a little bit of distrust of the military hierarchy this lacks the fascistic overtones that were previously significant. The characters presented are much more heroic soldiers doing their duty in a desperate struggle with the occasional irritations that come from command. 

Also missing are those little interstitials where the announcer says, “Want to know more?” which helped highlight the satirical nature of the films. They do get referenced in a scene but beyond that they aren’t a factor in presentation. This is much more of a straight action film than it is any attempt at satire or commentary.

Add to that Invasion is not necessarily for kids. At least not for the very young. Heavy profanity and rampant nudity are throughout this. Some of it looks straight out of an 80s film designed to make something bad more watchable or just appeal to the horny. A whole lot of “Look at these!”

Strangely though this is actually a pretty good film. The story builds and builds to a high stakes conclusion. Aiming for a more mature audience no one is 100% safe in this unless they are not on the ship where most the action takes place. Once a character goes there all bets are off. And characters do drop with regularity. Even ones you think won’t die because their stories are important get killed. You may not mourn their loss, but you do feel shocked at it.

I guess what I’m saying is they keep the surprises coming even if there is not too much story here. Our characters have to stop an arachnid plot and kill as many bugs as possible. Without a complex enemy to face off against this is much more of a survival yarn than it is a war yarn. Even the queen bug seems more monster than intelligent being.

The plot feels like it is a bit of a rehash of Marauder. This time replacing Sky Marshal Anoke with returning character Carl Jenkins. Carl though is much creepier this time though in a keep-your-kids-away way than anything else. He is not the only original film character to pop their head up again. Carmen Ibanez and Johnny Rico sporting an eyepatch make a return though none are voiced by the original actors.

There some very good visuals in this. Not a fan of CGI but this held up well in the intervening years since it was released. The characters sport suits more in line with Halo than anything seen previously in Starship Troopers other than maybe the series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. There is even a scene with a mech suit that looks pulled straight from the Lost Planet games. And the similarities to that even extend to interior shots.

Not that these obvious lifts hurt things even if you can see where they come from. Invasion is actually a pretty good movie. And the characters are well done enough that they’re interesting and you care about them. Not the best of characters but good characters. They aren’t as superficial or shallow as one might expect.

If I had any strong complaints it would be that this movie is about nothing. It makes no attempt to be anything other than an animated action film. That is fine but at least its predecessors attempted substance even if they did not succeed.

If you’re a fan of the original Starship Troopers, you might find Starship Troopers: Invasion a little lacking but still enjoyable as will fans of animated action. Not a high recommendation, but I do recommend.