Starship Troopers 3: Marauder

Introduction

In this third instalment of the Starship Troopers trilogy, which Edward Neumeier not only writes, but directs this time, Rico (Casper Van Dien), now a colonel, is on a remote planet, populated by anti-Federation farmers and under attack by bugs. The new Sky Marshall and intergalactic pop-star Omar Anoke (Stephen Hogan) is flown in by Rico's old flame Captain Lola Beck (Jolene Blalock) and her current beau General Dix Hauser (Boris Kodjoe).

When the Bugs break down the electrified fences, Omar and a small band of troopers are evacuated by Lola, but their ship crash-lands on another planet. The ambitious Admiral Enolo Phid (Amanda Donohoe) covers up the Sky Marshall's disappearance, faking his death in an explosion, which the Federation blames on anti-war protestors.

Rico is set-up, court-martialled and sentenced to hang but Dix, unsure who he can trust, saves Rico and gives him command of the Marauder project, in order to rescue Omar and Lola.

Video

Brand spanking new, this looks fantastic. The colours, contrast and CGI are all excellent and some of the location shooting in South Africa is splendid.

One of the downsides to such picture clarity is Jolene Blalock's huge top lip - it's quite a sight on a 42" screen!

*The pictures contained in this review are for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect the image quality of the disc.*

Audio

Aside from the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, there are Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks in Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Russian; there are the usual myriad subtitles available.

The sound quality is excellent, with clear dialogue and effects which make great use of the surrounds.

Extra Features

There are two commentaries, the first with director/writer Edward Neumeier, producer David Lancaster, and co-visual effects supervisor Robert Skotak is a dry and technical affair, whereas the second, when Neumeier is joined by actors Casper Van Dien and Jolene Blalock, is more jocular and back-slapping. Both have optional subtitles in English and Dutch.

There are three featurettes which can be played individually or sequentially, using Play All, totalling 50 minutes:
On the Bounce: The Making of Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
Evolution: The Bugs of Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
Enlist: Marauder's Mobile Infantry

These three are well worth watching and are a good companion to the commentaries and Marauder Mode.

It's a Good Day to Die music video (Extended Version)

In addition, there are some features exclusive to the Blu-ray, most of which require Profile 2.0.

Marauder Mode puts a Hud on the screen and every so often a Picture-In-Picture Video commentary appears.
Put Yourself in the Movie: Join the Fight! Is supposed to let you upload a picture so that you appear in some scenes, but I couldn't get it to work.
Comic-Con 2008 is some time-limited downloadable material that has already expired by the time you read this. Seriously - what was the point?
The Federation Needs Your Help Public Service Announcement.
Download exclusive ringtones. Again, what's the point?

Conclusion

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder is very different to Hero of the Federation, closer in tone to the first instalment, with a heavier emphasis on satire and humour than the dark psychological horror of the second film. Casper Van Dien's Rico character links this to the Verhoeven original - even sharing the slightly ludicrous edge with a pop-star Sky Marshall!

It's good to see Van Dien back - a character with whom you identified was sorely missing from the first sequel and Jolene Blalock's Lola is basically the same character as Denise Richards' Carmen in the first film, playing the skilled love interest and the source of friction.

It's another straight-to-video sequel, cashing in on the limited box office success, but huge home entertainment market that the first film attracted. Is it as bad as the second one? No. Is it better than the first? No. Is it worth watching? Yes, but despite the wealth of extras - I watched the film four times to take advantage of the commentaries and Marauder Mode - probably as a rental rather than a purchase.