Starship Troopers 3
Encyclopedia
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder is a science fiction film
, written and directed by Ed Neumeier
and starring Casper Van Dien
from the original movie and Jolene Blalock
. The film is a sequel to Starship Troopers
and Starship Troopers 2
. The film was released directly to DVD
in the US on August 5, 2008. Production started in May 2007, with principal photography commencing in South Africa
.
has improved their weapons and tactics. However, as they adapt, so do the Bugs
, and many new Arachnid variants have developed. The United Citizen Federation now finds itself engaged in trench warfare
on the frontier
planets. The Federation puts a positive spin on this in the media while using its judicial and military authority to suppress peace protesters and religious fanatics as seditionists.
Colonel
John Rico (Casper Van Dien
) is stationed on the agrarian
planet Roku San when the popular Sky Marshal
Omar Anoke (Stephen Hogan) pays a visit. Off-duty, Rico's old friend General Dix Hauser (Boris Kodjoe
) gets into a bar fight with farmers protesting against the war. During the fight, Rico stops Dix from shooting one of the farmers. Dix tries to have Rico arrested, but the base defences suddenly fail due to an alien attack. Rico knocks Dix out and leaves to help fight the Arachnids. When Roku San falls, Rico is blamed by the Federal Media and set for execution for insubordination and striking a superior officer. However Dix has Rico's execution stopped and covered up so that Rico can lead a rescue mission.
On their way back to Sanctuary, the Fleet's secret HQ, Captain
Lola Beck (Jolene Blalock
) is marooned on a classified planet known as Planet OM-1 with Sky Marshal Anoke, and Admiral
Enolo Phid (Amanda Donohoe
) suppresses this information. Dix finds out thanks to an officer who thinks this is wrong and recruits Rico to rescue the Sky Marshal and Lola, the latter being one of the few in possession of the coordinates to Sanctuary, which would cripple the military if the Arachnids learned of its location.
An apparent earthquake causes Dr. Wiggs (Danny Keough
) to fall into a crevasse, while the Sky Marshal views a giant eye staring back at him from below. Cynical cook Jingo Ryan (Jon Falkow) is next to die after he takes shelter within a cluster of supposed rock outcroppings, which are actually Arachnid limbs which pull him below. Engineer Bull Brittles (Stelio Savante
) asks the very religious flight attendant
, Holly Little (Marnette Patterson
), to marry him, but dies shortly after.
On Earth, General Hauser confronts Admiral Phid about why she is abandoning the Sky Marshal, only to be arrested. Later, Phid reveals to him that Sky Marshal Anoke is responsible for the downfall of Roku San, having been in communication with the "Brain of Brains," also known as "Behemecoatyl," through the original brain bug captured in Starship Troopers
as he has psychic powers. The Sky Marshal adopted their religion, hoping he could save humanity from the bugs if he could make peace with them. It is revealed that he turned off the electric barrier surrounding the base on Roku San to show his willingness to make peace between the two species. The Federation now believes the Brain Bug allowed itself to be captured in the first place on Planet P in order to pass on intelligence from inside The Federation. The Federation makes the decision to kill and dissect the captured brain but it overhears them and unleashes a telepathic scream, killing a few soldiers by exploding their skulls before Hauser kills it. It is revealed that Admiral Phid ignored the distress calls of those abandoned on OM-1 so she could become the new Sky Marshal; however, she failed to take into account that Lola, who is one of the few pilots of the Federation that knows the location of Sanctuary, was with Anoke.
Back on OM-1, the stranded make contact with The Brain of Brains, who communicates with them through the corpses of their fallen comrades and soon kills Anoke for his knowledge; Lola and Holly, the last two left alive, begin to pray that they will be saved.
Rico leads the Marauders, an elite team of troopers composed of his command staff from Roku San, on a rescue mission, using the Federation's new battle-suits. They defeat the Arachnid warriors on OM-1, suffer no casualties, and rescue the two survivors. OM-1 is revealed to be the home of the Bug Hive, the Arachnids' ruling body, and Fleet destroys it from orbit with a planet-destroying
"Q Bomb."
Rico is apparently cleared of charges and subsequently awarded a promotion to the rank of General, and given permanent command of the Marauder program. Anoke is reported to have died in a terrorist attack (staged by the government earlier to explain his disappearance) and given a hero's funeral
. Dix and Lola are married, Admiral Phid is appointed the new Sky Marshal with Dix as her second-in command, and Holly becomes a Federal chaplain
. Dozens of peace protesters are hanged in connection to the purported terrorist attack. The new Sky Marshal Phid, impressed with the way that Sky Marshal Anoke was rendered servile by the Arachnids' religion, decides the Federation should adopt a religion, and a Christian
-esque religion is embraced by the Federation.
, the film currently holds a 50% "rotten" rating from six professional reviews, three rotten and three fresh. Joe Leydon of Variety
stated that "Die-hard fans of Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven's notorious 1997 cult-fave sci-fi spectacle, will be pleased to note that its second made-for-vid sequel gamely attempts to replicate the original pic's over-the-top style and self-satirical tone. Unlike 2004's negligible Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, a relatively straightforward actioner, the latest episode reprises Verhoeven's love-it-or-hate-it mix of gruesome mayhem, overstated melodrama, peek-a-boo nudity and tongue-in-cheek fascist aesthetics." Alex Dorn of UGO.com stated that "fans of the original movie should be pretty happy with this venture" but that those "expecting the whiz-bang big budget wonder of the original will be disappointed." He gave the film an overall rating of a B minus. Scott Weinberg of FEARnet
gave the film a fresh review, stating that the film is "probably a rental moreso than a must-own, but certainly worth a look if you dug the first film." Critics from IFMagazine liked the film, saying: "The sets and locations are good, the acting is surprisingly good, the storyline is decent and there is enough of the political and social commentary (from oppression of religious freedoms, to no right of assembly, to the execution of those that speak out against the war, to propaganda used to hide the truth, to using sex either gay or straight to get people to sign up for the military) that it harkens back to the original."
In March 2009, Marauder was nominated for a 2009 Saturn Award in the Best DVD Release Category.
In January 2011, Conan O'Brien
inducted the movie on his show's "TBS
Film Institute's Shelf of Excellence"
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
, written and directed by Ed Neumeier
Edward Neumeier
Edward Neumeier is an American screenwriter best known for his work on the science fiction movies RoboCop and Starship Troopers...
and starring Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
from the original movie and Jolene Blalock
Jolene Blalock
Jolene K. Blalock is an American film and television actress and model, perhaps best known for playing the Vulcan T'Pol on the UPN science fiction series Star Trek: Enterprise. The star of several feature films, she is a regular guest star in television films and series.- Early career :A popular...
. The film is a sequel to Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
and Starship Troopers 2
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is the 2004 direct-to-video sequel to the 1997 feature film Starship Troopers. It had a $7 million budget as opposed to the $105 million of the original. Even though the film received only a direct-to-video released in the United States, it was granted a...
. The film was released directly to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the US on August 5, 2008. Production started in May 2007, with principal photography commencing in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Plot
In the past eleven years of "The Second Bug War", the Mobile InfantryMobile Infantry (Starship Troopers)
The Mobile Infantry is a fictional military force in Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers and in the movies Starship Troopers, released in 1997, the 2004 sequel, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, the 2008 film Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and the TV series Roughnecks: Starship...
has improved their weapons and tactics. However, as they adapt, so do the Bugs
Bug (Starship Troopers)
The Bugs are an extraterrestrial race in the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, its film adaptation , sometimes also referred to as the Arachnids, although this is a misnomer, as the aliens are not related to Earth arachnids...
, and many new Arachnid variants have developed. The United Citizen Federation now finds itself engaged in trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
on the frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
planets. The Federation puts a positive spin on this in the media while using its judicial and military authority to suppress peace protesters and religious fanatics as seditionists.
Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
John Rico (Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
) is stationed on the agrarian
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
planet Roku San when the popular Sky Marshal
Sky marshal
A sky marshal is an undercover law enforcement or counter terrorist agent on board a commercial aircraft to counter aircraft hijackings...
Omar Anoke (Stephen Hogan) pays a visit. Off-duty, Rico's old friend General Dix Hauser (Boris Kodjoe
Boris Kodjoe
Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe , better known as Boris Kodjoe, is an Austrian-born German actor and former fashion model who works primarily in the United States...
) gets into a bar fight with farmers protesting against the war. During the fight, Rico stops Dix from shooting one of the farmers. Dix tries to have Rico arrested, but the base defences suddenly fail due to an alien attack. Rico knocks Dix out and leaves to help fight the Arachnids. When Roku San falls, Rico is blamed by the Federal Media and set for execution for insubordination and striking a superior officer. However Dix has Rico's execution stopped and covered up so that Rico can lead a rescue mission.
On their way back to Sanctuary, the Fleet's secret HQ, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Lola Beck (Jolene Blalock
Jolene Blalock
Jolene K. Blalock is an American film and television actress and model, perhaps best known for playing the Vulcan T'Pol on the UPN science fiction series Star Trek: Enterprise. The star of several feature films, she is a regular guest star in television films and series.- Early career :A popular...
) is marooned on a classified planet known as Planet OM-1 with Sky Marshal Anoke, and Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Enolo Phid (Amanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe is an English film and television actress. She is known for her 1980s relationship with popstar Adam Ant and her later work on television — including L.A. Law and Emmerdale — and her roles in successful movies including Liar, Liar.-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter...
) suppresses this information. Dix finds out thanks to an officer who thinks this is wrong and recruits Rico to rescue the Sky Marshal and Lola, the latter being one of the few in possession of the coordinates to Sanctuary, which would cripple the military if the Arachnids learned of its location.
An apparent earthquake causes Dr. Wiggs (Danny Keough
Danny Keough
Daniel "Danny" Keough is a musician and actor and former husband of American singer/songwriter Lisa Marie Presley.Keough married Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley at the Church of Scientology in West Hollywood on October 3, 1988. Keough is a Scientologist, and...
) to fall into a crevasse, while the Sky Marshal views a giant eye staring back at him from below. Cynical cook Jingo Ryan (Jon Falkow) is next to die after he takes shelter within a cluster of supposed rock outcroppings, which are actually Arachnid limbs which pull him below. Engineer Bull Brittles (Stelio Savante
Stelio Savante
Stelio Savante is a South African actor, producer, and writer living in the United States. He is a native English speaker and fluent in Afrikaans and Greek. In 2007 he became the first male South African born SAG award nominee. For his recurring role on Ugly Betty...
) asks the very religious flight attendant
Flight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
, Holly Little (Marnette Patterson
Marnette Patterson
Marnette Patterson is an American actress who is perhaps best known for her role as Christy Jenkins on Charmed.-Career:Patterson portrayed Nicole Farrell on the NBC series Something So Right....
), to marry him, but dies shortly after.
On Earth, General Hauser confronts Admiral Phid about why she is abandoning the Sky Marshal, only to be arrested. Later, Phid reveals to him that Sky Marshal Anoke is responsible for the downfall of Roku San, having been in communication with the "Brain of Brains," also known as "Behemecoatyl," through the original brain bug captured in Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
as he has psychic powers. The Sky Marshal adopted their religion, hoping he could save humanity from the bugs if he could make peace with them. It is revealed that he turned off the electric barrier surrounding the base on Roku San to show his willingness to make peace between the two species. The Federation now believes the Brain Bug allowed itself to be captured in the first place on Planet P in order to pass on intelligence from inside The Federation. The Federation makes the decision to kill and dissect the captured brain but it overhears them and unleashes a telepathic scream, killing a few soldiers by exploding their skulls before Hauser kills it. It is revealed that Admiral Phid ignored the distress calls of those abandoned on OM-1 so she could become the new Sky Marshal; however, she failed to take into account that Lola, who is one of the few pilots of the Federation that knows the location of Sanctuary, was with Anoke.
Back on OM-1, the stranded make contact with The Brain of Brains, who communicates with them through the corpses of their fallen comrades and soon kills Anoke for his knowledge; Lola and Holly, the last two left alive, begin to pray that they will be saved.
Rico leads the Marauders, an elite team of troopers composed of his command staff from Roku San, on a rescue mission, using the Federation's new battle-suits. They defeat the Arachnid warriors on OM-1, suffer no casualties, and rescue the two survivors. OM-1 is revealed to be the home of the Bug Hive, the Arachnids' ruling body, and Fleet destroys it from orbit with a planet-destroying
Planet killer
In science fiction, a planet killer, planet buster, or similar variations on that meaning, is a fictional object or device capable of either destroying an entire planet or otherwise rendering it uninhabitable - a variety of a doomsday device....
"Q Bomb."
Rico is apparently cleared of charges and subsequently awarded a promotion to the rank of General, and given permanent command of the Marauder program. Anoke is reported to have died in a terrorist attack (staged by the government earlier to explain his disappearance) and given a hero's funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
. Dix and Lola are married, Admiral Phid is appointed the new Sky Marshal with Dix as her second-in command, and Holly becomes a Federal chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
. Dozens of peace protesters are hanged in connection to the purported terrorist attack. The new Sky Marshal Phid, impressed with the way that Sky Marshal Anoke was rendered servile by the Arachnids' religion, decides the Federation should adopt a religion, and a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
-esque religion is embraced by the Federation.
Cast
- Casper Van DienCasper Van Dien-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
as Colonel/General Johnny Rico - Jolene BlalockJolene BlalockJolene K. Blalock is an American film and television actress and model, perhaps best known for playing the Vulcan T'Pol on the UPN science fiction series Star Trek: Enterprise. The star of several feature films, she is a regular guest star in television films and series.- Early career :A popular...
as Captain Lola Beck - Boris KodjoeBoris KodjoeBoris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe , better known as Boris Kodjoe, is an Austrian-born German actor and former fashion model who works primarily in the United States...
as General Dix Hauser - Stephen Hogan as Sky Marshal Omar Anoke
- Marnette PattersonMarnette PattersonMarnette Patterson is an American actress who is perhaps best known for her role as Christy Jenkins on Charmed.-Career:Patterson portrayed Nicole Farrell on the NBC series Something So Right....
as Holly Little - Stelio SavanteStelio SavanteStelio Savante is a South African actor, producer, and writer living in the United States. He is a native English speaker and fluent in Afrikaans and Greek. In 2007 he became the first male South African born SAG award nominee. For his recurring role on Ugly Betty...
as Bull Brittles - Cecile Breccia as Link Manion
- Jon Falkow as Jingo Ryan
- Danny KeoughDanny KeoughDaniel "Danny" Keough is a musician and actor and former husband of American singer/songwriter Lisa Marie Presley.Keough married Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley at the Church of Scientology in West Hollywood on October 3, 1988. Keough is a Scientologist, and...
as Dr. Wiggs - Amanda DonohoeAmanda DonohoeAmanda Donohoe is an English film and television actress. She is known for her 1980s relationship with popstar Adam Ant and her later work on television — including L.A. Law and Emmerdale — and her roles in successful movies including Liar, Liar.-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter...
as Admiral Enolo Phid - Tanya van Graan as Sergeant A. Sunday
- Nicole Salandra as Sergeant J. Kirby
Reception
There have been mixed reviews for Marauder. On Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film currently holds a 50% "rotten" rating from six professional reviews, three rotten and three fresh. Joe Leydon of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
stated that "Die-hard fans of Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven's notorious 1997 cult-fave sci-fi spectacle, will be pleased to note that its second made-for-vid sequel gamely attempts to replicate the original pic's over-the-top style and self-satirical tone. Unlike 2004's negligible Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, a relatively straightforward actioner, the latest episode reprises Verhoeven's love-it-or-hate-it mix of gruesome mayhem, overstated melodrama, peek-a-boo nudity and tongue-in-cheek fascist aesthetics." Alex Dorn of UGO.com stated that "fans of the original movie should be pretty happy with this venture" but that those "expecting the whiz-bang big budget wonder of the original will be disappointed." He gave the film an overall rating of a B minus. Scott Weinberg of FEARnet
FEARnet
Fearnet is a cable channel, website and Video on Demand television service owned by Horror Entertainment LLC, a joint venture between Comcast, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Entertainment...
gave the film a fresh review, stating that the film is "probably a rental moreso than a must-own, but certainly worth a look if you dug the first film." Critics from IFMagazine liked the film, saying: "The sets and locations are good, the acting is surprisingly good, the storyline is decent and there is enough of the political and social commentary (from oppression of religious freedoms, to no right of assembly, to the execution of those that speak out against the war, to propaganda used to hide the truth, to using sex either gay or straight to get people to sign up for the military) that it harkens back to the original."
In March 2009, Marauder was nominated for a 2009 Saturn Award in the Best DVD Release Category.
In January 2011, Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
inducted the movie on his show's "TBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
Film Institute's Shelf of Excellence"
External links
- Starship Troopers 3: Marauder trailer at Sony Pictures