Mark Turner Believe it or not it's been 20 years since the original STARSHIP TROOPERS hit the screen. The movie was an amazing science fiction spectacle that brought to life the visions of author Robert J. Heinlein. Altered slightly the film showed a battle hungry group of soldiers battling to save the Earth from an invasion of bug styled creatures. Since the film came out there have been 4 sequels including this one, the latest.The story opens with a group of new soldiers, natives of Mars, who have joined the military to protect their planet from any potential invasions. At the helm of training these untested soldiers is world weary warrior Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), the main hero of the first film. Scarred and missing an eye he runs them through simulation after simulation and the end results are not good. Raw and untrained they seem to lack the killer instinct and comradery it will take to make a formidable fighting force.As their training is going on the Federation has launched a massive attack on the bugs as they call these invaders. Led by Johnny's one time pal Carmen Ibanez (Luci Christian) the fleet arrives expected and taking on casualties. During the middle of this battle Carmen is telepathically contacted by Carl Jenkins (Justin Doran) to leave the battle and head for Mars. Before he can explain he is captured by a group as yet unidentified.As the film progresses we learn that Sky Marshal Amy Snapp (Emily Neves) is setting things in motion to place herself in a position of power greater than she already has. The Martians were contemplating leaving the Federation and in an effort to make that a decision not worth taking she has set up a bug invasion on Mars knowing they are unprepared to defend yet. Her plan is for the planet to fall and when that happens blow it up, a word of warning to other planets. But she didn't count on Rico and his troops.To begin with this time around the film is all CGI which doesn't take anything away when you take into consideration all of the effects for the live action films were CGI. The story is less complicated than you would think and it moves along quickly setting up the action sequences while providing more depth of story than one might expect. The end result is a worthwhile addition to the series and fun for sci-fi fans as well as those of the films.What really makes this one nice is the fact that both Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyers have returned for this one. Meyers returns as Dizzy Flores, Ricco's love interest from the first film who was killed in the same. This time around Dizzy is a mirage, an image sent to Ricco's mind to keep him moving forward. Both of these actors have gone on to other films so it is nice to see them return to the movie that moved the two of them forward at the time. Hopefully more will decide to follow suit should they go onward with more movies like this.If you're a fan of the films you'll want to add this one to your collection. It may be steering away from the anti-military sentiment of the first film but the story of battling against bugs rages on.

rsvp321 I enjoyed this, and I hope more cgi animation sequels are produced, as the quality from computers continues to get better by leaps and bounds.I don't think it was meant to be a sequel, per se, but just a treat for the fans. The Rbt A Heinlein book is awesome, nothing like anything yet put on video, but the original movie and this one have some elements from it.

pway82 Enjoying the Starship Troopers franchise is a hard thing to do. From the excellent Paul Verhoeven live-action movie to the abysmal 2 sequels, the interesting Roughnecks animated series and the decent first CGI movie we now have again arrived at a low point. While the first CGI movie managed to combine elements of the book and the first movie into a gorgeous present to the fans, Traitor of Mars is a messy, hastily written mess, with dialogue so cheesy it makes you cringe. The sad part is that they clearly improved in the animation department, especially when it comes to the characters movements, which looked quite stiff in it's predecessor. You can also see that they spend a lot of time in designing believable equipment and sprinkling several nods to the franchise into the world. But all of this effort is negated by a lazy script, the unnecessary addition of one of the most boring villains in movie history, and voice acting so horrible it reminds you of children's cartoons from the 80s.

rdenisw How disappointing this film was. The book that is the foundation of this series far surpasses anything that has been done cinematically, and this movie falls very short as well.The animation and artwork were top-notch; it's the lack of anything resembling a sensible plot that is so grating. Not for the first time I wish that someone with knowledge of military matters had some influence on the scriptwriters. We see the usual thousands upon thousands of enemy bugs attacking without regard to their own safety or whether they live or die; this is fine, this is how insects in our world do operate, so that part is OK- though it lacks any nuance.But having soldiers who are just as mindless, who are totally inept, and careless of their own safety? Cracking jokes while their comrades are being massacred? Troops that have no idea about defensive formations, who don't worry about ammo, who bunch up in the middle of a plain and allow themselves to be surrounded & never think of taking cover? Who shoot off nuclear arms and then stand around to watch the bang? This is too silly even for slapstick! The Martian Lieutenant was a buffoon who trips over his own feet and shoots a nuke when he meant to shoot his rifle. I guess that was supposed to be funny, but good grief. Shaking my head! This could have been such a good movie, if only the makers had "played it straight" and tried to tell a good dramatic story instead of deciding to make soldiers look like moronic fools. (Though the art & animation were so very good that at times I forgot that I was watching an animation and it felt like I was watching a live-action movie.)All I can say is, grab the book by Heinlein for a really good story. It'll make you think; and you'll wonder (like I do) how anyone could take such a marvelously good story and turn it into this pile of rubbish! I'm still waiting for someone to make the first decent film of this wonderful book!