Starship Troopers 2:Hero of the Federation (Special Edition)

Criticisms first: the over-riding sense of irony of the first film is not present here, which was a script writing decision. This film also does not match the huge action/FX scenes of the first film, a necessary result of the limited budget. As a result, this film is not like the first one. Let's acknowledge this and move on from there...

The opening and closing sequences are the least impressive parts of the movie, and it's here that the budget limitations really show. I think we can forgive this, based on the infinitesimal budget (5% of the first movie's), and the high quality of the main, middle part of the film. Once we get past the cheesy skeleton shot, this movie really comes into its own area of excellence. I agree with others here that the nudity seemed gratuitous, although in the commentary the writer, director and producer seem to agree that it fitted with the character and situation. Also, the music, while generally good, sometimes plays Heroic when it should really play Dramatic Ambivalent. This is particularly jarring during the climax of the final action scene.

Beyond these criticisms, this movie is really very good. There are a lot of characters, both low-key and creepy, but they are all well delineated, and the acting ranges from okay to excellent. The set design and cinematography are terrific, especially given the budget. The detail, textures, colours and angular design, combined with clever lighting, create a believable, lived-in environment that seems more claustrophobic as the film progresses. The effects are also excellent - criticisms that they look "cheap" and "fake" are bewildering, in light of the fact that they were produced by the same people who worked on the first movie. In fact, my problem was that the FX were so well done that I had to make a conscious effort to notice when they were used.

The story obviously makes reference to classics such as Body Snatchers, Alien and The Thing (both versions), but puts its own twist on the idea of the parasitic alien infestation. (I don't want to give too much away here - let's just say "Nice puppet work!") The script, by Ed Neumeier, is skillfully constructed in terms of character revelation and building of suspense, and holds together despite the discarding of many scenes due to production restrictions. A surprise is the horror element that emerges in the second half, at some moments recalling the gore of various low budget classics from the eighties (Evil Dead, CHUD) but with more polished visuals, and (arguably) heavier psychological subtext.

As Ed Neumeier notes in the commentary, one of the more horrific moments of the final act involves no gore at all - it is a speech by the bugs about the human delusion of individual importance. Like being held under the magnifying eye of an utterly alien species, it gives one the existential creeps - director Tippett justly suggests the word "Lovecraftian" to describe the effect of this scene.

The climactic scene was shot in one day (!), with a final shot suggested by Paul Verhouven, director of the original. This scene works, but is slightly undermined by the needlessly Heroic music. The short epilogue has been assembled clumsily, and shoots itself in the foot several times, but fortunately is not bad enough to undermine the preceding hour and a half. I was agreeably surprised by this movie. Overall, the elements come together very well: considering its budget, it looks great, is acted well, and towards the end is more gripping than any film I have seen for quite some time. With a couple of million extra to fix the opening and ending segments, this movie could've held its own at the box office.

(3 1/2 stars - now ramped up to 5 to counter the moron factor, even though it means losing my 'helpful' votes.)

(An aside: I note here some references to poor DVD quality; I should confess that I am reviewing the region 4 release, which has identical contents and quite high quality imaging. Possibly viewers are reacting to the unfamiliar look of the Digital Video format?)
(Aside No. 2: Why is bringing back Brenda Strong for this movie a problem? I didn't even recognise her at first, and her new character _rocks_. That image of her with the syringes and the frying pan is still burned into my retinas.)