Customer Reviews

Starship Troopers/Starship Troopers 2:Hero of the Federation/Starship Troopers 3:Marauder

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is the only way to pick up the entire trilogy on Blu-Ray. At this point, I'm going to guess that you, like me, loved the first film. If not, why are you even considering buying a box set featuring three films, two of which were direct-to-video? So, I'll skip over the original and assume you're already sold on it.

The second film is a pretty low-budget film, and it's not very good and doesn't even really fit in with the other two movies. So, I think the term "trilogy" is applied pretty loosely here. Still, despite its low budget, it did do a few things right and isn't completely a waste of time. The transfer isn't that great as the picture is quite grainy. I haven't seen it on DVD. Just judging from the Blu-Ray, there shouldn't be a big jump in quality from the DVD to the Blu-Ray. I doubt they spent much time upgrading the quality of the picture and sound, if at all.

Starship Troopers 3 is more of a sequel to the first film, and it was pretty average. It's nice that they were able to get Casper Van Dien back; it definitely helps out the film. The scope of this film is more limited than the first, and it's a little goofier, campier, and just plain weird. The CGI is not very convincing at times. This film isn't all bad, though. The picture and sound quality are pretty good, especially considering this was straight to video.

I'd recommend renting the second and third films if you have any interest, and then determine if you want to buy it.

I know I will shock those who read this, and it may insult Heinlein enthusiasts, but I loved all three Starship Troopers films; there I said. Why you may ask? Well I remember when I was younger and I saw the trailer for the first big budget spectacle back in 1997. I was too young to understand the whole point of the movie, but things were blowing up, bugs were being killed; it was essentially an adrenaline rush throughout the entire movie. So, obviously I bought the VHS tape when it came out, and seven years later a sequel came out. A sequel considered so bad that some SST fans are trying to get a petition going to rename the movie. Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation was a low budget (seven million dollars) direct to video release directed by Phil Tippet I believe. The film used recycled footage from the first one and became more of a horror film than an action extravaganza. The film had to have made some money because here we are at No. 3 Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. Shockingly I loved this one just as much as the first! With a budget of only twenty million dollars and with the return of Casper Van Dien as Johny Rico from the first film, I can honestly call this my guilty pleasure trilogy, something to watch when I am either bored or basically just for kicks. Like my dad who is more of a Trekkie (sorry if I miss spelled that) I have become a Troopy or whatever corny nickname they want to coin people who loved the SST movies (I am sure some movie buffs just call us morons for short). Anyway, all three DVDs are loaded with special features on the making of and of course director and actor commentary. (Sadly however some special features on the two-disc special edition of the first film are not on the one in this trilogy). As far as transfers go, the picture and sound quality were good on my A30 HD DVD player. If you hated the sequels, then just stick with the first movie. However if you want to give the third film a chance and want it all in a cool looking box set. then this is for you. In my opinion these films are not nearly as bad as anything you'd see as a Sci-Fi original movie, I loved these films, and I know I am in the minority on that, but then again to each his own I believe the saying is.

Starship Troopers (4 stars out of 5)
Bucketloads of bloody fun...literally. This first film is very fresh, original, and unique (as it is with all of Paul Verhoven's films). It's also very gory, gooey, and gross (sure to scare away the squeamish). Has some interesting satire throughout. The story is engaging. The characters (and thus the acting and writing) are good. The action and special effects are awesome, even by today's standards. Highly reccomended for all sci-fi fans who don't mind some gnarly parts.

Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (1.5 out of 5)
Very bad on all levels. Bad story, photography, writing, acting, and production value. Even the special effects are substandard. Very dull all around.

Starship Troopers 3: Maurader (3.75 out of 5)
Good, especially when compared to the second one in the series. It retains the same style, sense of action, and attitudes of the first film. Storyline is allright, and the characters are good. Has stronger political and religious themes and content. Still less than par, but nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be.

The first film in this series is most worthwhile watching; the other two are kind of a hit-and-a-miss. The second film suffers tremendously, but could still be good if you want to see a mindless B-rated flick. The third one is great, but most people will hate it if they didn't like any one of the others. But for most sci-fi fans, it's a great series.

It may also be good to note that these films are probably not true to Robert Heinlein's original novel.

The Blu-Ray discs have really great video and sound quality for the most part. The second film doesn't have perfect video quality, but is mostly good. The third film doesn't have perfect sound quality, but is still watchable. All discs have a good array of special features (especially the first film, which includes all of the original features from the 2-disc DVD set (featurettes, deleted scenes, screen tests, and more!) plus brand-new featurettes and special Blu-Ray stuff).

I've added another star to this rating, for the quality of the discs and the fact that they're a whole lot of fun. If you've found this review unhelpful, feel free to leave some feedback so I can improve this and future reviews.

I have never had a high opinion of Direct to video movies or sequels. I used to watched them often yet only a few managed to shine in a pile of wasted effort.

I really like the Starship Troopers movie, so I decided to support the Tippet artists and bet all three. What I got was an experience that was varied yet still felt complete. Even as such though because of the camp and the tone of the movie I can still only recommend this for fans of the original.

The focus is different but still feels apart of the universe. In the first film we get a glimpse at the entire war from a very wide scale in addition to the POV of the main characters. The second brings you back into the war but with a much closer and intimate view of a particular squad. The claustrophobic broken down outpost that the main characters bunker down in, is surrounded by bugs. This only helps to heighten the tension of the second film. The last film is a more personal journey again but is a bigger scale than the second film. We get to see the long standing effects this war has had on the people and troops and more information is given to us about the bugs that lead to a satisfying conclusion.

I recommend this for fans of Starship Trooper and Sci fi alike but if you are not into either one, then these movies might not fit your tastes.

My husband likes these movies so he bought the 3 disc set. Unfortunately, disc 1 wouldn't play on our Panasonic BD35. So he contacted Amazon and they sent a replacement. (Thank you, Amazon!) Well, when we got the replacement, disc 1 still wouldn't work. That's when I got on Amazon and saw the previous review stating that someone else had a problem with disc 1 and their Panasonic player.

So I did some research online at Blu-ray.com and found someone there with the same problem. Fortunately for us, someone had figured out the solution to our problem. For some unspecified reason, disc 1 needs to write to memory in order to boot up. And some Panasonic players do not contain internal memory. So they will not boot up correctly. But, if you put an SD memory card in the SD memory card slot, the disc will write to that and it will boot up just fine.

We went out this morning and got a memory card and came home and, what do you know, they were right! It does work. So I wanted to get onto Amazon and let everyone know how to fix this little problem if you also happen to have a Panasonic player and couldn't get this disc to work on your machine.

Hope this helps. I gave it 3 stars because I thought that having to go through all of that just to get disc 1 to boot was a bit extreme especially since the other discs work just fine.

The first is always the best. After that the movies gose down hill. but if you are like me and need the compleat set it is worth it.

I bought this DVD set as a gift because they greatly enjoyed the original Starship Troopers. Now, after having watched all three movies it would be impossible for me to even call the sequels even worthy of being in a set with the original. Starship troopers which has nothing to do with the series pretty much at all besides that they used the same bugs, lets not mention that actors from the original starring in new roles as new people. The third which was showing promise as they brought back original cast members was a catastrophe that turned into a religious propaganda feature film. Bottom line: Do yourself a favor and buy the first DVD outright and spare yourself the agony of having to watch the other two films which ruin the series entirely.

I once saw one of the Starship Trooper movies on T.V. and I thought that it was good. I went on line and found out there is a trilogy. Well I bought the trilogy. When I received the movies I watched them. I really was impressed on how they portrayed the future and how we lived as human beings. They were all positive and kept their chins up.

This three pack of Starship Troopers gives the buyer all three of the franchises titles in one bundle.Each movie is in a nice slim pack and loaded with extras.As DVD releases go it gets top honours but as a consistent quality movie franchise,it just doesn't rate all that well.
Starship Troopers(released Nov/97) is the first and best of the Troopers series and stars Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico.Military service guarantees citizenship in this futuristic tale.Johnny's girlfriend decides to join up for service as does Johnny alongside.Both want to help win the war against the arachnid threat from a faraway planet called Klendathu.His girlfriend gets a pilots commission while Johnny's scores get him a place as a grunt in the army.
The movie chronicles Johnny's training,his dismissal,his reinstatement and deployment to Klendathu.On the planet casualties abound and Johnny himself comes close many a time to dying.The arachnids however seem not to be just mindless insects as all were lead to believe.In fact Earth intelligence feels there is a brain bug behind all the insects actions and want one captured.When Johnny's girlfriend,now a certified pilot,crash lands on the planet Johnny and his men go after her.A brain bug comes out of hiding to kill his girlfriend but Johnny arrives in the nick of time to save her.Back on the surface they find that Johnny's old drill instructor on Earth has captured the brain bug and which is sure to make a difference in the bug fight.
The movie works on two levels.First,its an all out testosterone filled guy-romp that could be used as an army recruitment tool today.C'mon,go out and kill the enemy;in this case a bug.Secondly,it also works as an ANTI-war film.The films ESP squad looks like neat Nazis and the war propaganda used and the lengths they will go to to incite the population against the enemy,could be interpreted as the State out of control.Furthermore the endless and mindless violence perpetrated on Klendathu is something else to behold.A well done flick that seems to"wink" at you from time to time,I give it a four star rating.
Starship Troopers 2(released June/04)stars Richard Burgi as Capt.Dax.Dax is a prisoner in a remote station outpost in the Klendathu system.His squad has been wiped out by the bugs and he is alone there with no guards,until a fresh military squad from Earth arrives to take over the station.Along the way the group is attacked and the rest proceed to their objective.Once they reach the station they find Dax but keep him locked up until they can get the power up and rescued.A general(Ed Lauter)and two grunts left behind to fight the bugs and having survived,show up later at the station.Once rejoined with the rest,strange things start to happen.Eventually it is learned that the bugs have implanted controlling creatures inside the bodies of the three survivors and one by one they are taking over the entire station.Dax,having been released by the general,is now one of a few who now battle back to fight this internal menace.At the last he and one survivor are alone on the roof when a rescue ship comes.Dax stays behind to his inevitable fate while the other leaves.Back home Dax is made out to be a hero and turns into another recruiting promotion.
This movie is certainly a step down from the first.The writers have lost their imagination as they use the old "control bug" chestnut for their plot.Not only that,as if the words "The Federation" isn't used as the name for the Earth forces alliance here,they also use the name"Dax".Any Trekker out there worth his or her salt will know these Star Trek references without any reservations.The film isn't bad it just could be any Sci-Fi movie made in the last 35 years;they just tagged it with the name Starship Troopers,is all. I give this movie three stars.
Starship Troopers 3(released August/08-direct to DVD)is the worst of the bunch.Casper Van Dien as Colonel Johnny Rico is back,at least for the first part of the movie,then the last,as he leads troopers to an agrarian planet Roku San,where the bugs have infiltrated.They battle the bugs as usual but Johnny ends up hitting an old general friend in an argument and he also is set for execution by hanging.Johnny's rope breaks(on purpose) as his friend has a secret mission for him.The mission entails going to rescue a group of military personnel,including a high profile Sky Marshall by the name of Onake,stranded on planet OM-1.This forlorn group of individuals are dogged by bugs all the way to their destination,two or three finding God along the way.It seems the Sky Marshall KNOWS God,but not the Christian one.His is a giant brain bug,never seen before,who the Sky Marshall is enamoured with and wants to join with in order for the two species to know each other better and become one.The giant bug arrives but just seeks instant absorption into the collective.The Sky Marshall gets his wish but the others are at the last rescued by Rico's elite team of armoured exo skeletons(Marauders)designed for maximum bug damage.They wipe out the threat and head with the survivors back home.Rico is given command of the Marauder program, religion is now adopted and made an official part of the Federation code and Onake's story is turned into a hero's send off.
As I said this is the worst of the bunch.Van Dien is back for the first part of the movie while the group stranded on the planet is the next focus,then Van Dien returns to save the stranded personnel.The makers were hoping his appearance would save this movie but the plot/layout of the film kills any hope of that ever happening.The "finding God" thing just does not go over well and really is the sinker of this stinker.Two stars for this baby.
Technically all films have been remastered well and appear in their original widescreen a/r's.Each disc is loaded with plenty of featurettes,trailers,and galleries to satisfy the least interested Starship Troopers fan.
That is why I would give the package as a set,a high-five stars,but the movies...well,that is another story.The best I can give is a three star.Starship Troopers should have been an only child.But instead it just had two ugly step sisters!

# 1 is a true sci fi classic. # 2 takes some time to get rolling but its OK. # 3 tries to recapture #1 but gets a bit out there, and the closing CGI battle sequence looks cheap. All 3 include a digital copy for download to PC. I found it for $13 at Walmart. The video quality is good, especially on an upconverting DVD player.