Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017) User Reviews

Great CGI, good action, but mediocre story...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 22 August 2017]

Another entry to the "Starship Troopers" franchise, and it is another CGI animated movie nonetheless. I can only speculate as to why they opted for a CGI animated movie and not a proper live action movie.

I found "Starship Troopers: Invasion" to be entertaining, and it was a definite improvement on the "Starship Troopers: Roughneck" animated series. So I was pleased to see that this 2017 "Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars" was very much in the same arena as "Starship Troopers: Invasion". So if you enjoyed that one, then you will definitely also enjoy this one.

The CGI was great, with lots of detail and great textures in every scene, ranging from characters and bugs to scenery and environment. It very much resembles the likes of the "Resident Evil" CGI animated movies in style of visual and design.

It was nice, of course, to have Casper Van Dien to return to reprise his Rico character, although the visual presentation of the character in the movie didn't really look much like Van Dien.

"Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars" is a non-stop action movie with focus on the battle of humans against the bugs. Which, I might add, it has essentially every other "Starship Trooper" addition to the franchise. So you should not expect a complex and deep storyline. You just lean back and enjoy the action of watching humans fighting bugs.

The dialogue in this 2017 CGI animated movie was somewhat stale and staggering. It didn't really feel natural and it was too simplistic, which was rubbing off negatively on the overall enjoyment of the movie.

This is definitely for the fans of the the "Starship Troopers" franchise. I was adequately entertained throughout the course of the movie, despite the fact that the storyline was unfathomably predictable.

Great animation, lacking a decent script

[rdenisw · 5/10 · 23 August 2017]

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!

And down we go again

[pway82 · 4/10 · 25 August 2017]

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.

If you were a fan of the 1st one, don't watch this one

[bencex · 3/10 · 25 August 2017]

I'm giving it 3 stars because of the voice actors (original cast). Other than that, the film is garbage. I'm no military expert but the military/logical errors in the movie are terrible. It feels like the who script, story was written for some 10 year olds. Full of boring, old clichés and jokes that makes you want to fall asleep. If you really have nothing else to do, watch it, but even brushing your teeth for 1,5 hours is more entertaining than this. Such a shame they killed this great franchise after the first movie.

A good 2nd CGI addition to the franchise.

[frankblack-79961 · 7/10 · 10 August 2019]

Glad they continued the CGI movies as they seem to be putting some good ST material out at long last. Don't listen to the pretensious reviewers picking apart every little thing that didn't give them the same experience they got from Verhoeven's adaptation or Heinlein's book (which was mostly about politics and not much about the bug war). It's a worthy addition to the ST storyline. Yes, it's got some cheesy voice acting. Really not that bad though. Casper Van Dien was nominated for a voice acting award for gods sake. LoL. Give it a chance you apes! :)

sad entry to the franchise

[missionary · 3/10 · 23 August 2017]

Serious funding was spent on the CG and the storytelling, only to be ruined by third-rate dialog. Would have been an asset to Starship Trooper if they had invested in better scriptwriters. I realize the cost restraints and the enormous effort in the creative department and voice actors. But to neglect in spending in a decent dialog writer is just a shame....

Starship Troopers Traitor of Mars: Best ST movie since 1997

[Platypuschow · 7/10 · 12 October 2018]

Starship Troopers has a long history dating back all the way to the tail end of the 1950's, it's movie's started in the 80's and ever since it's been a very rocky road. They hit pay dirt with 1997's Paul Verhoevens epic but after that it all fell rather flat.

In 2012 they released Invasion which was the first animated Starship Troopers movie and it wasn't bad, in fact it was the best since 1997 as parts 2 & 3 of the live action were pretty terrible.

Here in 2017 with Casper Van Dien returning as Rico and oddly Dina Meyer returning as Dizzy they succeeded again as this is the best Starship Troopers movie they've made (With the exception of 1997).

Also returning for the ride is Carmen and Carl, but don't expect them to be voiced by Denise Richards or Neil Patrick Harris.

The plot is a conspiracy regarding a bug outbreak on mars and it's actually not all that bad. The animation though not entirely fluid still looks the part and even if it is a tad cheesy the voice acting is on point.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars is a rather enjoyable addition to the franchise. More of this would be greatly appreciated.

The Good:

Looks great

Some oddly good humour

The Bad:

Dizzy looked weird

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Kicking someone to the ground who is in possession of a nuke makes perfect sense

Battlesuits come standard with butt cheeks

Approval ratings are monitered active and live at all times

Somewhere, a Video Game is Missing Its Cut Scenes

[fcabanski · 1/10 · 5 October 2017]

Or is it some cut scenes are missing their video game? This movie wouldn't be bad if it was delivered in short segments around video game play. But as a movie, it leaves a lot to be desired.

That's not accurate. It leaves everything to be desired.

The core message in the movie is George W. Bush masterminded the 9/11 attack to gain popularity and steal the oil in Iraq. It's a rotten message, and the delivery is very poorly done.

Everything about this movie is derivative. Elements that were clever in the 80's and 90's, like the news reports delivering important information and mood, are now just tired reruns. Just using those news reports with the sarcastic tone would be bad enough, but in this movie the news reports often repeat information that was just given. So any chance of their being interesting or necessary is lost in a wave of redundancy.

The voice acting is painful to hear. Many of the female characters have a habit of adding an extra syllable to the end of words - like pouty teenage girls do." If it's not an extra syllable, it's a big intake of breath.

"Why are you doing this to me-uh?" "Send the ships (huhhhh)" It's very bad.

Characters go from absolute panic to over confident swagger to absolute panic to overconfident swagger - repeat the cycle 10 more times - in the same scene. It happens scene after scene. Are they overconfident veterans or panicked kids? It'f fine to be both at different times, but it's not fine to be both at the same time.

The shifting attitude of the characters goes right along with the overuse of the in-helmet, close up view of a panicked face. That's only broken up by the in-helmet, close up view of an overconfident face. It's shots by the numbers.

The story is by the numbers. An egotistical leader plots evil doings to get the people on her side. One man uncovers the plot, and he pulls the two heroes into the standard busting the conspiracy action. Star Trek" The Undiscovered Country did it much better.

There's some decent action buried in this mess, but it's buried too deep and it's too infrequent. That's where a video game would come in handy. If a player could get immersed in living the action for long stints between the awful movie, it would serve as glue that held the narrative together.

But the video game is absent along with entertainment value.

Great Action, Fine Animation, Decent Plot

[wwkirk · 7/10 · 26 December 2019]

Both "Starship Troopers" the book, and the 1997 movie, are classics. The present movie in no way measures up to them. But it's a decent sequel. It has great action, good graphics, and despite what many others reviewers have said, the plot is not bad. It highlights important themes in the Starship Troopers universe, and sets up possibilities for future sequels.

It is great seeing Casper Van Dien back in action as the heroic Johnny Rico, even as an animated avatar. It's also nice to have Dina Meyer return as "Dizzy" Flores, in a significant role.

As strange as it may seem to say this, I actually prefer the two most recent animated offerings in the Starship Troopers franchise to live-action sequels 2 and 3. With animation, extraordinary sci-fi action scenes don't seem as unrealistic as they can in some live-action films. It's also easier to accept them as fun. Since it is unlikely that any further sequels will be able to come close to the success of the original film, animation may be the way forward for the franchise.

Better than the non-cgi sequels!

[rsvp321 · 25 August 2017]

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.

Cant beat the original.

[alien_invasor_05 · 5/10 · 17 September 2017]

**This may contain spoilers** The original movie was a masterpiece, and its really hard to match.

U get it why they did cgi instead of live action. Casper is older, skinnier, it would be more expensive to create special effects for the new suits, etc.

I cannot complain about the animation, as it is gorgeous. Cant complain about the voice over, it was done by some of the actors from the original and it does bring some nostalgia.

The real bummer on this film is the extremely weak plot. And the wholes that are inside. Like how did Rico survived when he fell into thousands of of enemies?. Why he was alone in the next scene? What happened to the bugs? Why was Carl not executed?, how did he escaped or why was he released? Anyway, if you are fan of the franchise you will love the action scenes, they do resemble and are, not on par, but consistent with the original film. You will enjoy them. The plot, not so much.

This is by no means a masterpiece, but its also far from being garbage as some reviews say. Im happy that they are keeping the franchise alive, but i fear that ill die, if not already, with less than stellar small sequels targeting the fans instead of 1 well done film that everyone can see.

If you are a fan, what are you waiting trooper?, if not, just watch the original.

Fun, goofy, entertaining

[mightymothra · 8/10 · 22 September 2017]

I generally watch the Starship Troopers CG movies looking for ridiculously over-the-top action shlock I can put on with friends and laugh at while being entertained. Traitor of Mars does the trick on this front, but it actually has a pretty good story this time with a cast of lovable shlubs. Whoever came up with the concept of a makeup-caked bimbo Space Marine is exactly the kind of person who should be leading the charge on these Starship Trooler CG flicks.

These sequels are, as you might expect, nowhere remotely close to the verhoeven classic in terms of tone or message, but they surprisingly do a pretty great job of keeping up that same dumb fun 90's shlock feel that the surface level of first flick had: troopers are sent into the meat grinder time and again by incompetent superiors who are wholly detached from the reality of war. The difference is that, in these CG flicks, Rico will get launched 15 feet into the air, do a flip and jump-kick a giant bug to kill it, and it'll totally work. Everyone has anime plot armor and every dumb tactical decision can be fought through by shooting enough bullets at it.

In short, it's close enough to the surface level of the original to keep true, while also being wholly enjoyable shlock to watch with friends. Thought they did a good job with this one.

Not Bad, Just doesn't live up to it's legacy

[Harun_Karali · 6/10 · 22 August 2017]

If you were a fan of the original film as I was, you will enjoy the small Easter eggs in the film. As for the animation itself, the story was good, mainly because it felt like it was trying to relate to real life. A little heavy on politics and how important leadership is. The major issue with this film is the pacing, I love humor in any film especially action, however in this case I couldn't even crack a smile. Which put a damper on the pace of the film. If this was directed at a younger audience then it would be excusable, but since this is an R- rated animation, I cannot overlook it. That being said, I did tear up a few times, not because of any emotional scene but because of the nostalgic feeling it gave me, quotes like"you want to live forever?" made me recall the original film. Is it too much to ask for a live action sequel to the original.

Simply awful

[[e-mail] · 1/10 · 15 September 2017]

I can't believe they spent more than $50 on the computer graphics for this movie. Like a poorly done first person shooter from the 90s. Story bland. Total waste of time.

Watch the original - it's a classic. Don't bother with any of the sequels.

Anime meets Metal Gear in this misguided movie.

[meritcoba · 10 September 2017]

Whatever meaning the novel and original movie Starship Troopers had is lost in this anime sequel that borrows its main character from Metal Gear Solid. This is not Rico, it is Big Boss. I wonder when the legal battle will ensue.

The whole political, moral and philosophical implications of an society dominated by the military and drenched in warfare is pushed to the background and so much so that merely making a reference to it seems to score favorable with the anime crowd. Oh blimey, they just quoted a line from the original movie! Awesome! As long as it is anime, which means over-muscled though guys, dramatic looking characters, supposedly funny nerds and long slender blacked hair girls with big breasts wearing suggestive outfits and anime haircuts. I swear that the air marshal is Lightning from Final Fantasy.

What we get served is a trashy story of a bunch of stereotypical newbies that get dropped in the midst of a surprise attack on Mars by aliens nobody except the audience saw coming. There are issues over Mars trying to gain independence for the federation, but this is never addressed properly because it is just required as a plot device to get the newbies fighting giant bugs over a planet and for a population we never see or hear from. It is just shallow window dressing.

What is even worse is that almost all the characters are boring run- of-the-mill anime tropes which is exacerbated by a shallow story-line that is goes something like: bunch of newbies wise up under stress to the surprise of their though as nails commander Rico.

This movie is best avoided for anyone but die hard anime fans.

Actually I do not dislike anime, but it ill fits with Starship Troopers. By all means, make a movie in which a bunch of staple characters fighting insectoid invaders. Just call it something else but Starship Troopers if that is all you want to do.

Martian poop

[draftdubya · 2/10 · 23 January 2018]

The villian supposed to be the smartest person ever, but don't understand the blow back of blowing up Mars(you know our nearest neighbor). Europe sized objects would fly directly towards earth. I have no clue the the Psychic guy couldn't just off her since it was shown he could give her a bloody nose from a distance. Rico's voice sound like Archer. Rico's troops were just annoying.

ST feeling with new elements

[karolypeti · 7/10 · 19 January 2019]

Really enjoyed this one! It sets on a bit different path from the original movie but it has a great contstruct and gets some elements from the original novel too. The atmosphere and story brings a good follow up to the first movie. Recommend to watch this one some time after the first movie and you'll get a real treat in ST! 😉

This is rated too high

[bwc-maneke · 3/10 · 15 April 2021]

While the animation is decent at best "Sgt Rico" wouldn't be commanding a squad full of cowards! It wasn't even 5minutes in and the feminist sexism was already glaring at you daring you not to notice it while its slapping you in the face. With its bold statements like "Marines are apparently all cowards" except Rico which I take personal offense to and "Marines will stand there in shock while their team gets killed right in front of their eyes" then lastly only women are somehow immune to this with a bug seemingly barking at her like a dog instead of taking that same exact time to rip her apart. Im sorry but this is bulls***.

The first two movies were an allegory for the military indoctrination of youth and the military complex at large. If you were quick you caught what the writer and director were saying. We are the bugs, we move from place to place consume the resources and move to the next area and do it again while we destroy everything in the path even if its the planet its self.

This animation did not land close to the tree that spawned it. The viewer might enjoy this if your IQ is low or your below a 12th grade reading level.

Most like the book

[brianmlucas · 7/10 · 14 August 2020]

This is not your father's Starship Troopers, the OG movie that still stands up today despite its many flaws. This CGI version is very much more like the original 1959 book. Also a flawed classic that has held up well. It's too much to compare either to this. This on it's own is a fine little CGI movie that has the benefit of the original voice actors. It does convey the books esprit d'corps of the Mobile Infantry and the ahead of it's time tech powered suits. I liked it. It was is fun sci fi military bang bang shoot 'em up on Mars with the voices of actors I remember fondly in the same role. I did not expect anything else and was not disappointed.

Casper van Dein enters the Uncanny valley

[JoeB131 · 2/10 · 18 December 2017]

This is the second animated feature based on Paul Vorhoeven's adaptation of Robert Heinlein's work. To give it credit, it's vision of the Mobile Infantry is actually a lot closer to Heinlein's original vision, where the MI wears battle armor capable of inflicting lots of destruction on the animated insects.

The plot line is that the new Sky Marshall allowed the bugs to invade Mars so she'd have an excuse to destroy the planet to any other colony that would want independence from the Federation.

The animation still looks creepy as heck, even though some of the close-ups of faces are pretty detailed. The action scenes are dull, nothing we haven't seen in three previous movies.

Good but crippled by the script.. such a shame

[dave-35295 · 7/10 · 27 August 2017]

Its another one of those.. "oh it could have been so much better" films. I really do want this type of Annie film to succeed.. why ? because it has so much potential and I expect in the future , if done right will fill the gaps between big blockbusters and a need for "more" at a reasonable price. Starship troopers was my late fathers favorite Sci fi film. There were very few films he would repeatedly watch but that and Independence Day where two of them. Why.. because they were fantasy silliness with no need to engage your brain. It fell short of the book by a mile, which in my opinion is one of the best Sci Fi books written, however you have to actually engage your brain the same as when reading Forever War or An Old Man's war. All have deep and symbolic subliminal messages that can cause a paradigm shift in ones perception of modern conflict and society's concepts of morality. Back to the film sorry for the monologue lol The CGI was great.. had no problems with that at all, in fact some parts where excellently executed, however you had a feeling the budget had been spent and they were filling if the background in some parts. Casper Van Dien was fantastic.. had no problems with his acting.. your only as good as your script and I would think the co-stars may have been better had they had one. Great sound effects.. music etc was fine. I had absolutely no expectations for this film, but I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of my time. I think one of the animators had a serious crush on (Sky Marshall) Emma Watson.. post if you agree ! A big problem I had was its school boy/girl mentality, and parts where just pure juvenile. Yet other parts where violent and visceral… I would have liked them to stick to latter and made a gritty slugfest of a war film. That's the great thing with Man versus bugs, you just need a start and victorious end scatter with some dark humor and a bit of nakedness.. nothing much more. Less dialog would have been more and would have improved it 10 fold. Also would have been a good idea if they have left out the mentally addled despot as it did nothing for the film at all. Conclusion.. it's a shift in the Star Ship Trooper series, and one that could have been so much more entertaining .. but still worth a watch if you like this type of film … get it together and you could have a winner next time.

Voice acting was the biggest problem.

[RafVne2 · 5/10 · 15 February 2019]

I'm a fan of CGI movies, unfortunately, there was one BIG problem... Voice acting suuuuucked. I could barely watch it. Storyline wasn't too engaging either, or maybe I just couldn't get into it because of those voices.

Animation is quite good though (except for few segments), and it was somewhat visually pleasing. but that will not save that movie... those voices were so fake, it was unbearable. Also, considering it's a 2017 production, I would expect better emoting from the characters. They weren't horrible, but if you compare it to "Final Fantasy", they fall short, and FF was released in 2001

A properly fun bug bash

[eydryan · 8/10 · 19 March 2018]

A masterpiece, this isn't, but it's a damn entertaining movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, and for that I think it deserves some credit. I can't imagine this had a big budget, but the graphics look great, the voice actors play with heart, and the in-movie propaganda is funny yet realistic enough that it doesn't feel forced.

Yeah, it's full of tropes and other weird bits, and it introduces some characters only to ignore them for the most parts, but for what it is, it's pretty well made. Don't go into it expecting a true successor to Starship Troopers, just watch it like you'd watch something like Final Fantasy the Spirits Within; suspend disbelief and enjoy some bug ass-kicking.

I liked it, and I really think you might too, so give it a shot!

The best sequel

[joakim589-1 · 7/10 · 30 January 2022]

This is the best sequel to Starship Troopers. It has some good action moments, and the story is ok. The length of the movie is good, one and a half hour.

The word we are looking for is "lazy"

[SebastienSpa · 25 September 2019]

It's hard to find a worthy introduction here because this is more of a mess than a movie. After everything that spawned after the original movie, everyone was so much in hope that one day there will a sequel or spin-off that kinda got the idea of part one and continued it in a decent manner. Well, we are still waiting...

In times where computer games cinematics are made in a very sophisticated way this movie looks like it's been made by fans using a game engine. Some animations and (bug) walk cycles look so bad, you can literally say "my playstation graphics look better". Things we have to distinguish though is effects quality and cinematography, and the cinematography is quite ok at some points. I actually found the music quite fitting at most points and the theme(s) of the original film received a passable makeover, except for when the music department decided to make a dream-metal version of it. It's one of these many moments where you just look into the sky and scream "whyyyy"?

But the most annoying two things are the new characters (their interactions, their models - some much less detailed than others -, their dialogue, etc...) and the (missing) logic of some scenes. The most prominent point in my opinion is time: Time is so scarce in some scenes, the bugs are advancing fast in vast numbers - it takes forever to just kill one - and yet the characters find lush windows of time to spew out dialogue that is, and here we are again, duller than in most mediocre video game cinematics. Certain decisions made, some serious lag in reaction times and some immediacies of unfoldings in situations just make no sense at all. And as much as I tried - it killed the atmosphere, credibility and legitimacy of this film for me. You may get through with in video game cutscenes - but not in a movie.

All in all: Here and there a scene is nicely set, here and there an effect actually works, here and there something not completely predictable happens and here and there story proceeds in a way that actually would make sense on a larger scale of tolerance. But most of the time this is just an empty movie that decorates itself with names that we once learned to love - only to find dull shells of the past. Yes, this one is lazy, very very lazy.