Roughly two decades following the release of the seminal 1997 feature film, the cinematic saga of Starship Troopers reaches its conclusion with the final instalment, the 2017 animated feature Starship Troopers: Traitor to Mars. This film serves as the third chapter in the animated continuity, bridging the gap between the original franchise and the fractured live-action sequels that followed. As the series enters its twilight years, the film attempts to deliver a high-octane conclusion that honours the source material while going through the challenges of an episodic franchise.
The plot is set approximately twenty years after the events of the first film and represents a direct sequel to the previous animated feature, Starship: Invasion. The protagonist, Johnny Rico, voiced once again by Casper Van Dien, is now a Colonel in the Mobile Infantry. Having saved Earth from Bug infection, his conduct has made him unpopular with the military brass, and as a result, he has been sent to the quietest of all postings – Nemesis, a Federation base in Martian orbits where he trains a new group of recruits. These are Martians, whose apparent lack of experience and tendency to get obliterated in all simulated combat make Rico refer to them as his "Lost Patrol."
The narrative tension escalates when Captain Carmen Ibanez, voiced by Luci Christian and commanding the starship John A. Warden, is dispatched to take part in a massive Federation attack on the Arachnid Quarantine Zone (AQZ). The offensive has been planned by Amy Snapp, voiced by Emily Neves, a new Sky Marshall who is just 26 years old and is being heavily promoted by the media as the most intelligent woman in the Federation and the youngest Sky Marshall in history. During the attack, Ibanez is telepathically contacted by an old friend, General Carl Jenkins, voiced by Justin Doran, the Minister of Paranormal Warfare. He warns her to abandon her task and bring her ship back to Mars. Jenkins is soon afterwards arrested and interrogated by officers loyal to Snapp.
The conflict reaches its boiling point when Johnny Rico soon discovers his base under siege. Nemesis is attacked by plasma bugs from the surface of Mars, a planet which has been apparently infiltrated by the Arachnids. With the base damaged and falling apart, Rico has no choice but to bring his fresh "Lost Patrol" to the surface to fight the Arachnids, who have overwhelmed the defences and killed almost everyone. In the chaotic firefight on the surface, Rico is temporarily separated from his troops. He is guided by a vision of his late girlfriend, Dizzy Flores, voiced by Dina Meyer. Meanwhile, Amy Snapp declares Mars to be lost and orders a Q-bomb to be set up in the planet's core to destroy it.
Like the previous film, Traitor to Mars has been directed by Shinji Aramaki, the Japanese filmmaker who is widely considered the world's greatest master of 3D animation. The film was co-directed by Masaru Matsumoto, and Ed Neumeier, the screenwriter of the first three live-action films, returned as the author of the script. Traitor to Mars functions as a well-oiled machine, successfully returning three major regular characters from Invasion and the original film. The script is relatively simple, but it provides plenty of opportunity for some exciting military action. Neumeier adds a degree of satirical edge, clearly inspired by 9/11 Truther conspiracy theories and taking jabs at media manipulation. The terraformed Mars is rendered beautifully and serves as a natural setting for the protagonists' fight against hordes of insect-like monsters. The final stand at the huge terraforming tower is truly impressive and showcases what 3D animation can do in the 21st century.
However, the film is not without its flaws. The most memorable scene—in which Rico talks to a ghost-like vision of Dizzy—is also slightly problematic because the script doesn’t answer some obvious questions. What is the true nature of this vision—is it a hallucination, a computer simulation, or Jenkins’ clever telepathic manipulation of an old friend? Without this clarity, the emotional resonance of the moment is somewhat diminished. The film also ends on a slightly anti-climactic way; the main villainess, Amy Snapp, despite being disgraced in public, does not get punished for her crimes. It seems that the film could have worked better with some padding, but Aramaki and Matsumoto were constrained by the need to have the film within a running time of one and a half hours. Consequently, the dialogue does not seem to be particularly inspired, rushing through character beats to get to the spectacle.
While the film does give some fan service to 1997 original aficionados, it keeps things very prude compared to previous instalments, discarding the nudity which was used in Starship Troopers: Invasion. This tonal shift aligns with the approach seen in the animated franchise's history, where the medium allowed for a shift away from the cynical satire of Verhoeven’s original film towards a more straightforward military adventure.
Despite these flaws, there were far worse ways for the Starship Troopers saga to end. It is a generally satisfying military science fiction action film that would be recommended even to those who aren’t fans of the actual series. It manages to capture the spirit of interstellar warfare without getting bogged down in the narrative inconsistencies that plagued the live-action sequels, providing a fitting, if imperfect, conclusion to a beloved franchise.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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