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just watched the subject movie. Like the first two Starship Troopers movies, it was again written by Ed Neumeier. And like the first one it was directed by Paul Verhoeven.
The original Heinlein story focused on the usage of armored "mobile infantry" troopers, who wore fully-encased armored suits ala "MechWarrior". Further the original book discussed military life from the soldiers' point of view, based on Heinlein's own experience in the U.S. military. Not only that, but he also discussed and gave examples of battle tactics used by armored infantry units in the field. His military portrayal was SO good, that the U.S. military academy's listed Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" on their required reading lists.
The movies are another story altogether. Like the first two movies, the third in the ST series is a put-down of all things military and patriotic. The military hardware is CGI eye-candy, while the people using it are strategically, tactically and morally clueless. You'd think I would have learned that there would be no plot after the first two movies, but I noticed the presence of the armored suits, and mistakenly assumed that they had finally picked up on the essence of the Heinlein original. I assumed too much. The armored suits make a short appearance at the end of the movie, and for some odd reason, appear to be the only thing in existance that the "bugs" can't tear apart like paper. This is particularly amazing given the fact that the bugs are capable of grabbing a starship and yanking it not only out of "warp" drive at will, but of also yanking it out of orbit with no effort whatsoever. The bugs can also rip apart battle tanks, heavy fortifications and other structures with ease, but still can't even slow down a man in a mechanical suit with all it's actuators and weaponry exposed. Truly amazing.
But there was ONE other difference in this movie vs the first two. In #3, Verhoeven takes on religion as well, making as much fun of "Our father, who art in Heaven" as he did of "C'mon you apes! You wanna live forever??!!" He also rips of the Klingons by stealing "It's a good day to die!" and turning it into a uniformed Cabaret style music video.
I can't say that it's really science fiction. More like an excuse for a CGI character romp, complete with naked girls donning Nazi themed battle armor while the director sneers at all things military, religious and authoritarian in general.
As for the actors, Casper Van Diem is back, but Denise Richards isn't. They did add an Angelina Jolie clone in the form of Jolene Blalock who plays Starship Captain Lola Beck.
Overall, it's a clone of the first movie, except for the addition of the mechanical armor and the pointed addition of "religion" as a "bad thing" on par with patriotism, government and any other form of authority. On the plus side, the nude shots are longer and in better definition. One thing it lacks is the "camp" of the first one. It tries, but really just looses any "camp" in the director's rather heavy handed "message" this time around. If he really wanted "camp", he should have gotten Dougie Hauser to do the music video.
On a personal note, it's not the money I spent on the movie that I regret as much as it is the loss of time I spent on it.
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