Starship Troopers 3: Marauder

Like the recent "Lost Boys" sequel, another incident of too little, too late is Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, the follow-up to the blustery dumb fun that was Paul Verhoeven's 1997 adaptation of Robert Heinlein's sci-fi novel. The previous direct-to-video sequel, 2004's "Hero Of The Federation," was so bad that studio Sony could very well have pretended to forget they made it, as this installment, as flawed as it is, is a much worthier successor.

Original star Casper Van Dien returns as Johnny Rico, the star soldier whose reason to be is to kill bugs dead -- the intelligent giant bugs from planet Klendathu that threaten the human race, that is. He seems to relish the role, which must be a welcome reprieve from the spate of television roles he's encountered of late. Joining him is "Star Trek: Enterprise" star Jolene Blalock as former flame Lola Beck, and their ultimate mission is to destroy the planet on which the Mother Of All Bugs resides.

Some serious bucks were obviously spent to make this look little like the standard direct-to-video fare. It feels a lot like the first movie, with its in-your-face TV broadcasts with built-in point-and-click interactivity implied ("Do You Want To Know More?") The writing is slightly less clever, with series scribe and "RoboCop" refugee Ed Neumeier stepping up to direct. It seem that in this installment, he tried to pack too much snarky goodness in, and was also unable to settle on a single thread of subtext. Heinlein's original anti-Communist bent has been lost beneath a thick layer of Nazi-like imagery. The religious theme is heavy-handed. The war statement is too obvious, and none of them meld very well.

The action is plentiful, though, as is the blood, and the visuals are imaginative and well integrated. The fully co-ed future is nice to see, though Blalock's character could use a course in toughening up by legendary heroines Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver from "Aliens") and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton from "Terminator 2"). Van Dien has a good time here, and Stephen Hogan, who steps in for Neil Patrick Harris, is hilarious as the psychic who is convinced that the Mother Of All Bugs is actually God (insert "Star Trek V" reference here). His character -- Sky Marshall Anoke -- is a huge celebrity in this war-weary future, taking his musical show to the skies to rally the troops (the song and accompanying music video "It's A Good Day To Die" is a riot).

Some generous special features help save the presentation from being just average. The featurette "The Bugs Of 'Starship Troopers 3: Marauder" looks at the many aspects of creating the many bugs (the exploding "Bombardier Bug" is really cool), and "Marauders Mobile Infantry" profiles the characters. Two commentary tracks -- one by writer-director Ed Neumeier, producer David Lancaster and Visual Effects Supervisor Robert Skotak and the other with Neumeier, Van Dien and Blalock -- are nice frosting on a not entirely dismissable cake.