Plot: The battle against the bug menace continues, though the sheer volume of bug enemies is often enough to overtake the human soldiers. On a distant plain, a band of Mobile Infantry roughnecks do battle with a swarm of bugs, only to be mowed down in quick fashion. Some of the soldiers survive and those that do seek out shelter of some kind, which they find in an abandoned outpost. Here, the men hope to catch their breath, assemble a new plan of attack, and perhaps find some rations or weapons. General Shepherd (Ed Lauter) leads his men through the outpost, only to discover a man who has been locked within the station. That man is Captain Dax (Richard Burgi), who was locked up because he killed his commanding officer. But when the bug attack arrives, the soldiers are outnumbered and Dax could be of assistance. So Private Sahara (Colleen Porch) releases him from the hold, with hopes he can engineer a win over the bug invaders.

Entertainment Value: The original Starship Troopers was a sci/fi masterpiece, with remarkable visual effects, over the top satirical elements, and b movie style thrills that never failed to entertain. This sequel ignores all of that and delivers a rather dull, basic sci/fi movie with some action blended in. I wouldn’t have minded if the satire was lost, if it was balanced with high impact action scenes or some wild b movie fun, but Starship Troopers has none of that. The pace is slow, there’s little action to speak of and the narrative offers no real spark, this is the textbook definition of limp sequel, hoping to coast on the fumes of the original. The story is centered on human vs. human threads, which is a total bore and wastes the potential of the bug menace, not to mention the bland cave environment that hosts most of the movie. The finale ramps up the action and shows some minor signs of life, but overall Starship Troopers is a weak, forgettable sequel.

The first movie had some fun sleaze, but that is toned down for this sequel, with just a couple topless scenes and one bare ass on deck. These instances are brief and non graphic, so even prudes shouldn’t have concerns in this area. The action elements have also been scaled back, so the onslaught of violence is minimal and by turn, there’s not much bloodshed on showcase. Most of the violence happens in the finale, with some hand to hand combat, blade wounds, bug attacks, and of course, the guns blaze and give us some crimson. The visual effects nosedive from the original however, so the bugs aren’t as much fun to watch and while there is some blood at times, it is brief and not that memorable. The dialogue is passable, with some tough guy talk and war time motivational speeches, but the writing lacks the sharp satire of the first movie and just feels like a pale imitation. As for craziness, there’s not much that stands out as odd or overly memorable whatsoever here.

Nudity: 1/10

Blood: 3/10

Dialogue: 2/10

Overall Insanity: 0/10

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