Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) (V)

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Director:

Phil Tippett

Writer (WGA):

Edward Neumeier (written by)

Release Date:

4 May 2004 (Hungary)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

They're coming back to wipe us out!

Plot:

In the sequel to Paul Verhoeven's loved/reviled sci-fi film, a group of troopers taking refuge in an abandoned outpost after fighting alien bugs, failing to realize that more danger lays in wait.

Plot Keywords:

Bug | Starship | Outpost | Sequel | Private

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Billy Brown	...	Pvt. Ottis Brick
Richard Burgi	...	Capt. V.J. Dax
Kelly Carlson	...	Pvt. Charlie Soda
Cy Carter	...	Pvt. Billie Otter
Sandrine Holt	...	Pvt. Jill Sandee
Ed Lauter	...	Gen. Jack Gordon Shepherd
J.P. Manoux	...	TSgt. Ari Peck
Lawrence Monoson	...	Lt. Pavlov Dill
Colleen Porch	...	Pvt. Lei Sahara
Drew Powell	...	Pvt. Kipper Tor
Ed Quinn	...	Pvt. Joe Griff
Jason-Shane Scott	...	Pvt. Duff Horton
Brenda Strong	...	Sgt. Dede Rake
Brian Tee	...	Cpl. Thom Kobe
David Wells	...	Recruiting Sergeant
Tim Conlon	...	Fleet Pilot (as Tim Conlin)
Bobby C. King	...	Smiling Lieutenant (as Robby C. King)
Stephen Stanton	...	FedNet (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jon Davison	...	Outpost (voice) (uncredited)
Sean Delon	...	Trooper (uncredited)
Jesse Grce	...	Handsome Trooper (in photograph) (uncredited)
Elizabeth Keller	...	Trooper (uncredited)
Oliver Keller	...	Trooper (uncredited)
Jonathan Passow	...	Lt. Spears, General's Guard (uncredited)
Ty Williams	...	Trooper (uncredited)

Directed by
Phil Tippett

Writing credits (WGA)
Edward Neumeier		(written by) (as Ed Neumeier)

Produced by
Jon Davison	....	producer
Glenn S. Gainor	....	executive producer
Edward Neumeier	....	co-producer
Phil Tippett	....	co-producer

Original Music by
John W. Morgan		(as John Morgan)
William T. Stromberg		(as William Stromberg)

Cinematography by
Christian Sebaldt		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Louise Rubacky

Casting by
Penny Ellers

Production Design by
Franco-Giacomo Carbone		(as Franco Carbone)

Art Direction by
John Zachary		(as John R. Zachary)

Set Decoration by
Michelle Ashley
Timothy Stepeck		(as Tim Stepeck)

Costume Design by
Jennifer L. Parsons		(as Jennifer Parsons)

Makeup Department
Deborah Patino	....	makeup department head
Don Rutherford	....	makeup artist
Randy Sayer	....	hair department head
Martie Schribner	....	makeup artist (as Martie Scribner)
Steven R. Soussanna	....	hair stylist (as Steve Soussana)

Production Management
Glenn S. Gainor	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sean Hobin	....	second assistant director
Jules Kovisars	....	second second assistant director
Mark Anthony Little	....	first assistant director
Barbara Lontkowski	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Damon Bard	....	sculptor
Eric Dennis	....	assistant props
Dupree Dial	....	set dresser
James L. Eddy	....	assistant props (as James Eddy)
Alberto Gonzalez-Reyna	....	assistant art director
John Hansen	....	set illustrator
Ron Holthuysen	....	special property maker
Wayne Lindholm	....	construction coordinator
Kristie Moore	....	set painter
David Napoli	....	lead man
Megan Oliver	....	painter
Richard Reynolds	....	set designer
Ronald Russom	....	set dresser
Mark Sakamoto	....	swing gang
Chris Schultz	....	assistant props
Brook Shafer	....	swing gang
Ashley Sibille	....	art department coordinator
Michelle Spears	....	property master
Bart Trickel	....	special property maker
Bob Warner	....	stand-by painter
Peter Flynn	....	propmaker (uncredited)

Sound Department
Michael Axinn	....	foley editor
Steve Boeddeker	....	sound designer
Steve Boeddeker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Boeddeker	....	supervising sound editor
Lisa Chino	....	assistant supervising sound editor
Ben Conrad	....	foley mixer
Frank E. Eulner	....	sound designer (as Frank Eulner)
Frank E. Eulner	....	supervising sound editor (as Frank Eulner)
Stephen Hunter Flick	....	warrior bug sound effects created by (as Steve Flick)
Sue Fox	....	adr editor (as Suzanne Fox)
Anna Geyer	....	foley recordist
Bruce Lacey	....	adr editor
Kevin Maloney	....	boom operator
Shannon Mills	....	sound effects editor
Marnie Moore	....	foley walker
Margie O'Malley	....	foley walker
John Pospisil	....	warrior bug sound effects
Frank Rinella	....	foley mixer
Gary Rizzo	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Gary A. Rizzo)
Daniel Sperry	....	consultant: Dolby film sound (as Dan Sperry)
Christopher Sposa	....	utility sound
David Weisberg	....	adr recordist
Ed White	....	production sound mixer
Marshall Winn	....	dialogue editor

Special Effects by
Donald Elliott	....	special effects technician
Peter Konig	....	animation supervisor
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects supervisor
Dan Ossello	....	special effects technician
Frank Petzold	....	miniature cinematography
Tracey Roberts	....	model painter
Bart Trickel	....	miniatures

Visual Effects by
Damon Bard	....	sculptor
Renee Binkowski	....	texture painter: Tippett Studio
Jeremy Bolan	....	character animator
Kane Brassington	....	roto artist
Daniel Bryant	....	digital compositor
Howard R. Campbell	....	lighting technical director
Michael Clemens	....	visual effects producer
Russell Darling	....	programming: Tippett Studio
Colin Epstein	....	digital compositor
Aaron Florez	....	lead painter
Jesse Grce	....	bug wrangler
Scott Hale	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Joseph Hamdorf	....	effects animator: Tippett Studio
Tyler Ham	....	matchmove artist: Tippett Studio
Craig Hayes	....	designer: bugs
Mariah Howard	....	visual effects production assistant
Jennifer Hutcheon	....	visual effects editor
Michael Kirylo	....	digital effects artist
Jonathan Knight	....	digital compositor
Ken Kokka	....	visual effects plate producer
Peter Konig	....	concept artist
Peter Kuran	....	visual effects
Kirk Larkins	....	survey crew/match move artist: Tippett Studio
Michael Leonard	....	character animator: Tippett Studio
Eric Leven	....	visual effects supervisor
David A. Link	....	film I/O technician: Tippett Studio
Dan McNamara	....	head of operations: Tippett Studio
Jim McVay	....	digital compositor
Chris Morley	....	lead digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Guido Muzzarelli	....	match move artist
Zoe Peck-Eyler	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
John Rader	....	visual effects
Daniel Riha	....	rotoscoper
Tracey Roberts	....	character set up
Ari Rubenstein	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Alonzo Ruvalcaba	....	head of production: Tippett Studio
David Schnee	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Ariel Tal	....	visual effects rotoscope artist
Jon Terada	....	digital compositor
Deborah Thomas	....	rotoscoper
Matthew Tomlinson	....	digital imaging supervisor: Tippett Studio
Jess Vickery	....	character animator
Robert Vignone	....	model maker: Tippett Studio
Vicki Wong	....	digital film I/O manager: Tippett Studio
Salvatore Catanzaro	....	assistant effects editor: Tippett Studio (uncredited)
Matthew M. Robinson	....	technical director (uncredited)

Stunts
Sita Acevedo	....	stunts (as Sita Blasa Acevedo)
Talia Botone	....	stunts
Steve Boyles	....	stunts
Eliza Coleman	....	stunts
Andy Dylan	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Michael Gaines	....	stunts (as Michael R. Gaines)
Troy Gilbert	....	stunt performer
Zac Henry	....	stunts
Lisa Hoyle	....	stunts
Elizabeth Keller	....	stunts
Oliver Keller	....	stunts
Bobby C. King	....	stunt coordinator
Lane Leavitt	....	stunts
April Littlejohn	....	stunts
Mike Massa	....	stunts
Johnny Nguyen	....	stunts
Monica Staggs	....	stunt double: Sandrine Holt
Scott Waugh	....	stunts
Cheryl Lynn Albrecht	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Kelly Clear	....	electrician
Mark Doering-Powell	....	additional camera operator
Casey Ellison	....	electrician
Steve Galvin	....	key rigging gaffer
Ken Glassing	....	camera operator
Chris Goe	....	grip
Mitch Gulbin	....	key rigging grip
Billy Gunn	....	electrician
John Hankammer	....	camera operator
Chris Hathaway	....	electrician (as Chris Hathoway)
Matthew Hawkins	....	grip (as Matt Hawkins)
George Hesse	....	first assistant camera
Paul Janossy	....	first assistant camera
Joel Jaspan	....	dolly grip
Daniel Kauahi	....	grip
Brett Lood	....	grip
Marc Meisenheimer	....	gaffer
Scott Moody	....	best boy electric
Scott Robison	....	grip
Paul Sammon	....	still photographer (as Paul M. Sammon)
Ryan Sheridan	....	technician: high definition camera
Tim Speed	....	dimmer operator
Mick Spitalnick	....	best boy grip
Bruce Swift	....	key grip
Conner Vandeer	....	electrician (as Connor Vandeer)
Eric West	....	electrician
Ken Glassing	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Animation Department
Peter Konig	....	animation supervisor
Brian Mendenhall	....	animator

Casting Department
Jan Powell	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kathleen Brodbeck	....	costume supervisor
Florence Gan	....	set costumer
Shirley Kurata	....	set costumer
Laura E. Little	....	set costumer (as Laura Little)
Janice Zeller	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Rob Bonz	....	assistant editor
Matthew W. Johnson	....	on-line editor
Kevin Rose-Williams	....	assistant editor (as Kevin Rose Williams)

Music Department
Anna Bonn	....	orchestrator
Christine H. Luethje	....	music editor (as Christine Luethje)
John W. Morgan	....	orchestrator (as John Morgan)
William T. Stromberg	....	conductor (as William Stromberg)
William T. Stromberg	....	orchestrator (as William Stromberg)

Transportation Department
Jerry Drake	....	transportation co-captain
Ray Joyce	....	driver
Jody Kreinbrink	....	driver
Dennis Milliken	....	transportation captain
Brenda Ryan	....	driver
Marshall Taylor	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Chris Baugh	....	location manager
David C. Bernat	....	assistant production office coordinator
Monica Brinn	....	production assistant
Damon E. Burke	....	key set production assistant
Faith Conroy	....	script supervisor
Mykel Denis	....	production coordinator
Eileen M. Dennis	....	first assistant accountant
Kelvin Garvanne	....	stand-in
Arkadiusz Grzegorzak	....	creator: starshiptroopers2.net
Stephanie James	....	production assistant (as Stephanie Fike)
David Kessler	....	set medic
Patrice King	....	set medic
Shawn Marchetti	....	production office assistant
Rob McCabe	....	stand-in: key utility
Ryan Sheridan	....	HDTV technician
Darius Siwek	....	production assistant
Lora Umphress	....	payroll accountant
Kenny Vasquez	....	production assistant
Sophia N. von Bülow	....	production accountant

Thanks
Phil Benson	....	special thanks
Alec Gillis	....	special thanks
Alan Marshall	....	special thanks
Cheryl Nardi	....	special thanks
Gary Rydstrom	....	special thanks
Paul Verhoeven	....	special thanks
Tom Woodruff Jr.	....	special thanks (as Tom Woodruff)

Production Companies

• Startroop Pictures Inc.
• Tippett Studio

Distributors

• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2004) (Argentina) (all media)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Tippett Studio
• Scientific Art Studio
• Visual Concept Engineering (VCE)

Other Companies

• Alex Gourmet Catering  catering (as Alex's Gourmet Catering)
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Fantasy Studios  foley recorded at
• Moscow Symphony Orchestra  music performed by
• Skywalker Sound  mixed at
• Sony Pictures Studios  adr recorded at
• SpectSoft  Rave HD DDRs provided by

Also Known As:

Starship Troopers 2 (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexual content and brief language.

Runtime:

USA:88 min | 92 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios - 1600 Rosecrans Avenue, Manhattan Beach, California, USA

Company:

Startroop Pictures Inc.

Trivia:

Richard Burgi took the large banner featured in the end sequence.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Dax says "Murderer's don't go home," his mouth stops moving half way through.

Quotes:

[first lines]
FedNet: Our war's going better than ever, but we need heroes! We need you!
Smiling Lieutenant: Come on, you apes... You wanna live forever?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Inside the Federation (2004) (V)

Not the worst film ever by a long shot, but it still gets an "F"

Series note: Although this film is something of a train wreck, it would be even worse if one didn't watch the original Starship Troopers (1997) first. The first film is excellent, and will help you figure out what is supposed to be going on in this film.

A group of Starship Troopers becomes stranded while engaged in warfare on a "bug planet". They make it to a mostly abandoned makeshift fort and succeed in holding the enemy at bay outside, only to discover that they may have enemies just as lethal amongst themselves.

Phil Tippet may be a genius with visual effects in other films, but in his first turn as a director, he's made a mess of Starship Troopers 2. Admittedly, it's not a complete loss. I actually ended up giving the film a 5 out of 10, even though that is a rating I usually reserve only for "so bad they're good" films. No, Starship Troopers isn't really good, but at times it threatened to get a 3 out of 10, while the closer it got to the finish line, the more it started seeming like a 7 out of 10 to me. I decided to average it. Keep in mind that in my rating system, a 6 is equivalent to the grade of D.

Oddly, I thought that the script was almost worth a C (or a 7) throughout the film. The biggest problem script-wise, aside from the fact that the tone of this film is completely different than the first (a fact that will turn off many viewers, but for which I wouldn't subtract any points in itself), was that the dialogue is overburdened with pseudo-militaristic gobbledy-gook and there are far too many characters to keep track of and care about. Towards the end, when the film turned more into a horror film than its previous contentment with being a war flick (this one is never really sci-fi), I thought the ideas were actually very good. I'm a huge horror fan, and the horror material worked for me. There was a nice amount of gore and decent suspense.

But those are the positives. Let's get to what the film does wrong. The biggest problems are the cinematography, lighting, and production design. For some reason, the opening scene of the film, which we could say goes on for maybe 40 minutes (far too long), is almost exclusively close-ups. We routinely have a screenful of someone's nose, mouth, or some other body part. Close-ups aren't bad in general, but when that's all a viewer sees for 40 minutes, and in the midst of what's supposed to be a grand-scale war with hundreds or thousands of combatants, it's awful. Everything is also too dark, and when it isn't dark, it's usually too bright, in that Tippet has a light or two pointing directly at the camera. And during fight scenes, we only get to see troopers face-on. We hardly ever see what they're shooting at.

Now, being generous, we might say that the point of all the above is to convey the claustrophobia and chaos of war. But that's being far too generous. The original Starship Troopers conveyed the chaos of war very nicely. In Starship Troopers 2, Tippet is really trying to cover up the fact that they had no budget to build sets, acquire props, hire many cast members, pay for cgi-rendered environments or even matte paintings. There are some cgi-rendered bug aliens (and maybe a couple small things done with mechanicals) and there is one set, but that's about it. Most of the film is poorly lit and backlit so that we can't see that the actors are on a mostly empty soundstage. The close-ups are an attempt to distract our attention from the small, low-budget scale of things. All of these aspects fail miserably. At least until halfway through the film, when we begin to see some cinematography and lighting on the single set that we could call "almost competent".

Even though I wouldn't subtract points for the difference in tone, it is quite a shock if you start watching Starship Troopers 2 expecting anything even remotely resembling the first film. The first film is a clever satire on society and militaristic thinking via its depiction of a future, war-hungry culture. We see clever commentaries on behavioral norms in our culture via different norms depicted in the film. We see funny things that are very similar to our present culture, but that are underscored by their temporal alienation. The first film is an ingenious, fast paced, epic scaled sci-fi/war/horror extravaganza.

This film on the other hand is just about as pedestrian as you can get. Even though the horror material is good once it finally arrives, it isn't exactly groundbreaking. There is no satire here, no cleverness, it's not fast paced, and it's the complete opposite of epic scaled. Even the tongue-in-cheek military/war advertisements shown on a computer-like screen from the first film fall flat here because they're presented more like television commercials with no window dressing or explanation for context.

Starship Troopers 2 isn't a complete failure, but I can't recommend it beyond its curiosity value, or for die-hard horror fans who are slightly masochistic and don't mind sitting through the war material to get to something more interesting. If a Starship Troopers 3 is ever made, more than likely you'll be able to skip this entry. As things stand now, 2 is not at all necessary to the story. This is more like an obscure footnote to the first film, about some long lost troop that no one really cares about. Only the new kind of "monster" may be of any interest.