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In my opinion, to relatively enjoy this sequel to the uber-badass "Starship Troopers" (to be released on June 1st 2004), you have to digest it as a stand alone. Directed by effect guru Phil Tippet (he did the effects on "Robocop 2" and "Howard the Duck"), this baby was an obviously low-budget opus whose cost probably couldn’t cover the original’s craft table bill. And what does a genre cheapie do when it doesn’t have much coin to spare? It more often than none, pulls a claustrophobic setting jive on us. Nothing wrong with that if you deliver the goods. Now let’s get this out of the way first: gone are the satirical pokes, the massive-in-scope bug vs. marines skirmishes, the high-octane energy and the Nazi regime flavor found in the first one. Say hello to a “straight forward” and more cookie-cutter type of entry that will feel familiar if you know your horror.

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I actually found the bugs vs. marines showdowns in this follow-up to be flatter than a White Castle burger so I didn’t get much out of them. It's only when the picture stayed indoors to play its new (yet old) game that it got somewhat appealing. And what game was that? Think “The Thing”, “The Hidden” or “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. Once that wheel kicked in, "Starship Troopers 2" went on to spank that ass on both cheeks. Ample graphic gore, groovy bug designs and one hot-ass naked lady (Kelly Carlson) were tossed my way and I gobbled it all up like the glutton that I am! Tag to all that exploitation, an easy pace, a couple of slick characters (Jax is the man!), a common yet amusing chain of events and a dash of sly irony (for its finale) and you get a harmless B-movie watch that didn’t bowl me over, but that kept me interested in its high jinx nonetheless.

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On the blank side of the bullet, there were way too many characters in this zoo and not enough exploration when it came to them. Some players were practically interchangeable while others were annoying “stock” types (the coward, the fat dude…). In consequence, when some “turned”, I felt nothing and when others “died”, I felt less than nothing. Speaking of characters, although I dug most of Brenda Strong’s showing in this flick as the tough Marine (drop the cigar though), the fact that she actually played a different character in the original (Capt. Deladier) and DIED in it...messed with me.

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Additionally, the flick’s low budget brought up a couple of no-nos starting with the fact that only the “warrior” arachnid and the “new” bug were on display. We required the giant fart bugs and the flying giant insects from the original, man! Well…I needed them anyways! And what was up with the fluctuating gun noises? At first they were laser sounds, then they were automatics...and both sounded like “pop guns”. Too bad, the right “reverberation” could’ve helped make the stale shootouts more stimulating. Lastly, lots of this affair was shot in the dark (to cover up the cheapo sets) and once in a while, I needed my infra-red goggles to see what was going on. COME ON, MAN!

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I’m half-half on this one. As a straight sequel to "Starship Troopers", it failed and as a stand-alone it was halfway decent, but too reminiscent of better films and too much of a slave to its low budget for it to get that "oh so" coveted full-on pat on the back from The Arrow (look, I refer to myself as a third person…man, I am such a mook!)

Clancy Brown was unavailable for the film (too bad), so Dax was born.

The screenplay was written by Edward Neumeier. He had a hand in writing the original "Robocop" (and also worked on the TV series) and also provided his two cents to the upcoming "Anaconda 2".

This film was Phil Tippets directorial debut.