Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

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Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 30, 2017

Starship Troopers is one of the great Sci-Fi films ever made. It's a violent and funny romp and cautionary tale warning against the dangers of Fascism, blind loyalty to a cause, and an out-of-control military industrial complex. Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece has spawned several sequels, both live action and animated, but none, of course, can hold a candle to the original classic. Traitor of Mars is the latest to give it a go, and it's the second digitally animated film in franchise history. It's safe to say that the animated sequels have fared better than the live-action duds, bringing better energy and more creativity, and playing out on more solid footing. A movie like this can really only thrive if done right and with the proper budget (the original) or in the more adaptively creative and efficient digital workspace. Traitor of Mars continues the story of Johnny Rico, plays around with the same style and themes as the original film, brings in the popular power suits, and delivers a fun, but not necessarily memorable, little watch that's a worthy entrant into the Starship Troopers universe.

Johnny Powersuit.

Johnny Rico (voiced by Casper Van Dien) has been demoted and taken out of combat. He's stuck training a ragtag bunch of recruits on a station orbiting Mars, far from the action and removing him even farther from his passion: doing his duty on the battlefield and killing bugs. But he takes training his troopers seriously, and even as they continuously fail various combat simulations, he sticks with them no matter the struggles. But Rico finds himself back in action when long-dormant bugs spring from the Martian surface, attacking the Red Planet -- which has been colonized for but a quarter century -- and forcing him and his troopers to the surface as a last-stand line of defense. However, Sky Marshall Amy Snapp (voiced by Emily Neves) has other plans for the planet, plans that she hopes will propel her popularity despite the cost to human life and treasure.

Traitor of Mars tries its best to capture the same tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale spirit as the original, but it's more of a mild parody than it is a serious, biting reminder of Verhoeven's very pointed film. Still, it folds in a few interesting components, notably a walking and talking, neon-lights flashing billboard for the prototypical self-centered politician who finds fault with freedom-loving and independent-minded Martians and is perfectly fine wiping out an entire planet so long as her poll number remain high. That said, the film works best on the ground as Rico attempts to salvage what he can from a ragtag group of troopers who are greener than a bug's blood and who must figure things out on-the-fly and in the presence of swarm after swarm of bugs. The film dabbles in humor, particularly as it pertains to the troopers' bumbling ways both in training and on the real field of battle. The characters are serviceable, with Rico and Sky Marshall Snapp the only ones who earn any thorough development. Rico is haunted by past failures but remains every bit the soldier the grinder has shaped him into over the years, a leader of men who cares only about getting the job done and not necessarily seeing the bigger picture beyond the mantra that "the only good bug is a dead bug."

The film's animation and construction do leave a little bit to be desired. It's often a rather dull-looking movie made of digital components that cannot quite match a high-end video game cutscene, though they do come close. The film reassembles the core-four characters from the original film in some capacity but can only feature the original voices of two; Denise Richards and Neil Patrick Harris are missing, their respective characters just aren't the same without them, and they are rightly relegated to support status only. Action scenes are by-and-large fine, mostly consisting of the troopers standing their ground and blasting endless waves of incoming bugs, but things do get creative at times, such as when Rico is forced to tackle a bug in hand-to-hand combat or when the action shifts to the big set piece seen at film's end. The film also makes the popular "power armor" from the original novel an integral part of the film, which will prove to be a real treat for the fans and it, of course, plays critical to several key moments in the film.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date. Also, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars features Dolby Vision. We are currently not able to review Dolby Vision but we are studying equipment options and will be upgrading in the near future.

It's unclear what Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars' native resolution is or whether it was finished at 2K or 4K, though a 2K DI is a good guess. Sony's 2160p/HDR/Dolby Vision presentation (HDR-10 reviewed below) offers a pleasing improvement over a fairly bland and lackluster Blu-ray. While the animation basics are not improved, obviously, the UHD does deliver a fairly healthy increase in raw detail and sharpness. Textures, such as skin, Martian surfaces, power suits, leathery attire, bugs, and the like enjoy an immediately noticeable boost in clarity and density and definition. The image is super-sharp, perhaps a bit artificially so, but there's no mistaking the sheer boost in overall definition visible on the 4K release. HDR colors are likewise punchier and sometimes to a significant degree. Martian reddish-brownish surfaces pop, explosions offer an increased color saturation, and even otherwise insignificant colors like Dizzy's red lips reveal a heathy boost in depth and vibrancy. The image is less washed out-looking as compared to its Blu-ray counterpart, showcasing increased black level depth and accuracy. Still, the UHD image reveals no shortage of extreme aliasing, shimmering, and jagged lines. Most of the time such don't intrude too badly, but there are more than a handful of shots that are severely plagued; Dizzy's shoulder is severely stair-stepped at the 54:45 mark, just one example of many.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars' Dolby Atmos soundtrack offers a modest improvement over the standard Blu-ray's 5.1 track. This presentation delivers a bit more raw aggression, a fuller stage, and some scattered but effective overhead components. The top end doesn't take full effect at all times; Sky Marshall Snapp's FedNet addresses, which she gives in an empty lecture hall, fail to engage the top end as the dialogue reverberates around the empty room. On the other hand, gathering winds and storm effects engage the top layer at the climax, while explosions, flying ships, rattling sounds inside troop carriers, and other elements engage the top layer to satisfaction. The upper end is also complimentary of general action and music. Gunfire pops with serviceable punch and explosions rock with good bass. Neither are prodigious, but there is some added oomph here over the more pedestrian Blu-ray. Music is wide and clear and the stage opens up in most every area of opportunity around the more traditional front-rear-sides areas of operation; whether pitch battle scenes or calmer moments of dialogue on the Martian surface, the track never closes up on the scene. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized with natural front-center positioning. As with the Blu-ray's track, lip sync often looks a mite off.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All of the core Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars supplement may be found on the included Blu-ray disc. The only "extras" on the UHD disc are the basic Sony bonuses: a cast and crew photo tab (which consists of a whopping four images) and the assortment of demo "Moments" (2160p/HDR[and presumably Dolby Vision]/Atmos): Johnny Rico, Dizzy Flores, Sky Marshall Amy Snapp, and Action Sequences. No DVD or digital versions are included.

• Traitor of Mars: A Look Inside (1080p): A two-part feature. Bugs and Powered Suit (9:02) features the filmmakers discussing designs, digital work, bug tweaks, power suit function and returning to ideas from the original novel, and more. In Japanese with English subtitles. Story and Characters (7:00) covers story construction, characters and voice cast, narrative details, Casper Van Dien's contributions, returning the Dizzy character into the film, and more. Partially in English, mostly in Japanese with English subtitles.
• Expanding the Universe: 20 Years and Counting (1080p, 6:27): Casper Van Dien and Writer Ed Neumeier discuss the franchise's history and their contributions to it, the series' legacy, famous fans (including ex-Presidents) who love the original film, and more.
• Expanding the Universe: Continuing the Universe (1080p, 3:35): Ed Neumeier and Casper Van Dien discuss adapting the novel for the screen, the original movie's tone, and brief discussions of the live action sequels.
• Expanding the Universe: Traitor of Mars (1080p, 6:45): Van Dien and Neumeier discuss the power armor, Rico's character arc and where he's at in this film, returning characters including Dizzy, the film's political overtones, Van Dien's love for the franchise and the filmmaking process, and more.
• Deleted Scene (1080p, 0:44): A short scene in a very crude state of construction.
• Gallery (1080p): Concept art.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars is an enjoyable film but one that doesn't add a whole lot to the main story's lore. It delivers serviceable action, a few biting social insights, and an enjoyable villainous politician. Otherwise, it's kind of a classic watch-and-forget, but it's at least better than the live action sequels by quite a bit. Sony's UHD release offers a 4K/HDR (plus Dolby Vision) image that's a fair bit better and more enjoyable than the Blu-ray, but it's still flawed. The Atmos soundtrack offers a nice little step forward, too. The included extras on Blu-ray disc are by-and-large enjoyable. Recommended.