Getting things out of the way, Starship Troopers 3 is nowhere near the level of cinematic disaster that was Starship Troopers 2. Someone at least cared about this sci-fi satire this time around to spend more than $1 million on it. Even with the increased budget, Starship Troopers 3 is still a miserable pile with its heavy-handed religious undertones that drag the film on until its utterly stupid ending that’s worse than most of what came before it.
The film gets off to a decent start. Aside from the miserable - although intentionally so - performances, the attack on a small military outpost hosts some decent direct-to-video effects, gore, and a sizable chunk of action. It’s entertaining, and a fine way to open this one up to the audience.
From there, this one spirals downhill quickly. The constant Federation messages are so forced, the satire is tossed right into the viewers' laps instead of letting them figure it out for themselves. There’s not a subtle line in the movie.
With a limited budget, Starship Troopers 3 substitutes religious satire for action. It doesn’t work, mostly because like much of the political satire, it’s beaten into the head of the viewer instead of being subtle. Director/writer Ed Neumeier knows how this stuff works, having written everything related to Robocop (including the TV series and cartoon) and the entire Starship Troopers film series. Why this one ended up being so overcooked is a mystery.
The finale, with its planet-sized bug king... uh, thing fails both due to its out of place tone with the previous two movies and the visual effects that simply aren’t up to the task. An all-out assault by the Federation’s newest weapon, the Marauder, is even worse. Sometimes you need to step back and realize CG can’t be used for everything, especially when on a budget. This would be one of those times.
Maybe the studio will finally give this series another shot for a theatrical release. With the war-heavy political climate, the series may have a better chance with audiences now than it did back in 1997. It’s just not working in this direct-to-video format… at all. 
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments
1 - Film-Book dot Com
ST3: Marauder was garbage but entertaining garbage. Far better than Starship Troopers 2: Heroes of the Federation, except for the killer in that film. 70% of the dialog was bad in ST3 but there was that 30% that hinted at the movie that could have been if satire and cheese weren't its distinguishing factors.