Following the success of the original, “Starship Troopers 2 Hero of the Federation” arrives as a direct to video follow up to the original film. Loosely based on the classic Robert Heinlein novel, the original film followed the exploits of a group of young men and women who join the military in an effort to gain full citizenship in a futuristic Earth and soon find themselves in an all out war for survival against a hostile species of giant insects who have attacked Earth.

      The sequel follows a new group of troopers some five years later in the war. Due to the limited budget of the sequel, the action is on a smaller scale, as the creative team has opted for a smaller and more personal story.

      On the remote outpost of a band of troopers have retreated from a bug attack and find shelter in an abandoned outpost. As stragglers from the battle start to arrive, the troopers struggle to get the power restored in order to activate the outpost defenses, as swarms of bugs will soon be massing upon their position. The troopers soon discover that the outpost is holding a prisoner Capt. Dax (Richard Burgi), who was imprisoned by his former unit for murder, and left behind when they pulled out. Since Dax is a decorated veteran, it is decided by the troopers to free him in order to use his experiences in the current crisis.

      Unknown to the troopers in the outpost, the bugs have a new weapon and are able to take control of a person from the inside. It is at this point that the film loses much of its momentum as instead of keeping viewers in the dark as to who is and who is not infected, the infections and those behind it are shown clearly and often destroying any suspense. I had thought we would have a suspense filled story reminiscent of “The Thing” and “The Hidden” where fear and paranoia would run amuck amongst the troopers. Instead the story unfolds without any real tension or payoff. The cast of largely unknowns shows a lot of spirit and enthusiasm for their parts, but they are so generically written that they are not able to do much more than stand around when they are not screaming and shooting. The FX in the film are not bad for a direct to video film as word has it that Phil Tippett offered cut rates on his FX work in order to direct the film.

      While not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, “Starship Troopers 2” is at times entertaining and should hold the interest of fans of the first film. While I would have liked to have seen the series continue via the big screen, lets hope that there will be a third outing of the Troopers in the future.