Starship Troopers Movies in Order – Why the 1997 Original Was Never Bettered

I was watching Starship Troopers again recently, almost 30 years after I first saw it in the cinema back in 1997.

Some films lose their appeal over time. The effects begin to look dated, the acting seems worse than you remember, or the story simply doesn't hold up as well as it once did.

Starship Troopers isn't one of those films.

It's cheesy, corny, camp, ridiculously violent and completely over the top. Some of the dialogue is laughable, the characters are exaggerated and the entire production feels like somebody gave a director an enormous budget and told him to go mad.

And I absolutely love it.

My Blu-ray copy of the original 1997 Starship Troopers film, directed by Paul Verhoeven.

I've owned the film on DVD and subsequently upgraded to Blu-ray, which remains a fantastic way to watch it. The picture is remarkably clear, the sound is excellent and those enormous alien bugs still look magnificent.

If I eventually invest in a 4K Blu-ray player, I might find myself buying it for a third time.

That's the thing about a film you genuinely enjoy. You don't necessarily need another copy, but you can always find a reason to justify one.

What I find more surprising is that Starship Troopers went on to become a five-film franchise.

I've watched the first sequel, started the third and never bothered seeking out the two animated films.

So what happened to a series that began with such a spectacular science-fiction production?

And are any of the sequels really worth owning?

Starship Troopers – From a Science Fiction Novel to a Hollywood Spectacle

The original Starship Troopers was directed by Paul Verhoeven and released in 1997.

It was loosely based on Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 science-fiction novel of the same name, although the film took considerable liberties with the original story and its themes.

Heinlein's novel explored military service, citizenship, discipline and the responsibilities of society.

Verhoeven approached the material very differently.

Rather than producing a straightforward military science-fiction adventure, he created a violent, satirical spectacle filled with propaganda, exaggerated patriotism, attractive young recruits and a society that seems to celebrate war as though it were a sporting event.

Anyone familiar with Verhoeven's earlier work will recognise the approach.

RoboCop was extraordinarily violent and full of corporate satire, while Total Recall combined outrageous action with spectacular science-fiction ideas.

Starship Troopers takes elements of both and pushes them even further.

What makes the film particularly clever is that you can enjoy it purely as an action-packed science-fiction adventure without paying much attention to the underlying political satire.

Alternatively, you can look beyond the exploding bugs and flying body parts and see an entirely different film.

I suspect plenty of cinema audiences in 1997 were simply enjoying the spectacle.

I certainly was.

All Five Starship Troopers Movies in Release Order

There are five feature films in the main franchise, consisting of three live-action productions and two computer-animated sequels.

They were released over a period of 20 years.

1. Starship Troopers (1997) – The Original and Still the Best

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Starring: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Neil Patrick Harris and Michael Ironside

The story follows Johnny Rico, a young man who joins the Mobile Infantry after leaving school, partly because his girlfriend Carmen has decided to pursue a military career.

Along with his former classmates and fellow recruits, Rico becomes part of a vast military organisation preparing to fight an alien species known as the Arachnids.

These aren't little insects crawling around your kitchen.

They're enormous, heavily armoured creatures capable of tearing soldiers apart, smashing through defensive positions and overwhelming entire armies through sheer numbers.

When an attack devastates Buenos Aires, humanity launches a massive military campaign against the bugs.

Unfortunately, the military has seriously underestimated its enemy.

What follows is a succession of spectacular battles, disastrous decisions, gruesome deaths and some wonderfully excessive action sequences.

Why I Keep Returning to the Original

For me, the original film gets the balance almost perfect.

The actors aren't delivering Oscar-winning performances, but that isn't really the point. The characters belong in this particular world, where everybody is young, enthusiastic, patriotic and apparently convinced that joining the military is the greatest decision they will ever make.

The training sequences are entertaining, the characters are memorable and the action becomes increasingly outrageous as the war develops.

Michael Ironside is particularly good as Jean Rasczak, the tough military veteran who eventually leads Rico and his fellow soldiers into battle.

Then there are the bugs themselves.

Considering this film was made in the 1990s, the combination of CGI and practical effects is remarkable.

The creatures have weight, movement and a genuinely threatening appearance. When hundreds of them come charging across a battlefield, you believe that the soldiers are in serious trouble.

The battle scenes are also filled with activity.

There are soldiers everywhere, explosions in the background, weapons firing, bodies flying and enormous creatures attacking from every direction.

Nothing feels particularly restrained.

And perhaps that's why I still enjoy it so much.

Verhoeven wasn't afraid to make an expensive, ridiculous and thoroughly entertaining science-fiction film.

It has its faults, certainly.

But I wouldn't change very much about it.

2. Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) – A Very Different Sequel

Director: Phil Tippett
Starring: Richard Burgi, Colleen Porch and Billy Brown

The second film arrived seven years after the original, but anyone expecting another massive interplanetary war film would have been disappointed.

Instead of enormous battlefields and spectacular military operations, the story concentrates on a small group of soldiers trapped inside an isolated outpost.

With the Arachnids surrounding their position, the surviving troopers must find a way to defend themselves while dealing with an increasingly disturbing threat from within.

The film leans much more towards science-fiction horror than the large-scale action of its predecessor.

There is a certain logic to that approach.

A smaller production with a limited budget cannot realistically reproduce everything that made the original so spectacular.

Unfortunately, that's also the problem.

I watched this sequel again a few months ago, and although I can remember the general story, very little about it has stayed with me.

It feels like a completely different type of production that happens to carry the Starship Troopers name.

The enormous scale is gone, the memorable characters are missing and the extraordinary spectacle of the original has been replaced by a much smaller, more confined story.

It's not necessarily wrong to take a franchise in another direction.

But when the first film sets such a high standard, the follow-up has an enormous amount to live up to.

For me, Hero of the Federation never comes close.

3. Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) – Johnny Rico Returns

Director: Edward Neumeier
Starring: Casper Van Dien, Jolene Blalock and Stephen Hogan

The third film brings Casper Van Dien back as Johnny Rico, now an experienced officer continuing humanity's seemingly endless war against the Arachnids.

When a Federation spacecraft crashes on a hostile planet, a group of survivors, including a high-ranking military leader, finds itself stranded in dangerous territory.

Rico eventually becomes involved in a rescue operation, while the film introduces new military technology and continues exploring the Federation's propaganda and political culture.

On paper, it sounds like an attempt to return to some of the original film's ideas.

And perhaps it succeeds to a certain extent.

I actually started watching Marauder some time ago, but I never finished it.

Not because I thought it was particularly terrible.

I simply wasn't in the mood for it that evening and decided I would rather watch something better.

That probably says something about my enthusiasm for the sequels.

I have no difficulty sitting through the original film for the umpteenth time, yet I couldn't convince myself to finish the third.

I might return to it eventually, particularly because Rico is back, but it's hardly at the top of my viewing list.

4. Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) – The Franchise Turns to Animation

Director: Shinji Aramaki

The fourth film abandons live-action filmmaking in favour of computer-generated animation.

The story follows a group of Mobile Infantry soldiers sent to investigate a missing Federation spacecraft following a dangerous military operation.

As the soldiers attempt to discover what happened, they encounter another serious Arachnid threat, bringing them into a battle involving familiar characters and the continuing war between humanity and the bugs.

The animated format allows the filmmakers to create elaborate battles, spacecraft and alien creatures without the same physical production demands as a live-action film.

It also gives the franchise a noticeably different appearance.

I haven't watched Invasion, so I can't offer a personal opinion on whether the approach works.

I can understand why computer animation might appeal to fans of the franchise, particularly those interested in the military equipment, futuristic technology and enormous alien creatures.

However, part of what made the original so enjoyable for me was watching real actors interacting with those effects.

I'm not particularly motivated to seek out an animated continuation simply for the sake of completing the series.

5. Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017) – Another Animated Adventure

Directors: Shinji Aramaki and Masaru Matsumoto

Released 20 years after the original film, Traitor of Mars continues the computer-animated direction established by Invasion.

Johnny Rico is now responsible for training a group of inexperienced soldiers on Mars.

When the planet comes under attack from the Arachnids, Rico and his recruits become involved in another desperate struggle against the alien forces.

The story also brings back familiar characters and expands on the political intrigue surrounding the Federation.

Casper Van Dien returned to provide Rico's voice, while Dina Meyer also reprised her role as Dizzy Flores.

Again, I haven't seen this one.

It might be a perfectly entertaining animated science-fiction adventure, and fans of the wider Starship Troopers universe may find plenty to enjoy.

But speaking purely as somebody who loved the 1997 film, I haven't felt any great urge to track it down.

Maybe someday.

Why the Original Starship Troopers Was Never Bettered

Looking back at the franchise, I think the main problem is fairly obvious.

The original Starship Troopers was a major Hollywood production with an enormous budget, an established director and the resources to create a genuinely spectacular science-fiction world.

The sequels were produced on a much smaller scale.

That isn't automatically a bad thing. Plenty of excellent films have been made with modest budgets.

But Starship Troopers was a film where scale mattered.

The vast military formations, enormous spacecraft, thousands of soldiers and seemingly endless swarms of alien creatures were central to the experience.

So was Verhoeven himself.

His particular combination of humour, violence, social commentary and outrageous excess gave the original a personality that was difficult to reproduce.

The satire was woven into almost everything.

Even the propaganda broadcasts, with their enthusiastic promises of citizenship and military glory, were part of the joke.

Would you like to know more?

That simple recurring question became one of the film's most memorable features.

The later productions could bring back the bugs, the uniforms and even Johnny Rico, but recreating the atmosphere of the original was another matter entirely.

There's something else worth mentioning too.

For all its silliness, the first film was made with tremendous care.

The creatures were beautifully designed, the visual effects were ambitious and the battle sequences were organised on a scale that would still be impressive today.

I sometimes watch modern science-fiction films and wonder where all the money went.

There may be sharper images, more elaborate digital technology and bigger budgets, yet the finished production doesn't always feel as convincing or exciting.

Starship Troopers is a good reminder that impressive visual effects are not simply about having the newest computers.

It's about how those effects are used to bring a world to life.

And nearly 30 years later, Verhoeven's bugs are still a joy to watch.

Collecting Starship Troopers on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K

My own history with Starship Troopers goes back to its original cinema release.

I subsequently bought the DVD, which was a worthwhile addition to my collection at the time.

When Blu-ray became established, I eventually upgraded again.

And I have never regretted it.

It's one of the reasons I still enjoy collecting physical media. I've written more about this in my hub guide to Why Collect DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K?, where I discuss the appeal of owning films, upgrading formats and building a collection worth keeping.

The Blu-ray edition looks excellent on my television. The picture is sharp and detailed, the effects hold up remarkably well and the soundtrack really comes alive through a decent surround sound system.

There's plenty happening in the rear speakers during the battle scenes, while the explosions, gunfire and alien attacks give the sound system a proper workout.

It's exactly the sort of film I enjoy owning rather than relying on a streaming service to make it available.

The original has also been released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

I don't currently own a 4K player, but if I eventually buy one, Starship Troopers would certainly be a candidate for another upgrade.

Whether the improvement would justify replacing an already excellent Blu-ray is another question.

What About Buying the Entire Franchise?

One thing that has discouraged me from collecting the sequels is the cost of buying them individually.

Some of the physical releases can be surprisingly expensive, particularly when compared with the sort of money I would normally spend on an older film.

And frankly, I don't feel enough affection for the sequels to justify paying a premium for them.

There have been box sets containing the original three live-action films, including DVD and Blu-ray editions.

However, those older collections aren't always easy to find, and I haven't come across a reasonably priced five-film box set bringing the entire franchise together.

That's a pity.

If all five films were available in one reasonably priced Blu-ray collection, I would probably buy it.

Not because I expect the sequels to match the first film, but because I enjoy owning complete franchises when the price makes sense.

I would also be much more inclined to sit down and watch the two animated films if they were already sitting on my shelf.

But going out of my way to source several individual releases at inflated prices?

I don't think so.

There are too many other good films competing for my money.

Is There Another Starship Troopers Film Coming?

Interestingly, there have been further plans to revisit the original material.

In March 2025, reports emerged that Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9, was developing a new adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's novel.

The intention was to create a film more closely connected to the original book rather than simply remake Paul Verhoeven's 1997 production.

That could be interesting.

Blomkamp has already demonstrated an ability to combine science fiction, social commentary, convincing visual effects and extremely violent action.

District 9 certainly showed what he could accomplish with alien creatures and a relatively grounded science-fiction setting.

Whether a new adaptation could become another great film remains to be seen.

Personally, I would rather see somebody attempt a genuinely different interpretation of Heinlein's book than produce another cheap imitation of Verhoeven's film.

The original doesn't need replacing.

Final Thoughts – Some Films Are Better Left Alone

There are plenty of franchises where I enjoy watching every instalment, even when the quality varies considerably.

Starship Troopers isn't one of them.

The first film is a personal favourite and one that I have returned to regularly since watching it in the cinema in 1997.

It is loud, violent, ridiculous, wonderfully camp and occasionally very clever.

The effects are still impressive, the action sequences remain entertaining and the whole production has a personality that very few modern science-fiction films manage to capture.

The second film was a disappointment when compared with the original, while the third has yet to persuade me to finish watching it.

As for the animated sequels, I might eventually get around to them, but I'm not going out of my way to find them.

That doesn't mean they are necessarily bad films.

They simply haven't given me a compelling reason to watch them.

Perhaps a complete, reasonably priced Blu-ray box set would change my mind.

Until then, I'm perfectly happy with the original sitting on my shelf.

And when I want to watch humanity getting torn to pieces by enormous alien bugs, I know exactly which disc I'll be reaching for.

The original Starship Troopers might be cheesy, corny, camp and completely over the top, but sometimes that's exactly what makes a film brilliant.

Would you like to know more? *I couldn't resist.

Thanks for Reading,

David

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About the Author

I’m David Condon, a movie enthusiast from Tralee, Co. Kerry. I’ve been collecting DVDs and Blu-rays for years, and along the way my shelves have become a mix of favourites, hidden gems, and titles I occasionally decide to resell.

I’m not a professional critic, just someone who enjoys good films, well-made discs, and the odd rant about the quirks of collecting. This blog is where I share my thoughts, opinions, reviews, and experiences as a fan.

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