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T O P I C R E V I E W
Airbolt
Posted - 09/30/2008 : 23:43:08 Yayy! Johnny Rico is back and so is the true silliness of the ST franchise! Made in thirty days in South Africa on a limited budget, it has "straight to DVD" all over it. However, it's not as bad as ST2 ( that would be difficult ).
Some of the lack of punch is down to it being writer Ed Neumeier's first go at directing. However, his heart is in the right place.
The plot, such as it is, involves a covert rescue of a VIP on a planet not unlike South Africa ( a-hem! ). The oak-like Casper Van Dien returns as Johnny Rico and is joined by "old friends" Jolene Blalock ( the sexy Vulcan from Enterprise ) and Boris Kodjoe ( who? ). They are joined by a singing Sky Marshal who is also psychic ( i'm not making this up ! ) and Amanda Donohoe hams away at HQ as another Sky Marshal. Hilarious Hijinx ensue. as they say.
The tricks of the first ST film are used again, only this time they are applied with a trowel. There are a few too many "FED NET" interludes which waters down their impact. Plus they seem to linger a bit too much on hanging sequences. The plot thrusts about propaganda and religion are rammed home repeatedly.
In case you hadn't realised the underlying theme of the first film, the uniforms look even more Nazi thn before. The character of "Dix" played by statuesque black actor Boris Kodjoe wears a direct copy of an SS unform complete with leather coat. Yes, OK, we get the irony.
Jolene Blalock appears to be a bit at sea without a strong director but is just about passable. Squeezed into slightly fetishistic uniforms is getting to be second nature by now! Her chemistry with Kodjoe is zero - they are supposedly lovers in the film.
Casper Van Dien is, if anything , more wooden than in the first film.
However....it's Starship Troopers the right way, so a lot is forgivable. You just wonder what Paul Verhoeven might have acheived with the project.
