Roughnecks - Starship Troopers Chronicles - Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

More Roughnecks

Great stuff (but it's Chapter Four)

Very good animation, only spoiled by...

Sadly Ignored.

Explosive Action from Rico's Roughnecks

Roughnecks - Starship Troopers Chronicles - Vol. 2 - The Tesca Campaign [1999]
Starring: Nicholas Guest , and Irene Bedard
Director: Andre Clavel (III) , Sam Liu , Michael Chang , Jay Oliva , and Chris Berkeley
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005R0D1
Release Date: 2002-01-21

Amazon.co.uk Review

In Volume 2 of Roughnecks--Starship Troopers Chronicles, Johnny Rico, Lieutenant Razak and their computer-animated squad embark on the Tesca campaign, once again fighting the bugs in all their myriad forms, shooting anything that moves and generally causing chaos and mayhem. Inspired by Robert Heinlein's sci-fi classic and executive-produced by Paul Verhoeven, who made the big-screen version, Roughnecks is cutting-edge TV animation that's more for grown-ups than kids. The neat equipment, combat suits and weapons are as deadly as they are cool, and even though the extreme gore and violence of the movie has been toned down the endless threat from all manner of nasty bugs is still pretty terrifying (the Giant Spider Bug, for example, really is the stuff of nightmares). As with Volume 1, the five 20-minute episodes are here spliced together into a movie-length feature, which makes for a satisfyingly lengthy story arc instead of the more usual self-contained individual episodes. The show's structure also allows for plenty of character development: this time the squad are joined by an alien "skinny" called T'Phai who, as might be expected, has to work hard to bond with the rest of the team and earn their respect. Like all good war stories, at its heart Roughnecks celebrates that "Band of Brothers"-style bonding in extreme circumstances which we viewers can only experience vicariously.

On the DVD: The 4:3 picture is good, although it's better to watch with the lights off to see all the detail in the moody (i.e., "dark") CG animation. The 5.1 sound shows off explosions and gunfire, but also the almost incessant techno soundtrack. There's a good commentary from cast and crew members, who talk about their various movie inspirations (from the D-Day landing sequence of Saving Private Ryan to, of course, Aliens) and their desire to parallel real war situations. There's also a photo gallery of the human actors and a trailer. This is a stylish show, and a good DVD.--Mark Walker

Customer Reviews:

More Roughnecks.......2007-11-18

If you arre a fan of SCI-Fi and enjoyed the film Starship Troopers thhen this CGI computer graphic version will really please you. The graphics are very good and the stories are all on the same Human v Bug theme. My son lover starship Troopers and certainly enjoyed this follow up series. The stories continue on with some of the original movie chatracters such as Rico but some of thhe stories themselves are new. Goof fun and worth a watch.

Great stuff (but it's Chapter Four).......2003-10-15

If you'll just check out the details given in all the reviews so far, they all miss out a certain fact you'll need to know before buying this DVD. It was released as volume 2, but this chapter in the series actually comes fourth, after the Hydora and Tophet Campaigns (volumes 3 and 4). Just be aware of this if you have only seen the first DVD and want to get the rest, since it will easily give away a fair number of plot threads.

Razak's Roughnecks have followed the fleet to Tesca Numerosa, a green moon covered in thick jungle and dense undergrowth which is a vital location of supplies for both the warring sides in the ongoing struggle. For once the Roughnecks get to breathe some fresh air and are able to move around the jungle in lighter combat gear than their usual pressure suits; but this is of little relief when a new squad member's unwelcome arrival threatens to turn the Roughnecks upon each other. With tensions rising and new bugs lurking in the dark and gloomy depths of Tesca, will Razak be able to hold his men together?

The series continues to impress in this chapter; the work carried out on production design alone has paid off and you don't find yourself spotting things that look out of place, or that don't feel quite right. The animation of both the surroundings and locations is far more advanced than what we've seen in the first volume (let's face it, rock isn't very challenging to imagine), and is an excellent showcase for what the series could produce.

My only real gripe is that supporting characters aren't always well developed and sometimes come out looking a bit "robotic" - just sprites going through the motions, and they can sometimes look a bit out of place when all the main characters have been animated to such fine details such as their facial expressions and the way they generally stand or move around. But to be honest, it's not something you'd quickly notice once the action gets rolling again, and it doesn't detract much from the overall product.

As you'll already have seen there are five episodes on this disc compared to the Pluto Campaign's six, so the action is over a bit faster than before; however the show itself more than makes up for this with its excellent quality, and also with the amount of time spent building up its characters. Overall mark is Four Stars for the top notch animation and highly enjoyable ride, but no marks for marketing on the part of the publisher.

Very good animation, only spoiled by..........2003-09-04

Sound. Really, I have a good home cinema system that I would like to exploit. However, the DVD doesn't sound like dolby digital or the effects have been toned down too much. Due to TV airing perhaps? When there is gunfire I would have preferred to hear a strong gun noise (this is not for kids anyway). Unfortunately what could have been perfect is marred by this lack. Otherwise, everything is great. Animation is almost flawless, there is good character development, the underlying political criticism against a fascist regime is still there (following the movie) and the imagination of the creators in creting bugs, aliens etc. is top notch.

One major problem with the DVD set (I ordered all of them and made the mistake of following volume numbers in watching the series): Whoever gave volume numbers should be spanked because Pluto is not followed by Tesca campaign. So Tesca campaign should not be Volume 2; it is actually the 4th volume preceded by Hydora and Tophet. My experience was a bit ruined because of this stupid numbering. Anybody who hasn't watched should take this precaution not to spoil the fun.

Enjoy!

Sadly Ignored........2002-02-25

Thsi is teh second DVD of the animated CG series based loosely on Heinlein's Novel and Paul Verhoven's Film. When it was firsl released this series was largely ignored, too kiddie for adults and to adult for kids. I really enjoed it, the characters grow and develop and you do begin to care about them. Youa re better buying teh first DVD before this one (Also very good) as it will set up teh characters and setting for you. One criticism is that the idea of grouping teh discs into campaigns means that we seem to miss a couple of transitional episodes (Good recaps are given but I do feel I missed something)

Explosive Action from Rico's Roughnecks.......2002-01-31

This film is probably exactly what you expected. The Chronicles will never live up to the hype of the original starship troopers, but this volume remains a highly entertaining continuation of well loved characters.

"The Tesca Campaign" puts Rico's Roughnecks in a deadly battle with giant arachnids. Forced against their will to work with the unloved T'Phai and his team of bug controllers, things look tense. It is touch and go for a while for all the characters, but eventually they MUST learn to work together.. or they simply won't survive.

This film is a meagre 95 mins long, and that 95mins spins by fast, and it is split up into 5 episodes. Fortunately there are plenty of subtitles and a few extras - producers commentary, photo gallery, and exclusive trailers - to keep you entertained even after the movie itself has finished.

I'm going to give this one a generous ****

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