The Reel Review
The premise of this Japanese sci-fi sounds absurdly fun – a villain rocking a Flock of Seagulls hairdo sends ex-cons to a futuristic Mars to help exterminate an infestation of giant colonist-killing humanoid cockroaches. Apparently the producers spent so much on the snazzy set and costume design, nothing was left to pay writers for an actual story. This film, which has our soldiers transforming themselves into an assortment of other superbugs to battle the cockroaches, is so awful it makes its apparent movie idols Starship Troopers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles look like a sci-fi hybrid of War and Peace. The only plus – the attractive cast, led by Rinko Kikuchi (Pacific Rim, Babel) looks cute in their sexy Star Wars stormtrooper knockoffs.