Small Soldiers (1998)

Here's the pitch: "It's like Toy Story but these toys that come to life really kick butt!" That's essentially it for this breezy popcorn flick. In a very smart first 10 minutes, new toy-company owner Denis Leary tells his crew he wants toys "that play back." Hence the small soldiers land in Anytown, U.S.A., and the loner kid Alan (Gregory Smith) opens them up before they are supposed to be on the shelves. Those military-grade chips sure make them smart and give the toys plenty of pithy retorts to boot. Plenty of violence, er, action, most of it fun enough. The vocal talents, including Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, and cast members of The Dirty Dozen are inspired characters, the humans less so. With Gremlins director Joe Dante at the helm, it plays like a sequel to that '80s fantasy. Amazing visual effects, of course. --Doug Thomas Amazon.com

Good movie!

I bought this movie for my little nephew because he was very sad and upset when the rental had to be returned. Well, I couldn't let him stay unhappy, so I sent him his very own to keep. His mom told me his eyes lit up, and he yelled "Look! Aunt Sharon got me Small Shoulders!" How can you not love that? Oh, and P.S. I like this movie, myself, too! December 20, 2007

Chrildren's Movie

Good for older children(8 and up) younger children might not understand the whole movie March 8, 2007

Struggles To Find Its Audience

"Small Soldiers" is a fun idea. Having toys come to life and do terrible/wonderful/comedic things has been visited many times in Hollywood. The only problem with this idea is that there are so many directions you can go with the film that it can lead to a mediocre outcome. For one, you could turn this flick into a horror movie such as "Puppet Master" or "Child's Play," or make it a family comedy such as "Batteries Not Included." Heck, you could have even animated it like "Toy Story." Instead, director Joe Dante and a gaggle of writers decided to make the movie into a middle of the road film. It isn't funny enough to be considered a comedy. There's too much violence and language to make it a children's or family film and it's just not that scary unless you're under the age of eight. This is the major aspect of "Small Soldiers" that holds it back. Had Dante and company cut back on the language and a little bit of the violence, this movie would have been a very fun family film. There's plenty of cheesey dialogue from both the humans and the toys in the film, but all of this is littered with a little bit too much rough language and some violence that just can't be in a family flick. I honestly think that this movie tried too hard to appeal to too large of a demographic.

I remember when this film was released in theaters. I was working my way through college at a toy store in the local mall. "Small Soldiers" had an aggressive ad campaign for the toyline that coincided with the film's release and a lot of parents scooped up "Chip Hazard," "Archer," and other "Small Soldiers" toys. Once many of these parents took their children to see the flick, however, they wanted to return the toys because their kids were afraid to play with them because they thought that they'd come alive. Well, it was obvious from the PG-13 rating that the movie wasn't for youngsters to watch, so I don't fault Dreamworks for this. I do think that they tried to double-dip their audience a little with such an aggressive toy campaign, but ultimately I blame the parents for not researching the movie enough. Unlike some recent films that promoted themselves as "family" movies but turned out to be a flick with heavy political and environmental overtones ("Happy Feet" comes to mind), "Small Soldiers" made it clear that it was not a film suitable for youngsters. Once again, the PG-13 rating should have been warning enough.

The movie has a solid cast. A young Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, Jay Mohr, David Cross, and others provided a likeable group of characters. Denis Leary marched into every scene as if he owned it, and he did. Phil Hartman passed away before the release of the movie, but did a fine job with the role he was given. Overall, I can't complain about any of the actors involved. The toys were voiced by Frank Langella (Archer), Tommy Lee Jones (Chip Hazard), and the men of "This Is Spinal Tap" and the members of the cast from "The Dirty Dozen." All of them did a wonderful job.

The DVD comes with a few special features including the "pat on the back" making-of documentary. The digital transfer is flawless, and I was especially impressed with the almost seamless intertwining of CGI and animatronic characters on the screen.

Overall, I mildly recommend this film to parents with kids over the age of ten. They might actually be a little bored throughout the movie due to an unnecessarily long running time. Had things moved at a faster clip and this movie clocked in at about ninety minutes, I think it would have been much better. If your kids are under ten, do not let them watch this. It's probably going to be too scary for them. Adults interested in special effects will probably want to take a look at this given that it uses CGI when it was still a relatively new artform in cinema. Other than that, don't expect too much from this movie. It's okay, but if you've never seen it before, please rent it before you buy it. February 16, 2007

This is my favorite movie!

This is the best war movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! awsome special effects!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the Gorgonites and the Commando Elite, there funny. November 25, 2006

Entertaining....even for adults.

My little boy loves soldiers and creatures---this has both. This is one of his favorite movies. I sat down and watched it with him and I really enjoyed it too. Be prepared though, it does have some violence. November 2, 2006

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