Small Soldiers

 3.5/4

Starring: Gregory Smith, Kirsten Dunst, David Cross, Jay Mohr, Denis Leary and the voices of Frank Langella and Tommy Lee Jones

Rated PG-13 for Some Menacing Action/Violence and Brief Drug References

"Small Soldiers" is the evil twin of "Toy Story."  They both have the same underlying concept (toys coming to life) but take it radically different directions.  The Pixar film was light and whimsical while this is dark and edgy, albeit with sense of humor.

Two toy designers, Irwin Wayfair (Cross) and Larry Benson (Mohr), are stressed out.  Their company has just been bought out by a corporate bigwig named Gil Mars (Leary), and they are worried not only about where he wants to take the company, but whether or not they will still have jobs.  Mars is unimpressed with Irwin's idea of a line of wholesome monsters called the Gorgonauts, and mildly interested in Larry's concept of a line of military toys that make John Rambo look tame.  But Mars wants something different: he wants to sell toys that can actually do what they do in the ads.  Thus, Larry gets the idea of using military grade computer chips.

Cut to small town America, where Alan Abernathy is stuck in the unenviable position of working behind the desk of his dad's toy store, pining for the local hottie Christy Fimple (Dunst) and carrying the futile hope that his troublemaker reputation hasn't followed him to his new hometown.  Alan gets a local deliveryman to give him some of the Gorgonauts and military toys before they are officially on sale.  But as he is about to learn, these toys aren't just normal action figures.  They're smart, learn fast, and take their backstories very seriously.  In no short order, the store is destroyed and the military toys are gone.  And things are just getting started.

The great thing about this movie is that it never takes itself too seriously.  "Small Soldiers" definitely has an edge (the commandoes are ruthless killers and have no compunction about taking out the humans), but director Joe Dante has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.  The film is filled with satirical asides and parody.  This is a good move because it dulls the edge of some of the violence which is bordering on the extreme.

It also helps that the film has good casting.  Gregory Smith is a likable hero, and Kirsten Dunst shows the same screen presence that made her an appealing Mary Jane Watson.  David Cross is a convincing nerd and Jay Mohr can always be relied upon to play a complete jerk.  Dennis Leary manages to be intimidating simply by walking into the camera's view.  The film also had a casting coup when it landed Tommy Lee Jones as Chip Hazard (could anyone else have played the role, save for R. Lee Ermey?).  And Frank Langella's mellow tones are a good fit for Archer, Emissary of the Gorgonauts.  They're supported by members of the Dirty Dozen as the commandos and Christopher Guest's comedy troupe as the Gorgonauts.  And there's also Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci in uncredited roles as Barbie dolls from hell.  The film also marks the final on screen appearance of Phil Hartman, who was murdered shortly before the film's premiere necessitated some minor changes to the film.

The screenplay is a little on the thin side, and even though it runs ns nearly two hours, it feels rushed.  Maybe the problem is that the entire story takes place over a day or two.  And I could have used more development of the Gorgonauts.  They're supposed to be the underdogs, and yet Dante gives more screen time to the commandoes.  It throws the film a bit off balance.

Whatever flaws the film may have, they vanish when the film arrives at its climax.  The final twenty minutes are, in a word, awesome.  It's energetic and boisterously entertaining.  It dazzles with impressive pyrotechnics and well-staged action scenes.  On-screen mayhem is rarely this much fun.

With its nifty special effects and sly humor, "Small Soldiers" is big time fun!  Just not for the real little kids.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing
Read more

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mother's
Read more