I was obsessed with this movie as a kid, I used to watch it on repeat. I remember relating to it sinse I have the same name as the main character which was a rarity (and still is) for me. I was afraid of rewatching it now because I wasn't sure if i'd still like it as an adult.
Small Soldiers still holds up as a great 90s action flick with good comedy and some great action sequences. I'm surprised I wasn't scared of this as a child, some of the visuals are kinda disturbing and there's certainly some light horror elements especially with the Barbie sequences (which are some of the best in the movie). So many funny one-liners. Fabulous design for the Gorgonites and the Commando Elite, I would love to own one. The third act is what makes this so worthwhile, it's absolutely wild and filled with creative ideas, ideas that would probably come out of a child's mind (in a good way). A spectacle of animatronics practical effects and CGI that looks a bit dated. The story is simplistic and the acting is hit and miss.
Small Soldiers is easily rewatchable and absolutely deserves to be seen by all ages. A more mature Toy Story.
Review by MisterX867BlockedParent2021-09-13T19:20:01Z— updated 2021-10-06T17:50:00Z
Now I won't lie, this definitely is a silly movie but it is still quite a fun watch if you ask me. From a certain point of view it can be seen as a clever movie too. I don't know for sure if it was intentional but I really love the way the movie's self aware satirical humor pokes fun at the fact that war has been merchandised and aimed at children tons of times throughout history. The movie itself actually says "Don't call it violence, call it action; kids love action, it sells!". Even the movie's marketing gives all its attention to the antagonist soldier toys instead of the Gorgonites. It all really got me thinking about how terrible the idea of glorifying war to children is, how societies have tried to militarize the minds of people from a young age. The absurdity of the movie's action also got me wondering if this was a way of saying that war violence is ridiculous.
Unfortunately thanks to sponsors' meddling the mood of the movie can feel like it's all over the place. While it was always intended to be a crazy gritty teen movie the director ended up being forced to make the movie more kid-friendly, they even told the director this way too late and a lot of child unfriendly nightmare fuel was left in the movie. But despite that I find it to be a very fun "turn your brain off and enjoy" kind of movie.
I also want to say that for a late 90s movie, the CGI in it didn't age that bad in my opinion.