Small Soldiers Movie Review

I remember when Small Soldiers (1998) hit theaters. There was a big marketing campaign that featured Burger King promos, toys, video games and a lot of TV spots targeted towards kids. Even though I was in my mid-teens I still remember thinking Small Soldiers was too violent and scary for the targeted audience the marketing campaign was focusing on.

15-year-old Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith), the son of a toy store owner, tries out the new action figures: The Commando Elite vs. The Gorgonites. Three months earlier, a toy company believed it is onto something when it employs the latest government military technology in a series of action figures, enabling them to talk. The company underestimated the power of the special microchips they've employed, however, as the two opposing sides of the toy line start thinking for themselves, they engaging in real combat. The Commando Elite, lead by Major Chip Hazard (Tommy Lee Jones), vow to wipe out the Gorgonites in a suburban neighborhood. Alan and his neighbor Christy (Kirsten Dunst), on whom he has a massive crush, must protect his home and family from the militaristic action figure Commandos with the help of the kind Gorgonites

I have to admit, Small Soldiers was a fun idea, but not an easy thing to pull off. It's a violent movie. People's clothes are set on fire, they are cut with steak knives, and houses are trashed. It almost sounds like something out of a Chucky movie. But at the same time it tries to be goofy and fun to appeal to kids. Most of the real violence happens to the toys, but at the same time they are presented as individuals who can think for themselves; there are believable heroes and villains among the toy characters. It's rated PG-13, but if the same sorts of violent actions were taken against actual people, this would have had a solid R rating. I still think this could be a terrifying experience for kids to watch Small Soldiers.

The special effects are actually very well done. The action figures are animated with a blend of CGI animation and animatronics puppetry; sometimes it's hard to tell which is which. These effects were incorporated seamlessly into the live action scenes and made the toy characters seem all the more realistic. Furthermore, there was a lot practical effects. There were real pyrotechnics which brought us some pretty nice explosions and fireballs. The Commando characters were building weapons and vehicles out of common household items. Some looked as though they might work, while others seemed a bit too exaggerated to be realistic. It was very creative, and since it was physically made (not CGI stuff) it looked more believable.

This movie had a lot of potential to say something about violent imagery in children's products, especially that in toys meant for boys. The toy shop Alan's father owns is a classical toy shop; no war toys. It has trouble competing with toy stores that sell toy guns and such. So, the set up is there. Then the Commandos start wreaking havoc in a way that most boys have probably played out in their minds, but there are real consequences to playing war in Small Soldiers. The movie sets up a means of making a statement, but then doesn't do it.

Small Soldier is a satire of several war movies. You've got this kind of Toy Story concept along with the "playing war" concept in the Toys movie and a little bit of Gremlins, what with the tiny killers that seem to multiply like crazy. There's also a lot of funny war movie references. Early on Major Chip Hazard is rallying his fellow toy troops for battle while standing in front of a jigsaw puzzle of the American flag, a reference to the opening scene in Patton. Wagner's Flight of the Valkyries was played during a scene when the Commandos were attacking with makeshift helicopters, a nod to Apocalypse Now. It's the kind of movie that is a little bit funnier because of movies you've already seen.

Small Soldiers isn't an awful movie, but I can't recommend rushing out to see it. It's a bit hard to take seriously, has logical errors in the story, and is an overly violent movie for its target audience. The pacing is very slow; the story and action doesn't really get going until after the movie is half over. I remember my Dad rented Small Soldiers soon after it hit VHS, and we were all giving him dirty looks for getting such a dumb movie. Fortunately for him it started getting good and he redeemed himself. Small Soldiers is currently on Instant Play on NetFlix, and frankly that's the only thing that makes it worth seeing; it's kind of fun but not worth the cost to rent.

Do you have a favorite war movie? Or even a satirical war movie? Comment below and tell me all about it!

Wreck-It Ralph Movie Review

Video games have been around for about three decades. There have been movies made that feature video games, such as The Last Starfighter and The Wizard. There’ve been some dreadful movies based on video games themselves. But I think having a movie that’s actually about video games, such as Wreck-It Ralph (2012), has not been done before.

Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) longs to be as loved and accepted as his games’ perfect Good Guy, Felix Fix-It (Jack McBrayer). The problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. So when a modern, first-person shooter game called Hero’s Duty arrives at the arcade featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan. Win a medal. But he soon wrecks everything, and accidently unleashes the alien threat from Hero’s Duty upon the other video games in the arcade. It turns out Ralph’s best chance is Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman), a young troublemaking “Glitch” from a candy-themed cart racing game called Sugar Rush; she may be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. Will Ralph understand what it takes to be a hero before it's “Game Over” for the entire arcade?

Wreck-It Ralph was remarkably creative. I’ve never seen a movie that is about video games in their own video-game-style setting. Because there are so many video games featured in Wreck-It Ralph, there’s a lot of opportunity for a diverse art style. Sometimes it looks simple and plain, like it does in the “retro” Felix Fix-It, Jr. game, other times it looks dark and gritty like in the Hero’s Duty game, and still other times it looks bright and colorful like in the Sugar Rush game. The often bizarre contrasts are what make Wreck-It Ralph so fun! For example when Calhoun is using her sci-fi gadgetry to find the aliens that have infested Sugar Rush, all the sugar and candy in the atmosphere interfere with the sensors.

Ralph at the Bad Guy support group.

There’s another fantastic scene early on in the movie when several video game Bad Guys meet together as a support group. In attendance are Bowser from the Mario series, Dr. Eggman from Sonic the Hedgehog, Kano from Mortal Kombat, Clyde the ghost from Pac-Man, and M. Bison from Street Fighter to name a few. There are lots of other classic video game cameos strewn throughout the movie, including a brief speaking part from Sonic the Hedgehog, and Mario mentioned in dialogue. This was important to make the movie relatable. For main characters and settings, Disney obviously had to make their own video games to keep from making copyright infringements, but if there were no actual video game references it would have made the games created specifically for this movie seem out of sorts. But because Pac-Man attends a party, Q*Bert helps Felix, Ryu uses his Hadouken move, and they all go to the video game root beer bar Tapper after the arcade closes for the night, the made up games seem more believable. They even use the Konami Code in Wreck-It Ralph, hilarious.

Even the made up games use obvious references to actual video games. Fix-It Felix, Jr. is based off of Donkey Kong and Rampage, Hero’s Duty is similar to Halo, and it’s hard to ignore Sugar Rush’s blatant similarity to Mario Kart. It’s almost like Who Framed Roger Rabbit of video games. So many cameos and references that watching for them makes Wreck-It Ralph even more fun to watch.

So, video game junkies will love all the references, but how does it stand as a movie? I was expecting a simple, typical Disney story. But unlike half-baked stories about being yourself, Wreck-It Ralph did a great job of telling a story with good characters who are overcoming their past, reinventing themselves, accepting weaknesses as part of what makes them unique, and learning to see the world from the perspective of the downtrodden. The characters are so well written, fun, and lovable that you can’t help but care about them. There are so many jokes and groaner puns the movie will keep you laughing, but there’s also some dramatic moments that you may get choked up over. I did, anyway.

Wreck-It Ralph might be the best animated movie I’ve seen this year, it certainly gives Brave a run for its money. I was worried that with a Halo-like game referenced, it might get a bit too scary or violent for very young viewers, but that was not so. This is a great movie to watch as a family. You don’t need to have been a gamer from the Pong-era to appreciate this movie. Small children who’ve never played a video game will love it, and adults who have been helping Mario save The Princess since 1985 will probably get the biggest kick out of this movie. It’s almost like the Toy Story for this generation; kids are growing up with video games more than toys, so I think Wreck-It Ralph will be much loved for years to come. I highly recommend this movie to anyone of any age. I really want to get a copy of this on Blu-Ray when it becomes available. Catch this in theaters if you can, it’s worth the ticket price.

What is your favorite video game you played as a kid? Mine has to be Super Mario Bros. 3 or possibly Bubble Bobble on the NES. Comment below and tell me all about it!