Small Soldiers (1998)

Who could be a better cartoonishly greedy and callous CEO than Denis Leary? But do we really need another movie where toys comes to life? Well, at least this flick has the common courtesy to use technology rather than magic.

The story is a problem though. Both the main story and the sub-plot are so exceptionally known, that you need something with Meg Ryan in it to be more predictable. The same goes for the characters. But for those of you that thought Kirsten Dunst had her debut as a cute girl next door in Spiderman... Think again. It appears to be her best asset. Thankfully both the little brats are decent actors, helping the flow immensely.

What Small Soldiers does best is the animated characters development. As they are able to learn, they start on a very low level, and gradually understand more about the world they have been dropped into. Naturally, the commandos learn much narrower. A point lost on few as morals in American films rarely amount to subtlety.

Another strong point is the creativity as to how the toys develop and create weapons. This is a bit underplayed, though. A stronger emphasis could have improved this.

So it's quite entertaining, and the leads have a good chemistry. But since the story is extremely straightforward and uninteresting, parts of it just doesn't catch your interest. That it exceeds the maximal limit for kids' flicks of 90 minutes does noting to hel it. Jerry Goldsmith's score is fantastic though.

6/10