Revisiting SMALL SOLDIERS in 4K

SMALL SOLDIERS (4K UHD SteelBook)

1998 / 109 min

Paramount

Review by Princess Pepper😼

If you’ve never read The Gross, by Peter Bart, it’s a fascinating analysis of several films released during the summer of 1998…the production, marketing and box office performance. Diving deep into the competitive nature of the movie business, it reads like a detailed, play-by-play chronicle of a sporting event. More specifically, a marathon with winners, losers and those in between. For movie fans with additional interest in what makes Hollywood tick, the book is lightly recommended.

One of the films discussed in detail is Small Soldiers, which was projected to be a big hit, though it didn’t quite turn out that way. Bart touches on why the film failed to catch-on with the intended family audience, but I didn’t really need the book to understand why it didn’t become another Gremlins, even with Joe Dante in the director’s chair.

The comparisons to Gremlins are warranted, with a similar premise that sees a line of action figures, the Commando Elite, wreaking havoc after being programmed with military software. Small Soldiers even has its own Gizmo in the form of Archer (voiced by Frank Langella), the leader of benevolent monsters created as the Elite’s enemies. They’re targeted by Major Chip Hazard (voiced by Tommy Lee Jones), who could be seen as the movie’s Stripe. Caught in between are a couple of young teens, Alan (Gregory Smith), and his crush, Kristy (Kristen Dunst, who was just starting to make a name for herself). 

The similarities pretty much end there. Though probably mismarketed as a “family” film to begin with (which many critics, including Bart, pointed out), what ultimately made Small Soldiers destined to be comparatively “forgotten” today is that it coasts almost entirely on its concept. Technically, it’s very well made, with imaginatively created non-human characters (designed by Stan Winston) and excellent CGI for the time. Additionally, much of the violent action is exciting and - because of its small scale - fairly amusing.

Kitty cameo.

But revisiting Small Soldiers decades later is a reminder that little is particularly memorable about it beyond the visuals. Considering Joe Dante’s reputation for infusing oft-kilter humor, in-jokes, quirky characters and cartoon anarchy into his work, the film is surprisingly straightforward…just an action film that happens to involve kids and toys. A few of the director’s unique humorous touches shine through here and there (his cache of favorite character actors; references to past pop culture), but it mostly feels like Dante was a director-for-hire and afforded little creative input.

Elsewhere, the story moves along at an efficient pace, though there aren’t any real surprises (even if one hasn’t seen Gremlins). And while it boasts decent performances by a solid cast, the film never takes advantage of their unique talents. Having Tommy Lee Jones voice Chip Hazard is basically just stunt casting, as the character could’ve been played by any competent voice actor. However, I did appreciate the in-joke of gathering the surviving actors from The Dirty Dozen to play soldiers under Hazard’s command.

None of this is to say Small Soldiers is a bad movie. As slick, high-concept family entertainment goes, there have been plenty (before and since) that are far worse and a lot stupider. During that summer of 1998, so extensively documented by Bart's book, the movie may not have lived up to expectations, but surely it struck a chord with many young viewers who enjoyed the mayhem (I don’t subscribe to the claim that the film was too traumatizing for children). 

So for some, there’s a bit of nostalgic value to be had with this release. Small Soldiers debuted on Blu-ray only four years ago and this upgrade to 4K offers an overall better image, though the 5.1 audio is exactly the same, as are the perfunctory bonus features. But the coolest part is the SteelBook packaging, which features a colorful variation of the original promotional artwork. 

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