Notebook Reviews: SMALL SOLDIERS

Joe Dante – 1998 

Joe Dante’s Small Soldiers is a big disappointment. The film was always going to suffer comparisons to his 1984 hit Gremlins and sadly it just doesn’t stack-up, despite an intriguing premise and a good cast (Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, Denis Leary and Phil Hartman and others).

Admittedly the special effects are great, but Small Soldiers is just too childish and the humour misses the mark. The film lacks the darkness of Gremlins and you can almost hear the studio heads demanding to make it more child friendly in order to sell more toys. A shame.