Why the low rating?

It wasn't very well-received at the time of release but in more recent years has gotten much more recognition and appreciation. I agree it deserves a better rating.

Small Soldiers is a 10 if assessed for what it is, a popcorn flick with a fun/original idea, good pacing, good comic relief, chemistry between the characters, great voice acting, good cinematography. It was executed well.

Any movie can be objectively good, but in the end it comes down to whether you as the viewer were entertained or not. Small Soldiers is ultimately a kid movie and therefore not taken seriously. The low ratings are from those who weren't entertained, much like how I'd rate any super hero movie low (I don't like super hero movies) regardless of its quality.

I give it an 8/10 personally. Its n9t perfect, but its a fun, entertaining little flick that always makes me laugh, and Kirsten Dunst was a longtime crush I had after seeing it.

In terms of sheer entertainment value, this movie delivers all the way. Plus, it's really well done. That being said, I think the movie is misunderstood by many.


You want something corny? You got it!

I agree it's somewhat misunderstood. I think there's a lot of little layers people fail to see this movie has.

In all fairness back then trailers only showed little gimpses of what was in the movie and didn't give it all away.

I agree it's a classic. But in loving this movie, I can see the issues people have with it:

it's CGI did not age very well

The story is sort of silly

The acting is a mixed bag

It was misunderstood as a movie to entertain sugar crazed juveniles when it actually tackled a lot of social issues at the time.

Still, I thought this movie would have at least a 7 as far as IMDb ratings go. It has fun action, creative ideas, incredible score by Jerry Goldsmith, and a dark comedy element. But I guess it didn't click with most. If you were a kid and saw this, you probably loved it. But if you were the parent that took them, you probably hated it. My father hated this movie, the PC game, and the soundtrack lol!

I agree the violence level makes the threat of the Commandos that much more real and serious. I think the movie had a good balance of being quite dark at times but still having it's tongue-in-cheek tone and lighter moments. Not an easy balance to achieve.