Where to watch Toy Soldiers
3 Stars
Billy Tepper is the leader of a group of rebellious boys at The Regis School. He has already been expelled from three prominent private schools. His best friend, Joey Trotta, is the son of the Head of the New York Mafia; Billy, all their friends and many other kids at the school have equally influential and prominent, if more law-abiding, parents. When Luis Cali’s father is put in jail, he heads for the Regis School to put the son of the judge in charge of the case under hostage, only to find he has been removed. However, once he realises who the parents of the rest are, he decides the entire student body of the Regis School would be an even better bargaining chip.
Despite being set at an all-boys reform school and starring a handful of ‘Teen Beat’ cover boys, Toy Soldiers is a credible action film. The movie is inspired by Die Hard and has a similar appeal to those 16 years old who caught it during its popular run on home video. Toy Soldiers was a regular rental for group slumber parties on my block back in the day. It had been over 30 years since I last viewed the picture, so it was due for a rewatch, and the screening didn’t disappoint.
The most unlikely of screen heroes, Sean Austin, is capable of handling the action and dramatic moments of the well-written and thought-through screenplay. The gang of misfit rebels that cause trouble for the kidnappers is compelling, and while not fully developed, the casting fills in the rest. Toy Soldiers is an action programmer for the teen audience. Still, the acting from OSCAR winner Louis Gossett Jr. and the ultra-charismatic Andrew Divoff are the meat of the picture for more disconcerting viewers.
Directed by: Daniel Petrie Jr.
Written by: William P. Kennedy, Daniel Petrie Jr., David Koepp
Starring: Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Keith Coogan