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Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely Fantastic

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Toys was one of my favorite films as a kid, and still has a fond place in my heart. I love this bizarre, beautiful movie. The sets and design are fantastic and surreal, the characters are all charming in their own ways, and it's a good mix of silly and thought-provoking.

While this film certainly had a lot of hard work poured into it and a talented cast to work with, it was visually all over the place to the point where it made me wish I was colour blind. The bizarre soundtrack did nothing to add to its appeal, and Williams often came off as obnoxious throughout. I did like the intro credits with the New York Christmas set pieces, but the rest of it looked like some sort of chaotic avant-garde mess that was trying way too hard and not focusing enough on its actual story. It's all well and good to be flashy, but it gets old really fast if there's nothing good to back it up with. It's more pretentious than anything else, much like its positive reviews that insist that people who hate t "just don't get it" or are "too shallow to appreciate the genius". To that I say, get down off your high horse. Most of the characters were just irritating, the themes clashed to the point where it seemed like the creators were just reaching out of nowhere for any old crud they could make money off of, and it's campy but not even in a remotely humorous way, nor is it "so bad, it's good." It's just weird, and there's a difference between a cool or creative weird and just plain annoying and pointless weird.

Barry Levinson brings us a strange tale of a toy factory whose owner passes on and leaves in the hands of his two children (Williams and Cusack), very much children at heart, and his brother (Gambon), a US General with daddy issues. Seeing an opportunity, the General decides to hijack the traditional methods and mentality of the factory and build a new type of tech; war toys, designed to be economically lethal. Finding this out, it is up to our heroes, along with some friends like the General's camoflauge-happy son (LL Cool J) and a copy girl who falls in love with Williams' character, to stop him.A case of 'wrong place, wrong time', Levinson odd little film is, though not without faults, surprisingly forward thinking about the desensitisation of youth and the dehumanisation of war. Today, that issue is much the rage (how often have we heard COD being called Propaganda/Army Porn or the use of drones), and in a post Columbine world, the idea of a youth perverted by the lack of distinguishing fantasy from reality is very potent, and one feels that 'Toys' would've been better served coming out now.What's more, this also qualifies as one of the oddest studio films ever; from the Rene Magritte-centric production design to the interesting mix of actors here, though they all fit their roles well. The late Williams is very much the star of the show, and the child-like, jokey nature of this character fits him like a glove. Cusack as his doll-like sister also does well, giving the role a very youthful, almost eternally naive, quality. Joining them is the always superb Gambon as the pompous and crusty General, and he's having quite the ball in the role, and even Cool J as his son isn't half bad either, and actually has some good comic timing, especially given how meticulous his character is about proper military procedures. We even have Yeardley Smith and Jamie Foxx in small background roles.However, some tonal indecisions, such as going from the dark subject matter to Williams' ad libs and wacky sight gags like a literal smoking jacket or fake vomit recipes, and a laggy climax involving a rather drawn out toy war do deflate things. In fact, that sums up why I believe the film's rep is so uncertain among critics and audiences; who is the target audience of the film? Is it an anti- war/protect our youth's innocence message for adults, or a quirky, oddball adventure for kids? It's like Levinson wants a live-action Ghibli film, but that careful blend of childhood magic and adult themes is off, making for an uneven, though still oddly fascinating, viewing experience.Honestly, 'Toys' is worth seeing once as a ambitious novelty. It's such an odd mix of ideas, stories and even practices that there is really no movie like it out there, and it's sort of interesting seeing where it'll go or what it'll do next. Sometimes, a unique misfire is better than mediocre success.

I decided to watch "Toys" as it was missing from my childhood, I remember seeing the trailer on the "Mrs. Doubtfire" video (that was never out!) And I thought it looked good. So it was on TV and I recorded and thought it was definitely something different and which definitely does not LACK imagination! The visuals are the most impressive things in "Toys", it's as if life is inside a Dhali painting. Everything is surreal and tongue-in-cheek which is quite refreshing to see through the midst of countless films that all start to look the same. Films like this don't come around very often and maybe some of you think this is a good thing? But it's important that you open your mind when watching this and just enjoy the imaginative images that flourish before you on the screen.The visuals and directing style reminded me of a Tim Burton film, such as "Big Fish", it was very colourful with Burton-esque ideas and I really liked that. Although the film did sort of fall apart during the evil toys vs not evil toys due to the lack of direction and not focusing on the editing.Hans Zimmer's score was also very impressive. It lifted the child-like atmosphere. Robin Williams was mis-used however, he did have some very funny lines (the Mother Teresa bit is worth watching for those few seconds) but his talents weren't used to the extent.Weird and wonderful, "Toys" is unlike anything I've ever seen, and i also think that underneath this child-like exterior is quite a serious metaphor. The story-line is simple, the directing is driven and the visuals are stunning. "Toys" is definitely worth a watch if you have at least some imagination.