Review of Toys (1966) by Bryan W — 21 Mar 2010

Though it fails to register any kind of message or impact, it remains interesting and fun only on the basis of the concept and production design. Williams is always game for ridiculous characters, but here, his rampant improvisations, as many other places, undermine his ability to create a character other than himself.

The concept of creating miniature war machinery to be operated by children is a ripe one, but there's simply nothing interesting said about it by the film itself. It would, perhaps, have done better if the themes were a bit more mature and the run time was cut down; at 2 hours, it's incredibly inflated, suffering largely due to some rather useless musical sequences. Overall, it's worth a casual glance, but not much more.