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Bookmark this pageWar Horse (2011)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Movie review
From Time Out London
Steven Spielberg plunges us into an overlit, twee vision of early twentieth-century Devon at the start of ‘War Horse’ and we spend much of the rest of this harmless, conventional adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel seeking – even aching for – the real world amid the artifice. It’s in Devon that we meet young Albert (Jeremy Irvine), his farming parents (Emily Watson, Peter Mullan) and the horse, Joey, to whom he becomes attached and whose various owners lead us to the Western Front and back again. It’s only when three army officers, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and Patrick Kennedy with a verve missing in the earlier scenes, enter the movie and charge into battle that we encounter anything resembling the brio we expect from the director of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘ET’.
Spielberg still manages to surprise and impress. There’s a smart image of the revolving blade of a windmill masking an execution in rural France. When it feels like his depiction of war is too soft, his camera sweeps up to reveal a scarred battlefield. There are other strong moments: the horse’s dash through battle offers much-needed flesh and blood, while there’s a moment of minimal spectacle and measured emotion as two opposing soldiers meet during a ceasefire to help free the beast.
The main problem with ‘War Horse’ is not that it’s episodic – which it is: the horse’s odyssey leads him to various people and places, fatally relegating Irvine’s Albert to a distant memory – but that Spielberg doesn’t solve the conundrum of having an animal at the heart of his film. For Morpurgo, it was a first-horse narration. For the play, it was scene-stealing puppetry. All Spielberg can do is observe the creature, make the most of its few situations of peril and hope the surrounding drama is distracting enough. Fairytale, quasi-mythical visions of life, even war, are fine, but there’s an alienating push and pull here between the savagery of war and Spielberg’s fear of scaring the horses.
Author: Dave Calhoun
Time Out London Issue 2160: Janurary 12 – 18, 2012
User reviews of this film
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- Best Horse said...
- Posted on May 28 2012 08:40 Don’t get confused when it comes to purchase a horse online as it is a very easy process with few streamlined steps. All you are required to do is explore online deals on horses for sale. After you have searched for a potential horse dealer ensure about its reliability. One can also browse online and look for deals on horses for sale USA to get area specific deals.
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- Ric_Braz said...
- Posted on Feb 29 2012 17:50 How can this sweet, oversentimental, over symplified film that make Dick van Dyke's regional cockney accent look bang on possibly be better than Schindler's List. As you patronisingly started your post, you must have pressed the wrong rating button.
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- deec said...
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Posted on Feb 29 2012 15:14
For once I completely agree with the Timeout review. Yes its an OK film and it deserves 3 stars but no more. I have read this book and the book is written from the horses point of view. As a non horse lover I thought this would be my worst nightmare to read but it is written amazingly and you really warm to war horse and what he endures through the war. I dont think the film captures this at all. It leaves really important parts out, plays down the father at the start and doesnt build a big enough picture around the involvement of the grandfather and grandaughter. I also agree with the reviewer who commented on the other 3 1/2 years of the war being missing.
Spielberg does not show enough of the bond between Topthorn and Joey with Topthorn's death being really underplayed and also what happens to Joey after that.
Yes the war scenes are ok but this is not really the point of the story and as another reviewer pointed out was probably an opportunity for Spielberg to make up for previous cheesy American war films.
As a Scot, the bagpipes during one war scene immediately disctracted me from the film as I thought "No!". Who honestly would have put these in a film other than a cheesy American.
I also agree about the varied and mixed accents and the skyline at the end. What was that all about and what was the point in even mentioning the girl from the village if it wasnt going to show you her with Albert and Joey at the end?? They made more of that in the film than in the book then ignored it? A little disappointed all round. - Report as inappropriate
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- Tony W said...
- Posted on Feb 23 2012 13:07 if you go to the cinema to be entertained, then this film will. if you want deep meaningful characters . complex storylines, clever dialogue then look elsewhere. Spielberg is a Master of Entertainment and you should view his films as such.
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- john o sullivan said...
- Posted on Feb 20 2012 12:23 A Hovis advert with violence.. performed in a variaty of random regional accents ... set in the deep south
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- Naomi said...
- Posted on Feb 20 2012 11:15 Firstly this film is incredible. Secondly the timeout reviewer is completely out of line when saying he was thinking to much about scaring the horses and so he should of been no one is going to throw a horse into a situation where it is going to be extremely scared especially as a scared horse is an extremely dangerous thing not only to the horse but others around it too. He did everything he could with what he had to work with and he made a stunning film. You immediately grow attached to the horse and want more than anything for it to return safely. There are some genuinely beautiful scenes to be appreciated in this film. And I am not one to cry on a film but I cried like a baby for ages. It is a definete for horse lovers.
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- Amelia said...
- Posted on Feb 11 2012 20:04 Absolutely loved this film....had a few violent parts but that's what happened in the war so no bad comments really :)
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- caz said...
- Posted on Feb 11 2012 10:38 excellent film very moving.war scenes graphic but real and educational
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- Benny said...
- Posted on Feb 06 2012 20:14 Take your own sick bag.
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- DEWI said...
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Posted on Feb 02 2012 14:06
Awful film.Badly structured story, characters you couldn't cre less about and naff dialogue. Pitched as Mr Ed meets Black Beauty meets Black Adder Goes Forth. Oh and the worse ever Devon accents!
Sentimental dross. Avoid at all costs. - Report as inappropriate
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- TWICK13 said...
- Posted on Feb 01 2012 11:58 Long, boring, over the top acting, very americanised, the kid is bordering on being to "fond" of the horse. I have never written on a site before but I had to write this as an avid movie goer. One of the worst films I have seen for a while, please avoid unless you reall really LOVE horses and american cheeeeesssseeeee.
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- Wol said...
- Posted on Jan 31 2012 22:34 I agree with Ando S said. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, although I almost did not go to see it after reading the original unfair review. It was so good to watch a film and not have to sit through graphic torture scenes and gratuitous violence. We are not all trying to prove how macho and unshockable we are. This was a 12A and that is how it should be. A brilliant story which I found quite easy to follow; good acting and a few laughs, which is good. I say well done, 5 *s
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- Cappybear said...
- Posted on Jan 28 2012 00:56 Faintly underwhelming and very long family movie with several famous actors in small roles. Couldn't quite believe in it, somehow, and the director laid the sentiment on at the end with a trowel. I hope that the stage show is better than this.
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- kaz said...
- Posted on Jan 25 2012 20:24 Enjoyed the film but as an animal lover found it very hard to watch in parts as horses were transported to France during WW1 and shockingly abused.. Rather twee at times but on the whole good entertainment... large supply of tissues essential
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- Jon said...
- Posted on Jan 25 2012 14:22 The film looks stunning, the acting is superb and the tale engeges..Highly recommended.;
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Cast & crew
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: David Thewlis, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan, Tom Hiddleston full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Children's, War
Rated: 12A
Duration: 146 mins
UK Release: Jan 13 2012
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