War Horse

Rating: 4/5

The last time I visited New York City, I had the great pleasure of seeing the stage adaptation of War Horse. It was an essentially simple story, but it was beautifully acted and directed, and featured life size horse puppets operated by 3-4 people each able to create ultra realistic movements. When I heard about the film adaptation, I was admittedly cautious even though it was Spielberg. Was I right? Let's find out.

On the eve of World War 1, poor Irish farm boy Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) and his family are struggling to get by. In the heat of the moment, Albert's alcoholic dad (Peter Mullan) buys a majestic hunting horse at an auction. Tasked with training the horse to plow, Albert immediately takes to the animal, named Joey, and forms a unique bond with it. Once war is declared, Joey is bought by the army, and his journey to hell and back begins.

I love Steven Spielberg, but I can admit he isn't perfect. He has a bad habit of making things way over dramatic and never having a purely evil villain unless they're a nazi. At the same time he's one of America's best directors and I love his work; most of it anyway. War Horse doesn't change that fact for me. Sure it's predictable and cheesier than the cheddar kingdom, but so was the play and I bet the book is too. War horse does its job however, and does it well.

First things first: this is a beautiful movie. Spielberg uses his cinematographer to his advantage with sweeping shots and majestic portrayals of landscapes and the horses themselves. The acting is also good, except two French characters who are onscreen way too long. Other than one other moment of complete melodramatic silliness, the story moves well and isn't boring. Overall, it works.

This will be a polarizing film. Anybody going in expecting another Saving Private Ryan will be very disappointed, as will those expecting Schindler's List. War Horse is a big, over the top Spielberg movie and nothing more. I enjoyed it, but I honestly don't think I'd see it twice. It's beautiful to look at, very well done, touching and inspiring, but very cheesy. In the end War Horse is a totally solid drama by one of our best filmmakers, take it or leave it.