REVIEW: War Horse

 There are no spoilers in this review.

PLOT: The journey of a horse across Europe during WWI and his original owner's drive to find him again.


THE GOOD: Steven Spielberg. War Horse would not have been as entertaining had it been directed by anyone else. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am a sucker for Spielberg. I will watch anything he directs and 19 out of 20 times, I will enjoy what I am watching. Hated A.I.? Well, don't worry, I loved it. Didn't even see The Terminal? That's okay because I've probably seen it over thirty times for you. Thought Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a travesty? Well... me too, actually, but when it's on TV, I can't help myself to watch it. Steven Spielberg is a magician behind the camera. The camera angles, the color temperature, the rich storytelling... I cannot get enough of it. War Horse is Spielberg's second film of 2011, and as much as I loved Tintin, I have got to say that this movie is more well-crafted. War Horse can kind of be seen as a series of vignettes about life during World War I through the eyes of a horse. Each segment is just as capturing as the last and the waves of different emotions from the stories hits you like a ton of bricks. It's also interesting to note that this is Spielberg's first foray into WWI as previously he has directed six films that take place during or just before WWII. His attention to detail for this time is just as good.

Pictured here: Benedict Cumberbatch and Jeremy Irvine.

Score. John Williams' score is his best since Revenge of the Sith. It is featured in the trailer for the film and has found its way into my head on plenty of occasions. Takes me back to his older stuff.

Sound. Spielberg brought the Academy Award-winning team that he worked with on Saving Private Ryan to War Horse. Their work really shines during the war action sequences, but even in the slower moments, what they added is effective. War Horse has been nominated for both sound categories at the Oscars this year.

Cinematography. There are some fantastic shots in this film. There's the one that you might have seen in the trailer that is a close up of the reflection in the horse's eye. It's clearly a Spielberg shot, but has never had the clarity and focus like this before. Also really liked the shots on the plow while being pulled by the horse. Then there's the final scene which some people think is a bit over the top, but I thought it was gorgeous.

Pictured here: Sarah Jessica Parker, Celine Buckens, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

THE BAD: Unrealistic. My only true gripe about the film were the slightly unrealistic moments in the movie. Joey, the horse, seems to be smarter than your average animal. I won't elaborate too much, but it dropped a lot of the believability and naturalism for me.


THE END: War Horse is a fantastic film and I feel like it's already underappreciated as a movie. A lot of my friends and co-workers talked about how boring the movie looked and probably wondered how a single horse could possibly carry it. I knew I was going to like it anyway because of Spielberg, but I think any movie goer will find something to like about this movie. Though War Horse has been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, I don't think it will win, but it is a movie that I hope everyone gives a chance to.


DISCUSS: What did you think of War Horse? What is your favorite Steven Spielberg film? What did you think of the technical aspects of this film? Have you read the book or seen the play?

Pictured on the left here: Benedict Cumberbatch riding Benedict Cumberbatch.