Movies

War Horse Review

War Horse is a movie is centered around, you guessed it, a horse which in employed during a war (WWI to be specific). The story is supposed to be lifted from the Michael Morpurgo novel of the same name and was directed by Steven Spielberg ('A.I.', 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull') with writing and screen play credits going to Lee Hall ('Billy Elliot', 'Toast') and Richard Curtis ('Bridget Jones Diary', 'Notting Hill'). This movie is your typical date night drama, the plot was somewhat predictable and mildly entertaining in some parts. It consisted of a drunken Irishmen who bets his farm on the ability of a thoroughbred to plow a field. His son, smitten with the horse, begs to train it and the boy and animal bond. As WWI starts to ramp up the horse is drafted and is taken off to war, where is has several adventures. Without reading the novel it is difficult to say how true the movie is to the story. The acting for the most part was average, the only two actors who really stood out were: Emily Watson for portrayal of the boy's mother and Tom Hiddleston who plays a cavalry officer. There are several comedic scenes which made me laugh but for the most part this movie was a snorefest. As I have said previously the film was quite predictable, and chronologically awkward. You seem to jump months (in some cases years) without any perception of the passage of time. While some aspects of the First World War were represented correctly, for the most part, the film uses the war like a prop and throws out authenticity and logic for dramatic effect. During the final act of the film I found myself checking my watch to see when it would end. If you have an interest in horses, romance and little knowledge of the First World War you (like my wife) will likely be entertained by this movie. If you are in the mood to see a war movie from the point of view of the Calvary do not see this film.