BrianSez's Review

Summary - Very Good 3.5

Remember family movies like they used to make them? Where sentimentality rules the roost? Spielberg dishes up some of this old-school corn with War Horse. And you know what? Corn is a great dish at times, and the holiday season of 2011 was a perfect time to serve it. Come for a ride along with the horse Joey and his owner Albert. After a dramatic separation, the two of them are pressed in to service during WWI and its devastating violence. Be inspired as both persevere through adversity, carrying hope for reunification. War Horse tugs at your heart-strings and unexpectedly gives you an action packed glimpse of WWI France. I think that you will enjoy War Horse, even if yellow vegetables normally turn you off.

Acting - Good 3.0

Jeremy Irvine was fine as the protagonist, but he needs more time to mature. The acting from his movie mom and dad Peter Mullan and Emily Watson was much more seasoned. The real star was Joey – can they really train horses to do all that?

Film - Very Good 3.5

Spielberg mixes together two things that get at our emotions: war and noble animals. Mixing the two, although it has been done before, was a bit of genius. Ok, there might be a few times where you will roll your eyes, but in the end, the formula works.

Edge - Risqué 1.8

Some scenes of brutality remind you that this is no Disney movie.

Reality - Surreal 2.2

1 Comment

• Wick Dec 25, 2011 6:58PM

  Regarding BrianSez’s Review
  Great review Bri. Love the “yellow vegetable” allusion.

  I saw War Horse on stage in London, where they used puppets for the horses and other animals, which worked tremendously well. Will be interesting to see Spielberg’s live action take.

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