War Horse review
Greetings!
Long time lurker, first time poster here. ::waves::
I just saw a preview of War Horse and wanted to share some of my thoughts on it. :) No spoilers in my post, just some general discussion of the characters and story. (For the record, I have neither read the book nor seen the play, so there will be no comparisons.)
Since this is a Benedict Cumberbatch fan community, I'll talk about him first. ;) He does in fact have a very small role. He's onscreen for maybe ten minutes out of a two hour movie, so if you really have zero interest in the larger story, I don't think it would be worthwhile to go to the theater just to see him.
That said, I thought his character (Major James Stewart) was intriguing despite the brief appearance. He's posh, arrogant (but not to the point of being unsympathetic), and ultimately very foolish, which he realizes too late.
On to the movie as a whole.
After War Horse was over, the friend I saw it with (who is a big Spielberg fan) said that it is definitely one of the lesser Spielberg movies, but it still has the flair and fine craftsmanship that you expect from Spielberg and is overall a good story. That sums up my opinion of it pretty well.
(For folks who are interested in WWI, or in military history in general, it also provides a unique and interesting perspective on that conflict. / history geek)
It's certainly beautiful to look at, with sweeping views of the English and French countryside and impressively detailed and realistic-looking military settings. Most of the movie takes place outdoors (appropriate when the main character is a horse) which I think gives it an expansive, free feeling. There are also some memorable and imaginatively shot sequences. An example we see bits of in the various trailers: the big British cavalry charge, which in its entirety is unusual and actually quite thrilling.
IMO there are two problems with War Horse that keep it from being a great rather than good movie. One is that it's uneven in emotional tone, with some scenes that are genuinely moving and poignant (sometimes laced with unexpected, very welcome humor), and others that are cheesy and sentimental. The beginning in particular has some cringe-worthy moments of over-the-top pastoral cliche. By the fifth time a character stood and stared at Joey the horse in wide-eyed awe saying, "That's a remarkable horse, by Jove, that horse is remarkable!", I was ready to start yelling at the screen. When the war actually begins, the movie starts improving. There is no blood or gore, but there are some intense and disturbing scenes.
The other big problem is that Jeremy Irvine's character Albert--the main human character--essentially has nothing to do other than first adore Joey, then miss him terribly. We just don't know anything about Albert other than that he really, really loves his horse, and I found it difficult to engage with the character because of this lack of depth. It's not that Irvine's performance is bad, but I felt there was very little substance to the character, especially given the amount of screen time he gets.
Overall, the supporting cast is excellent. I was on the lookout for Benedict, but I was also particularly struck by Niels Arestrup as a world-weary, elderly French farmer who, along with his granddaughter, looks after Joey and Topthorn (Major Stewart's horse) for a while.
The horses really are the heart and soul of the movie. Joey has a lot of personality, and is charming and strong-willed. The friendship between him and Topthorn is endearing.
Credit must go to the people who did the horse handling and grooming (including creating some nasty-looking fake injuries with make-up magic). I left the theater wondering how they did some of the things they did with real animals.
To sum up, I think War Horse is a good movie with some issues, and I enjoyed it overall.
Long time lurker, first time poster here. ::waves::
I just saw a preview of War Horse and wanted to share some of my thoughts on it. :) No spoilers in my post, just some general discussion of the characters and story. (For the record, I have neither read the book nor seen the play, so there will be no comparisons.)
Since this is a Benedict Cumberbatch fan community, I'll talk about him first. ;) He does in fact have a very small role. He's onscreen for maybe ten minutes out of a two hour movie, so if you really have zero interest in the larger story, I don't think it would be worthwhile to go to the theater just to see him.
That said, I thought his character (Major James Stewart) was intriguing despite the brief appearance. He's posh, arrogant (but not to the point of being unsympathetic), and ultimately very foolish, which he realizes too late.
On to the movie as a whole.
After War Horse was over, the friend I saw it with (who is a big Spielberg fan) said that it is definitely one of the lesser Spielberg movies, but it still has the flair and fine craftsmanship that you expect from Spielberg and is overall a good story. That sums up my opinion of it pretty well.
(For folks who are interested in WWI, or in military history in general, it also provides a unique and interesting perspective on that conflict. / history geek)
It's certainly beautiful to look at, with sweeping views of the English and French countryside and impressively detailed and realistic-looking military settings. Most of the movie takes place outdoors (appropriate when the main character is a horse) which I think gives it an expansive, free feeling. There are also some memorable and imaginatively shot sequences. An example we see bits of in the various trailers: the big British cavalry charge, which in its entirety is unusual and actually quite thrilling.
IMO there are two problems with War Horse that keep it from being a great rather than good movie. One is that it's uneven in emotional tone, with some scenes that are genuinely moving and poignant (sometimes laced with unexpected, very welcome humor), and others that are cheesy and sentimental. The beginning in particular has some cringe-worthy moments of over-the-top pastoral cliche. By the fifth time a character stood and stared at Joey the horse in wide-eyed awe saying, "That's a remarkable horse, by Jove, that horse is remarkable!", I was ready to start yelling at the screen. When the war actually begins, the movie starts improving. There is no blood or gore, but there are some intense and disturbing scenes.
The other big problem is that Jeremy Irvine's character Albert--the main human character--essentially has nothing to do other than first adore Joey, then miss him terribly. We just don't know anything about Albert other than that he really, really loves his horse, and I found it difficult to engage with the character because of this lack of depth. It's not that Irvine's performance is bad, but I felt there was very little substance to the character, especially given the amount of screen time he gets.
Overall, the supporting cast is excellent. I was on the lookout for Benedict, but I was also particularly struck by Niels Arestrup as a world-weary, elderly French farmer who, along with his granddaughter, looks after Joey and Topthorn (Major Stewart's horse) for a while.
The horses really are the heart and soul of the movie. Joey has a lot of personality, and is charming and strong-willed. The friendship between him and Topthorn is endearing.
Credit must go to the people who did the horse handling and grooming (including creating some nasty-looking fake injuries with make-up magic). I left the theater wondering how they did some of the things they did with real animals.
To sum up, I think War Horse is a good movie with some issues, and I enjoyed it overall.