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War Horse Movie Review

War Horse is a 2011 war film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Emily Watson, David Thewlis and Jeremy Irvine. It’s a sappy, but undeniably charming movie.

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“I might hate you more,

but I’ll never love you less“

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Albert and his horse Joey are inseparable. However, when Joey is sold off to the British cavalry, Albert follows him in the hope of reuniting with his best friend. That is one storyline of the two in this very old-fashioned flick. The other one involves a grandfather and his adventurous granddaughter as they also struggle during World War I.

This is the first WWI movie from the director who has made quite a lot of WWII movies, so this new historical perspective was a refreshing change of pace for him. It is undoubtedly overly sentimental, but unabashedly so, and simply the joys of seeing some of the canvases here was unquestionable. There is, for instance, this ending where the colors are orange and sepia-toned and the framing is so amazing that all of it evoked the double ending of ‘Gone with the Wind’, and I was living for it myself.

Jeremy Irvine is okay in the main role, but overall the protagonist is somewhat forgettable. Ted and Rose as the parents fare much better and the Grandfather and the young girl are both very lovely. Their storyline proved to be quite tragic and the decision to meet these two toward the end paid off emotionally. The old man selling the horse back to Albert was the most moving moment in the entire picture.

War Horse finally portrays the sacrifice of horses in the two world wars and all wars in human history in general. We rarely get to see this, so seeing it here was both heartbreaking and quite important. The main relationship between the horse and the boy was touching for sure and the heart of the film.

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It was nominated for six Oscars and it received pretty good reviews, though for some it is among Spielberg’s lesser movies. For me, it’s one of his better outings. Yes, the high sentimentality is definitely here as is the predictability, but the charm is off the roof, the cinematography and score are simply incredible, and the whole classic Hollywood feel here is undeniably fantastic.

While unquestionably extremely sentimental, predictable and overlong, War Horse still ranks among Spielberg’s better movies as it is immensely charming in its classic Hollywood touches, such as the gorgeous cinematography with some amazing canvases, a beautiful score and many epic and very moving sequences. Offering a rare glimpse into the suffering of horses themselves during wars, this is a rare WWI movie from Spielberg, and one that is simply difficult not to love despite its flaws.

My Rating – 3.5