Movie Review: War Horse
21 Jan 2012 23:48![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
patentdragonMovie Review - War Horse What a way to start the movie-going year...
I haven't read the book, and sadly I still haven't seen the stage play, so this is my first full exposure to Michael Morpurgo's much-acclaimed work. Is that a good thing, or the worst? well, the deed is done, the movie is watched - and I certainly don't feel I've short-changed myself.
My main worry was that the hand of Spielberg would do its worst, serving up a saccharine-drenched hollow shell of an existing work, but no, we were spared any such travesty. We really should give Steven some slack, now and again - that's how he produces films that work so well.
"A boy and his horse" gives you the vague idea what this is all about - for the first thirty minutes - then the story takes the lead character off on his journey to earn that very title in France as World War I begins. Characters who could be heroes and villains in a lesser movie play their part, then bow out early on as things take a darker turn with the advent of the kind of technological advances that killed "the noble art of war" stone dead...
Sympathetic characters can be found on both sides of the conflict, but as is said several times during the film "war takes everything from everyone", and possible happy endings are never far from being ground into the trench-dirt. Again, the grim truth of this particular war refuses to be whitewashed, and when our equine hero falls foul of the "architecture of war", it won't be enough to say to yourself "it's only a movie", or "they'd never do that for real" - you will struggle not to cry out at Joey's predicament in No-Man's Land.
The humans are excellent in this, but its the animals who are the absolute stars. You really do wonder what it'll take for there to be an Oscar awarded for Best Performance By An Animal, and were I to wear a hat, it would most definitely be doffed in respect to the animal trainers and handlers who made this movie possible.
Now I need to read the book, to see what was not included in the film, and see the play to see just how the stage magic brings it all to life. Whether this film is your first experience of this story or not, this is a film you really should see. Even the hardest heart must surely creak a little when exposed to another first-rate addition to both Spielberg's CV and the list of movies about a war soon to slip beyond living memory.
The Verdict... War is hell - for animals, even more so it seems. All the movie magic in the world won't make you not feel the pain from time to time. brilliant! The Final Score: 8.5/10
Oh, and there was a trailer for The Dark Knight Rises - which looks even better on the big screen. The good times are about to roll, boys and girls - strap in!
I haven't read the book, and sadly I still haven't seen the stage play, so this is my first full exposure to Michael Morpurgo's much-acclaimed work. Is that a good thing, or the worst? well, the deed is done, the movie is watched - and I certainly don't feel I've short-changed myself.
My main worry was that the hand of Spielberg would do its worst, serving up a saccharine-drenched hollow shell of an existing work, but no, we were spared any such travesty. We really should give Steven some slack, now and again - that's how he produces films that work so well.
"A boy and his horse" gives you the vague idea what this is all about - for the first thirty minutes - then the story takes the lead character off on his journey to earn that very title in France as World War I begins. Characters who could be heroes and villains in a lesser movie play their part, then bow out early on as things take a darker turn with the advent of the kind of technological advances that killed "the noble art of war" stone dead...
Sympathetic characters can be found on both sides of the conflict, but as is said several times during the film "war takes everything from everyone", and possible happy endings are never far from being ground into the trench-dirt. Again, the grim truth of this particular war refuses to be whitewashed, and when our equine hero falls foul of the "architecture of war", it won't be enough to say to yourself "it's only a movie", or "they'd never do that for real" - you will struggle not to cry out at Joey's predicament in No-Man's Land.
The humans are excellent in this, but its the animals who are the absolute stars. You really do wonder what it'll take for there to be an Oscar awarded for Best Performance By An Animal, and were I to wear a hat, it would most definitely be doffed in respect to the animal trainers and handlers who made this movie possible.
Now I need to read the book, to see what was not included in the film, and see the play to see just how the stage magic brings it all to life. Whether this film is your first experience of this story or not, this is a film you really should see. Even the hardest heart must surely creak a little when exposed to another first-rate addition to both Spielberg's CV and the list of movies about a war soon to slip beyond living memory.
The Verdict... War is hell - for animals, even more so it seems. All the movie magic in the world won't make you not feel the pain from time to time. brilliant! The Final Score: 8.5/10
Oh, and there was a trailer for The Dark Knight Rises - which looks even better on the big screen. The good times are about to roll, boys and girls - strap in!
