Review of War Horse (2011) by James H — 21 Jun 2015

Essentially a Benji movie, starring a horse, set in the trenches of World War I. Horse is raised by a loving master, horse overcomes the odds to save the family farm, horse is sold into service, horse endures a magical journey through the pages of history.

Deep down, there's clearly an emotional, colorful, ageless story just begging to be told, but not like this. Time and time again, director Steven Spielberg takes the easy route, opting to embrace the storybook-courageous, squishy human aspects of the animal itself, at the expense of his dry, boring, two-legged supporting cast.

The spotlight shines for so long, so brightly upon the beast, that I half expected him to throw on a British uniform and bark out a dazzling rally cry to his fellow troops as the war draws to a close.

Sentimental to a fault, tame and regurgitated and downright boring, it's a real strikeout for the normally-reliable Spielberg. Better versions of the same story have been told in half the time, with a fraction of the budget.