Review of War Horse (2011) by Sammi — 24 Jan 2012

War Horse is a refreshing, visually spectacular masterpiece from a genius of a director. One can see throughout the consistent efforts to capture emotions from perfect angles, and project them with amazing lights and a deep rousing soundtrack.

The way it's presented is always mind-blowingly perfect - as one would expect from Spielberg. This, in addition to some amazing sets and terrain textures (both natural and artificial) make War Horse a feast for the eyes. In addition one has time to delve into the atmosphere without losing sight of the story. Also the soundtrack is beautiful throughout. The impacts of gun fire and shell explosions have not been muffled or distorted, giving a real sense of sudden quiet and then utter panic.

Unlike a standard script where there is one plot, War Horse attempts to create many plots and blend them together, while projecting them one at a time. The characters each share a separate connection to the horse, and although this is one of the film's biggest achievements, it also fundamentally creates some of its weaknesses.

The transitions through each phase of the film, wherever that be at peace or at war, is sometimes lacking in relevance to the original plot presented in the first 25 minutes. This could have been made easier to adapt to if the time was taken to keep reflecting back to the main protagonist and make the story constantly feel relevant, but it doesn't, at least not enough to feel that necessary connection.

Thankfully, the effects of that deviation are minimized, and very often embraced warmly as the scenery changes with intrigue and engrossment, especially since the new owners of the horse individually make themselves a part of the overall concept, or at least in feel. There are no shallow characters, and quickly one understands each character inside out, allowing only short sections of the story to feel longer and more enjoyable, even though in real time it is merely minutes. This in itself gives the story a huge sense of epic scale involvement from all sides of the war and humanity.

All this combined with the changing environments give War Horse an image that could never be fully expressed in a single piece of art. You cannot compare this film's script to any generic structure or formula, and for this War Horse is special. Spielberg took a risk separating the protagonist from the plot so early on, and perhaps if he kept him in constant relevance to every character or chapter then the film may have felt easier to watch, especially for replay value. However this aside the gamble did largely pay off, and the result is a multitude of adventures of possibility the now best known horse in fictional cinematic history.