Review of War Horse (2011) by Aditya M — 21 Jan 2013

When I was telling my dad earlier today about the movie I was going to watch, he seemed surprised that Steven Spielberg was, in his words, "alive and kicking". After having watched 'War Horse', I will have to tell my dad that Spielberg is alive, but has kicked very feebly indeed.

A couple of months ago, I watched Spielberg's other 2011 release, 'The Adventures of Tintin', and thought it was one of the best films of the year. On the heels of that fantastic movie, 'War Horse' is especially disappointing. While it contains the magnificent cinematography and technical mastery you'd expect from Spielberg, it is melodramatic and very patchy. The script is a main weakness, with scenes awkwardly thrown together and incoherently shifting points of view. John William's cloying soundtrack is an almost constant presence, and creates a sentimentality bordering on farce. The acting is also slightly hammy at times. The movie, in particular the battle scenes, is breathtakingly shot and never outrageously bad, but it does not quite succeed as a whole.