War Horse

I have no choice but to write that Spielberg did not disappoint again. At first I was a bit worried, because there have already been a lot of films about horses and the space for filmmakers to tread with this subject is slowly shrinking, and I couldn't stand the extremely unlikeable and dull Irvine after a few scenes. Fortunately, we have the best director ever behind the camera. The story slowly gains momentum, Irvine disappears from the scene and the futility of war is depicted all the more strongly because Spielberg has already taken a slightly different view of those horrors and is no longer so focused on commercial success as he was before. War Horse is a beautiful film that should warm every viewer's heart, and the happy ending is delivered in a precisely measured way that manages to move without marring the overall picture and atmosphere. The taste of the story will stay on my tongue for a long time and it’s definitely a film I would like to repeat. (2013-01-19)

This is a pretty special movie for me and I must say that I really enjoyed it. Spielberg filmed this in his own way and it ended up so that every scene looks like a poster. Some scenes stand out incredibly. The ride through the battlefield is the most powerful scene of the movie, thanks to John Williams’ music too. Sometimes maybe half of the good feeling from the movie comes from the somebody sitting next to you. (2012-02-27)

This is going against the flow a little, but my problem with Warhorse isn’t that it’s a “chintzy Hollywood Spielbergesque tearjerker", but that in the end it isn’t like that at all. But that’s what it’s trying to be; too much, in fact; it is made like that but in its core it lacks the foundation to all movies like this - emotions. The bond between Albert and Joey is so slap-dash; it is ground up into mini-stories that blend into one; in the end I didn’t give a damn about either of them or about the movie either. And the movie should either have been much shorter (and just about those two) or should have been a regular mini-series, where each episode could tell one of the ten-minute escapades we see here. (2012-01-15)

A much more unbearable film than I could have ever expected. Technically speaking, it’s good, of course, but the dialogues are a pain to listen to, the main characters are unlikeable (all of them, and the main teenage redneck most of all), the story is driven by either chance or the stupidity of the characters, and the whole lot is so awfully pathetic and kitsch that it made my head spin. I think the world around us is full of better stories and I don’t understand why anyone should care whether one mare will be reunited with an unlikeable young guy or not. And, if the animal in this film intentionally and consciously (!!!) sacrifices itself in order to help its friend, and people actually believe it and are moved by it… something is bloody wrong in this world. It’s been long since something pissed me off so much. Two stars for the technical aspect, but unfortunately, Spielberg is no longer guarantee of quality mainstream entertainment. (2012-01-13)

A nostalgic look back to the heartiest, most melodramatic stage of cinematography. Film poetry for people who remember those times, maybe the last of its kind. Had it been twenty minutes shorter, it would have been one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies. That it’s one of his most personal films can be felt from every scene. (2012-02-25)