War Horse (2011) Review

Ok, it's official, I lost my faith in Steven Spielberg. First "Tintin", now "War Horse". What can I say? Disappointment? Oh yeah! Maybe I was just in a funny mood when I watched it and missed the entire point but it left me quite unimpressed and for the most part shaking my head in disbelief.

So what exactly is it that makes "War Horse" such a failure? First off, the acting. I think it's great that Spielberg didn't cast big names for this film, his ensemble is filled with young talents and reliable character actors. But what we see on screen borders on unbearably cringe-worthy. The performances are either theatrically over the top (I am looking at you, Emily Watson and Peter Mullan) or just plain annoying (special mentioning to Jeremy Irvine, running around half the movie with a blank gaze and open mouth). I felt like watching a parody and saw myself laugh out loud at lines that were supposed to be taken seriously. The only actor who somehow pulls off an intriguing performance is Tom Hiddleston and he's in the movie for barely 10 minutes.

As a result I felt totally uninvolved with any of the characters of which the film has plenty. We see the horse being taken from his owner to World War I and the people that are involved with it. There are two young German soldiers whose fate is terrible but thanks to the atrocious writing and terrible line delivery no one cares. Then there is an old French guy who lives with his granddaughter on a farm. The scenes between the two of them are probably the silliest I have ever seen in a supposedly serious movie, I felt ashamed watching it, not just because of the dialogue but also because of the school play level acting. Then some more stuff happens and in the end the horse is reunited with his owner.

But besides the ridiculous human players, how is the horse? I gotta admit, at times it was the saving grace, especially a sequence towards the end of the movie where we see the horse running through gunfire and bombings in No Man's Land is outstanding. But scenes like that are not enough to save the film, by this point the damage is already done.

What I really don't get is why "War Horse" was praised by so many critics. Are they blinded by the Spielberg starlight? As much as I am a fan of his work, I gotta admit, "War Horse" is probably one of his worst offerings to date. But who am I to judge, I bet it's gonna receive several Academy Award nominations which would be just further proof of the unreliability of major awards. Say whatever you want but this misfire is not worth your time.