Thursday, January 23, 2014

Penny Thoughts ‘14—War Horse (2011) ***½


PG-13, 146 min.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Lee Hall, Richard Jones, Michael Morpurgo (novel), Nick Stafford (stage play)
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Celine Buckens, Toby Kebbell, Patrick Kennedy, Leonard Carow, David Kross, Matt Milne, Robert Emms, Eddie Marsan, Nicolas Bro, Rainer Bock

When I initially reviewed Steven Spielberg’s cinematic version of “War Horse”, I second guessed my conclusions and questioned if it was really as good as I said it was. So, since it came out on BluRay, it has been sitting on my “movies to watch” shelf. I was worried that another look would prove my fears correct.


I’ve also been trying the get my family to watch it. My father turned me on to war movies, and I felt that it was a unique war movie that focused on something more fascinating to children than most. But nobody ever wants to watch it with me. My wife is too worried it will depress her. My boys think it won’t be any fun. That’s really too bad, because I think it does work quite well as a family war movie.

After finally watching it again since I originally saw it in theaters, I think I’ll have to keep on my family about it. Yes, it is rated PG-13 and contains some images that will be disturbing to the children, but it’s a good introduction to war for them that won’t glorify it to them. It also doesn’t allow the human connection to the characters form too strong bonds before you learn their fates. By focusing on the horse and only glancing into the lives of the people how come across the horse, it doesn’t hold the devastation that some war movies might for kids.

Read my original review here.

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