My review: http://www.worldofkj.com/article.php?i=547

I think it was an absolutely beautiful film and one that is totally deserving of the Best Picture trophy at the Oscars. Spielberg really has out done himself here, this picture is just so beautiful to look at. A scene near the end with Joey running just leaves you breathless. It's that good. The war scenes are also especially good. The acting is good from everyone, though nobody is really a stand out here. At nearly 2 and a half hours, it never drags. Bring a box of tissues and enjoy this masterful film.

10/10

Meh

Stunning cinematography (the scene towards the end of Joey's run is breathtaking) and packs an emotional wallop. I was initially going to give this a straight 'A' grade, but the first 20 or so minutes of the film drag a bit more than necessary. A-

This is such a silly movie. I was more or less okay with it for a while anyway, it's handsome and slick, but man those last 30 minutes were just too much to take. It was like Spielberg self parody by then.

david denby claims this movie's insulting. the idea of boy and horse romance trumping millions of lives is okay because the horse is a puppet...in the play

then again, xmas wouldn't be complete without 'spielberg face'

Too sentimental for me. I know even in the best of Spielberg movies, he likes to add an emotional scene in the end even though it feels unnecessary, but this one has that throughout, especially with the music score. The score was at its most overbearing when the horse started plowing the field and everyone was rushing back to see in the rain; it's just 30 minutes in and didn't have any ups and downs yet, so feel rather unnecessary and too much. A lot of other aspects feel too obvious as well, as it made me constantly aware that I was watching a movie, an "epic" with that old grand Hollywood production in fact, like the last couple of shots. Too self-conscious in some sense. The No Man's Land scene also feels straight out of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Overall it's pretty to look at, but I couldn't feel emotionally involved and left with a "meh" impression.

Did anyone feel a bit awkward when the kid and the horse shared an intimate moment when the kid was teaching the horse how to wear a collar for the plow? I kept waiting for an Equus audition to breakout.

I got that sense throughout, especially when he was going over the trenches with a picture of Joey in his pocket.

I refuse to believe that Spielberg actually directed this epic grotesque.

It is a great film that definitely pulls at the heart strings at times. It is beautiful to look at throughout its runtime and the story is pretty simple yet all the more engaging. I thought Jeremy Irvine did quite well, as did newcomer Celine Buckens as Emilie. The two and a half hours go by with a breeze and this really was just a great piece from Spielberg. ***1/2

I straight up loved this movie. It hits those John Ford and David Lean inspired notes perfectly. A. O. Scott nailed it in his review; if you surrender to it, if you let go of your Twitter era aversion to old-fashioned sentimentality, it's a truly magical experience. So many bravura sequences. I thought cutting between the mounted charge and the riderless horses in the forest was an inspired way to convey the sudden horror of war without going to an in-your-face, super-grisly Saving Private Ryan type place. And though no actor steals the show (the horse is always the primary and most powerful presence), everyone turns in a more than respectable performance. I thought the standouts were Niels Arestrup as the tender, tough French grandfather and Tom Hiddleston as the doomed British captain.

At the end of Doctor Zhivago, when Alec Guinness says, "Then it's a gift," and it cuts to the rainbow over the dam, my soul always just feels good; a real moment of majesty . I felt a similar sensation throughout War Horse.

Fourth best film of 2011. Hope it's nominated for Best Picture. Am eager to see it again.

Give that horse an oscar

An amazing, beautifully crafted film. Extremely moving. The ending was perfect and looked beautiful. One of the year's best. I honestly believe that horse deserves a Best Actor nomination. I don't believe I've ever felt that way about an animal in a movie before. I also thought the score was great.

Thank god this had a happy ending! I was not expecting one and after having already cried from three different scenes I was going to be very annoyed if things ended badly . This is a really emotional film, especially if you're an animal lover. I didn't find this veered into parody at all as some suggest. I totally understood the boy's love for Joey. I feel the same about my dog. While I think a funny parody could be made of this, I didn't find it to come off laughable in the movie.

This could be my favorite movie of the year.

A

I have never cared less about a would-be animal protagonist. Gordy the pig elicited more feeling.

Flashes of greatness but the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Which is an apt description of pretty much all of Spielberg's films after 2002

And I know it was adapted from a play, but man was that ever a Spielberg ending. I think making Albert permanently blind would've left a much better taste in my mouth about the impact of the war

Solid B but still, feels like a disappointment

I thought it was wonderful. The film repeatedly contrasts the majesty and holiness of nature with the cruelty and cold brutality of technology, and no time period illustrates this more than World War I. I know some people are allergic to Spielberg's sentimentality, but I found it entirely appropriate. Ultimately the film affirms that he's still a master of his cast, be it the gorgeous cinematography or John William's majestic score.

They don't make 'em often like this, and while there's undoubtedly a place for cynicism, it's refreshing to see a movie like this.

Another good movie, probably worthy of the BP nomination considering the competition, but it drags too much early on. And then the most exciting parts are full of silly moments, as described here.

Want to give it **1/2, but it does look beautiful.

***/****

I still don't understand how anybody could think the first act is the problem in this very bad movie. It's at least flirting with watchability before the war starts.

9/10 -> A-

It now makes sense why Tintin was such a flat movie. War Horse sucked out so much out of Spielberg and managed to capture that old Spielberg magic we have been missing for so long.

It successfully evokes the emotions of E.T. or in some strange manner A.I. Starting out in a very calm and very old-school Hollywood manner the opening chapter breathes the same breath as those idyllic moments in Ford's How Green Was My Valley, before was takes everyone's lives over. But from that point on the movie becomes totally Spielberg-ian, successfully channeling the spirit of Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List.

The highlight of the movie is definitely the scene where two soldiers, one British, one German, are trying to set free the horse from the barbed wire he got tangled into. A great metaphor for innocent lives tangled into the horrors of war while headless, clueless and above all puppeted soldiers do things they don't want to do or realize the reasons why this all is exactly happening.

Spielberg is still on top of his game and even though War Horse got a pretty paltry reception on BO and I also find it slightly underrated in the critical department, I'm sure this one with time will be viewed among Spielberg's best movies as it indeed is.

The film was only good with the war, the horse was cute at first and then it become tireesome.


Maybe some more WW1 battle scenes as they were not "Cool" but rather well done.

However I can see why filmmakers have not made many WW1 films, there is little glory in the war.

This movie does not age well in my mind. I hardly remember anything about it.

I know, but check out the Young Indiana Jones chronicles, I remember really enjoying the WW1 stories much more than anything else.

True there are a lot of great stories from WW1, a famous one is Sergeant York.