WAR HORSE Review

Lately, I've been on a binge to watch/rewatch the more recent Best Picture-nominated films that went home with nothing on Oscar night. I've even made some articles on what may have happened to them over on my Substack account. Since I had a copy of War Horse hiding away in my endless DVD collection, I figured it was time to open this bad boy out and see what I thought of it. Unfortunately, War Horse falls right into the same problems I've been having with Steven Spielberg from his post-2002 era leading to his more recent affairs.

The film takes place during World War I where Joey, a bay Irish Hunter horse, is raised by English teenager, Albert, and is sent off to war with the British Army. Along the way, Joey encounters various people in Europe in the midst of the war and witnesses great tragedies along the way. Meanwhile, Albert enlists to become a private, hoping he'll reunite with his companion.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, has been known to rely on emotional storytelling when it comes to his films, like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or The Color of Purple; both of which worked really well for their audiences, as the man was able to naturally build upon those moments without feeling forced or sappy. With War Horse, I was amazed how much the film insisted those emotions upon itself, without putting much effort into making us care about these characters and the story. If anything, one of the biggest problems of the film (and one that I've had with Steven's films recently) is that he's coasting through his films and lets the technical work speak for how brilliant it is, rather than gradually getting the audience captivated by the story.

Yes; the cinematography by Janusz Kamiński is stunning to look at, but if the story doesn't allow us to emotionally connect us into the struggles of Joey or the characters he interacts with, then why are we following these characters? Granted, I'm not putting blame on the actors in this, as some of them are quite good in their roles, especially Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch. But no one is able to make an impact on their roles as they're not being given much to work with on the page.

If there was one scene that I did like it was the barbwire scene. I'll admit it's a solid scene that stands out on its own, that doesn't villainize either the British or German soldier. Another aspect of the film I admired was the sound work. The team led by Gary Rydstrom have provided a booming quality that matches the big, loud war sequences. If you want to test out your surround sound speakers, I'd recommend using the calvary charge scene as a great way to impress your guests.

At the end of the day, I was really disappointed and let down by this. I'm aware Steven Spielberg has been known to rely on whimsical storytelling, but there was a time where he didn't always use that trick in his films. In fact, some of the best films he did were ones he took creative risks on and wasn't so heavy-handed with his filmmaking. Schindler's List managed to not have as many forceful, whimsy moments due to its mature subject matter. I'm not asking that Steven goes back to making something as dark and disturbing as that film was, but I hope he's able to bring back what made him one of the best filmmakers of our time.

As of this review, his last two directorial credits, West Side Story and The Fabelmans, surprised me at how solid and personal they felt. Maybe Steven should go back to making something that channels his passion, as oppose to making films that feel like standard, awards fare. Otherwise, I'm afraid something as trite and pedestrian as War Horse will be the types of films he'll be sticking with for the remainder of his career.

🍿 SCORE = 52/100