Young Albert enlists to service in WWI after his beloved horse, Joey, is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.
It has all the hallmarks of the Spielberg we've missed so much: powerful, gutsy, honest, and effective.
In the end, while you can't doubt Spielberg's commitment to telling a putatively heartwarming and emotion-wringing tale, War Horse is just too calculated to do what he wants to do.
A stirring family drama that movingly celebrates bravery and companionship while powerfully condemning the brutal devastation of war.
You won’t shed E.T. tears, but War Horse shows Spielberg back in the saddle, in full command of story, setting and characters. If only he laid off that incessant score…
It may be old-fashioned but War Horse is a stirring tale that finds hope and humanity in the darkest of times.
War Horse is bold, exquisite family filmmaking in the grandest Hollywood tradition. Be warned: whether you’re a hippophile or not, it’s a four-hankie moviegoing experience.
It’s unlikely that very young children could sit through this two-and-a-half hour tour de horse, while adults may whinny at the pile-up of coincidences, a drawn-out equine deathbed scene, and the cyclic plotting of Black Beauty with bayonets.
War Horse is captivating and frequently affecting. In time it may come to be regarded as yet another family classic from this great filmmaker.
Why put yourself through any of this, the stress, the sentimentality, the desire to take Richard Curtis's laptop away till he can rein in that unfortunate tendency towards tweeness? Because no-one can craft an old-fashioned epic like Spielberg, because no-one can appeal to the heart over the head like Spielberg, and because despite its flaws, this is a spectacular piece of storytelling, a movie that genuinely does move.
The picture is charmingly old-fashioned and is superbly and handsomely crafted with some virtuoso, if bloodless action (it’s a family film), and wonderful performances, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Marsan in supporting roles. I just wish I had needed my hanky.
The emotions he elicits here certainly feel cheap; having made his horror-of-war movies, he literally serves up the Disney version here with an animal-on-a-perilous journey tale that uses the blank-faced nobility of its titular star to underscore the futility of war and remind us that, deep down, we’re all really the same.
Heavy-handed melodrama with flashes of brilliance. An unsatisfying fable that fails to engage all ages.
This is filmmaking on a grand scale, bound by a grand vision, bolstered by grand performances and swept along by a grand old John Williams soundtrack. There’s not quite something for everyone, but the cynics can trot on: there’s something for everyone else.
Spielberg's version of the equine first world war yarn is an unconvincing attempt at summoning up the spirit of the time.
Nothing feels fresh, nothing real.
Those who haven't seen the stage play will possibly wonder why such a plodding, unfocused story was considered ripe for film.
A moving masterpiece.
Technically, this is a masterful piece of filmmaking - a scene where Joey gallops blindly through no-man's-land is particularly impressive - but as an experience it's somewhat lacking. The story is given to unnecessary diversions, while the moment where man and horse are reunited is too cheesy to connect emotionally.
An engrossing and uplifting film. Recommended.
It is impossible to watch War Horse without being moved, even if one might at times glimpse and resent the machinery of manipulation. Spielberg has made a very good film, with moments of brilliance.
The final 50-odd minutes of the film are a virtual tsunami of emotional waves...War Horse is a fable with a high moral purpose, not a documentary, and audiences will either be overwhelmed by the impact or find themselves fighting to resist it.
War Horse is flawed for sure, but it contains more brio, more surprises, and – dare I say it – more sheer cinema than you might expect.
A marvellous, moving epic.
Why War Horse owes its existence to Desert Island Discs
War Horse author Michael Morpurgo on the hidden history behind Steven Spielberg's Oscar contender
How Steven Spielberg found War Horse's third character in Dartmoor
Steven Spielberg's War Horse and the young stars that bring it to life
The horse lover's guide: this film is a dead cert
War Horse is my first truly British film, says Steven Spielberg
Getting Spielberg's War Horse ready for his close-up
War Horse stars square up to Spielberg movie's critics
From playing a tree to riding high with Spielberg
Emily Watson reveals family tragedy that lay behind War Horse performance
Spielberg gives War Horse author Michael Morpurgo a chance to live his dream
Movie Q&A with Jeremy Irvine
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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