Movie Review: War Horse (2011)

"War Horse" is almost two films in one.  The first part of the film shows a poor British family where the father outbids his landlord for a colt and now must make up his lost rent money though common consensus is that the colt won't plow.  The son, Albert, takes great care training the colt he names Joey.  A strong bond forms between boy and animal and they are successful in plowing the field.  A storm destroys the crops and World War I breaks out leading the father to sell Joey to the army.  Albert begs the captain not to take Joey to no avail.  The captain promises to return Joey to Albert if possible.  Part two of the film is Joey's career as a war horse.  First Joey is the British captain's mount then later he is pulling an ambulance wagon for the German troops and winds up hidden in a French family's barn after two brothers use Joey and his fellow British horse Topthorn to desert the army.  Eventually Joey and Topthorn are confiscated by the German troops again and used to move heavy artillery, which eventually kills Topthorn.  Albert is fighting on the opposite side with the British and hopes to somehow find Joey.

Despite being almost two films in one (one part Disney-style family movie, one part war epic) I did like "War Horse."  It's a bit unsettling going from the first part to the second but overall I thought the story was well-done and it's another home run for Spielburg.  It's a very emotional film that definitly tugs at the heartstrings (bring the tissues!).  I'd recommend this one to anyone who loves animals, particularly horses, but some of the war scenes especially the one that depicts Joey running out on the battlefield might be too much for many young viewers. 

Bottom line: Don't give up on this one as it does start a bit slow (and corny) because it gets better and be ready to sniffle (or sob in my case) - a B+ from me.