War Horse

This is a pretty special movie for me and I must say that I really enjoyed it. Spielberg filmed this in his own way and it ended up so that every scene looks like a poster. Some scenes stand out incredibly. The ride through the battlefield is the most powerful scene of the movie, thanks to John Williams’ music too. Sometimes maybe half of the good feeling from the movie comes from the somebody sitting next to you. (02/27/2012)

Spielberg did what Cameron did years ago when he was filming Titanic, War Horse is not a groundbreaking in terms of plot, it’s a rather classic story, but Steven indirectly winks at us and suggests that this is how the true blockbuster films of the silver screen used to be made, with real emotions that are not often seen nowadays. The film aesthetics, the camera work, the lighting, etc. are also not standard that I would call them old-school. Therefore, it is a tribute to the old school. Whether it works in the end, everyone has to decide for themselves. For seasoned film enthusiasts, fans of the work of an eternal child, and the older population, War Horse will be a nostalgic escape from everyday reality. For the rest, it will probably just be a tedious bore, which half will consider as pathetic. Spielberg filmed what he wanted and did it very well. The scene with the horse against barbed wire is gripping. (03/25/2012)

A nostalgic look back to the heartiest, most melodramatic stage of cinematography. Film poetry for people who remember those times, maybe the last of its kind. Had it been twenty minutes shorter, it would have been one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies. That it’s one of his most personal films can be felt from every scene. (02/25/2012)

A moment of a colorful children's book, a moment of war hell and a moment of odyssey. Spielberg, with a relative bet on certainty, knows how to surprise and although the thoroughness or interconnectedness of individual episodes sometimes heavily stumbles, I still have to nod approvingly with a slight reservation. Considering how grand and consequently unfortunately slightly prolonged the film War Horse feels, it probably couldn't have been aimed more precisely. There are too many characters and moods here, and the plot either needed to be shortened by a third or stretched by an hour. The positive resonance resounds the loudest thanks to Williams' amazing main theme and a few touching moments, against which there is no defense. 70% (02/25/2012)

I have no choice but to write that Spielberg did not disappoint again. At first I was a bit worried, because there have already been a lot of films about horses and the space for filmmakers to tread with this subject is slowly shrinking, and I couldn't stand the extremely unlikeable and dull Irvine after a few scenes. Fortunately, we have the best director ever behind the camera. The story slowly gains momentum, Irvine disappears from the scene and the futility of war is depicted all the more strongly because Spielberg has already taken a slightly different view of those horrors and is no longer so focused on commercial success as he was before. War Horse is a beautiful film that should warm every viewer's heart, and the happy ending is delivered in a precisely measured way that manages to move without marring the overall picture and atmosphere. The taste of the story will stay on my tongue for a long time and it’s definitely a film I would like to repeat. (01/19/2013)