Monday, January 30, 2012

WAR HORSE

WAR HORSE is the best John Ford film that John Ford never made.

There's a lot to like in the film, especially if you are an animal lover. The animals are the best actors in the movie. All the tech categories are astounding, most notably the cinematography, score and sound design. But the film runs too long. (Who the hell decided movies should be tow and half hours long?) And the film plods badly when it's about the humans. Stick to the horses in a horse movie. The people's characters are as thin as the paper they were written on.

But the love of the horse overcomes the blasé humans, and makes the film watchable. Yes, it's formulaic, but most of the formula works, even John Williams' heavy handed score. If you can watch this film without a handkerchief, you are not a human being.

No comments: