War Horse
SCORE: 79
Movies rated PG-13 can be a real gamble.
Some of them are on the edge of a 'R' rating. So I started watching War
Horse hoping it would be on the lower end. Thankfully War Horse is on
the lower end. I knew a movie placed in World War I was going to have
some nasty war scenes. What surprised me is how tame Steven Spielberg
made it. In fact there are various instances when the camera goes away
for a death.
War Horse is all about a horse. It starts with its birth, and ends with
its return to its home land. The horse gets bought by a drunken farmer
down on his luck. He will not get outbid by the local rich land owner.
His wife can not believe what he has done, and his son gets to working
on breaking in the horse. The son and the horse Joey form a bond. They
work together to plow the stoney soil.
War comes, and rain ruins their crops. They need money to pay their
bills, so the father sells the horse. At this point Joey starts a
journey that involves various people. He winds up serving both sides at
war. Old attitudes towards animals are shown. They are a resource to be
used - nothing more. The commentary on War Horse shows the distinct
difference some people feel about animals.
Visually War Horse is stunning. There are so many beautiful areas in
this film. The attire of the people harkens back to a day when people
dressed with modesty and decency in mind. The hair styles were distinct
as well. War is shown as very dark, gloomy, and ugly in War Horse. Both
sides are shown as evil. Although the Germans were made a little more
sympathetic looking in War Horse.
I loved the various accents in War Horse. Something that was odd is
everyone spoke English in War Horse. This led to a little confusion
about which side soldiers were on. The music fits the theme and tempo of
War Horse in every single area. I found it interesting to see how many
people helped Joey in War Horse. Along with all the different names he
was given.
Family Friendly Gaming was provided an amazing 4-disc combo pack. This
is a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy combo pack. The bonus features in War
Horse are long. There is War Horse The Journey Home, An Extra's Point of
View, A Filmmaking Journey, Editing & Scoring, The Sounds of War Horse,
and Through the Producers Lens. I personally enjoyed the round table
discussions.
The main lesson in War Horse is how majestic horses are. There is also a
minor lesson in how horrible war is. The final lesson I gleaned from War
Horse is there is no place like home. I also like how loyal Joey was to
Albert. The French farmer and his grand daughter ran away with War Horse
in my opinion. Their part of the story is just priceless, and very
funny.
- Paul
Graphics: 69%
Sound: 76%
Replay/Extras: 95%
Gameplay: 80%
Family Friendly Factor: 79%
System: Blu-ray/DVD
Publisher: Touchstone Pictures
Rating: ‘PG-13’ - Parents
Strongly Cautioned
{For Intense Sequences of War Violence}
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