War Horse- Review

This is a story about dedication told by the many twists and turns that life may bring. Strength and courage are told through this movie. In short, War Horse is a story about a unique horse and World War I. Joey, the original name given to the horse is owned by a boy named Albert, whose father purchased him for more than he could afford. Albert and Joey become companions. Because of hard times and the outbreak of war, the boy and horse must separate. Albert vows to get his horse back. The horse finds himself under the ownership of many owners and wherever the horse goes, people are captured by his remarkable strength and beauty.

My husband was eager to watch War Horse thinking it was fast paced and action packed. To put it very pointedly, it was neither. What? Was it a misleading trailer? Perhaps? But aren’t they all? While it was nothing like we expected, it did have a beautiful story. So, in his words, after watching the preview, “Arnold Schwarzenegger as a horse”, “do not expect an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie in the form of a horse.” I reluctantly agreed to watch the movie with him not knowing much about what the movie was about (other than what the title reveals). He must know that I have a soft spot for horses.

In my opinion, I felt that the movie was quite long and the story could have been told in a shorter amount of time. The movie has some intense graphic war elements and some minor language therefore rated PG-13. This movie is definitely not for young children.

Bottom line: Watch it or not? Thumbs down based on misleading preview. While the story was compelling, the editing and timing/duration was much too long. The preview below is a much better representation of the movie than the one we saw.