Okay, truth be told, I’m not a horse guy. Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron — they’re all pretty interchangeable to me. A horse is a horse (of course), but War Horse stands tall above them all. War Horse is a sprawling story of life on a farm and life during World War I, with the eponymous horse being the glue that holds all these stories together. The movie begins with young Albert (Jeremy Irvine) raising a thoroughbred horse to plow his family’s farm. When war breaks out, the horse is sold to the military as an officer’s personal mount.
ClearPlay In Action!
There is some brief salty language (less than 10 instances) and a lot of war-time violence in War Horse that ClearPlay ably trims. Images of destruction and emotional plot elements may be too challenging for smaller kids, but overall it’s a powerful and inspiring family story.
Is all fair in War Horse?…
Director Steven Spielberg is no stranger to epics, and War Horse is filled with staggering images of both beauty and spoil. What makes this horse picture work is that the human focus is always present, whether a boy is giving up his horse or a soldier is risking his life. It’s a great achievement that may be the best horse movie ever made.
Marty Nabhan—ClearPlay DVD Jockey
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence;146 min; Directed by Steven Spielberg
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