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Alynda Wheat, People: VERY GOOD (cg) "...an intriguing narrative, if one that doesn't entirely hold together, lacking Spielberg's usual knack for delivering emotional impact without making an audience feel manipulated.... an enjoyable piece of cinematic puppetry; it's just that this time we can see the strings." (Read the full review...) 145 words, 12/29/11 Richard Corliss, Time: OUTSTANDING "Spielberg pays homage to past masters John Ford and David Lean, and to the antiquated notion of taking things seriously.... [a] searing, splendid film." (Read the full review...) 1,038 words, 12/23/11 Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE (cg) "...features a strong cast and the sort of impeccable production values you would expect from Spielberg... yet it's overlong, painfully earnest and sometimes even hokey.... the dialogue is so frequently on-the-nose and repetitive, it might just make you cringe." (Read the full review...) 683 words, 12/22/11 Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a beautifully built, classically framed movie, shot with the unshowy natural expressiveness of a John Ford Western by Spielberg's great cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski. The tears this 'War Horse' wrings are honest..." (Read the full review...) 422 words, 12/30/11 Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Spielberg doesn't come from that cynical place where hack filmmakers squeeze tears solely to squeeze our wallets... heartfelt and marvelously crafted... Keeps to the standards of the PG-13 rating without skimping on the realities of war... 'War Horse' gets to you. It's one from the heart." (Read the full review...) 401 words, 12/09/11 Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD (cg) "...an exhilarating, impressionistic beauty, and emotion trumps rationality at every turn.... In the hands of a master director like Steven Spielberg, the story is impeccably crafted and heartfelt, if consistently predictable." (Read the full review...) 396 words, 12/23/11 Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...made with superb artistry. Spielberg is the master of an awesome canvas. Most people will enjoy it, as I did. But not included in the picture is the level of sheer hopeless tragedy that is everywhere just out frame." (Read the full review...) 874 words, 12/23/11 Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: MODERATE (cg) "...careens wildly from treacle to horror, from blatant artifice to hyper-realism, from one genre to another. Tonally jarring and structurally disjointed, it's a punishingly long and bumpy ride.... Even top-notch actors Mullan, Watson and Thewlis can't transcend their 'types' or Spielberg's insulated unreality." (Read the full review...) 871 words, 12/19/11 James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD (cg) "...may not succeed as well as might be hoped in generating a powerful emotional response, but its historical depiction does an outstanding job of transporting the viewer to the Western Front." (Read the full review...) 971 words, 12/23/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "Suppress your instinctive impatience, quiet the snarky voice in your head and allow yourself to recall, or perhaps to discover, the deep pleasures of sincerity.... The film pays tribute to a glorious tradition of honest, emotionally direct storytelling." (Read the full review...) 1,162 words, 12/23/11 Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...when we're most deeply moved, the vision we connect with isn't that of a horse or his owner, but a storyteller so fascinated by the best and worst of humanity, he continues to search for a way to reconcile them." (Read the full review...) 418 words, 12/23/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "There is great beauty in 'War Horse,' great power in the emotional journey for both boy and beast, if only Spielberg had trusted that we would be able to read between the lines." (Read the full review...) 830 words, 12/23/11 Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a gorgeous, majestic fable about a boy who yearns to be reunited with his steed.... Those who say they don't make 'em like they used to must now fall silent." (Read the full review...) 887 words, 12/23/11 Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Direct, unabashed emotional content; classically proven camera strategies and mise en scene; a belief above all in the power of the wordless, wonder-struck reaction shot: These are the tools deployed by Spielberg and his longstanding colleagues." (Read the full review...) 757 words, 12/23/11 Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD (cg) "Equal parts profound and corny, but always emotionally powerful and beautiful to look at. Parents should take the PG-13 rating seriously." (Read the full review...) 346 words, 12/23/11 David Edelstein, New York Magazine: EXCELLENT "It's the restraint that makes 'War Horse' remarkable. Spielberg shows you enough to understand that what you're watching -- machine guns, mustard gas, bodies stretching into the distance -- was unprecedented." (Read the full review...) 543 words, 12/26/11 Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...made with superb artistry. Spielberg is the master of an awesome canvas. Most people will enjoy it, as I did. But not included in the picture is the level of sheer hopeless tragedy that is everywhere just out frame." (Read the full review...) 874 words, 12/23/11 J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...served up with a self-aggrandizing, distracting surplus of Norman Rockwell backlighting, aerial landscape shots designed to out-swoop David Lean's.... Every triumph is pounded into your head and punctuated by a dolly-in close-up." (Read the full review...) 857 words, 12/21/11 Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD (cg) "Watching 'War Horse' is like turning the pages of a very long children's book, each chapter a different adventure. But it succeeds in dramatizing the message that humanity must triumph even in times of great inhumanity..." (Read the full review...) 912 words, 12/23/11 Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "The trouble here is not so much that Spielberg's film staunchly insists on finding a happy ending even in the calamity of the First World War, but that he slathers it on so thick and leaves so soft an impression." (Read the full review...) 798 words, 12/25/11 Josep Parera, La Opinion: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Un mundo de clichés visuales y narrativos que integran un conjunto de indudable emotividad y extraordinario poder visual." (Read the full review...) 421 words, 12/23/11 Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg) "...the kind of solid, old-fashioned filmmaking that wins awards and pleases crowds.... The ensemble cast is solid.... a fine movie full of humanity and heroism..." (Read the full review...) 246 words, 12/22/11
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD (cg) "Joey proves to be a thoroughly charismatic protagonist, played here by 14 horses capable of tossing their heads, crumpling their legs and nickering expressively precisely on cue (credit is also surely due to Michael Kahn's editing)." (Read the full review...) 601 words, 12/23/11 Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD (cg) "...unashamedly old-fashioned.... 'War Horse' is sugary, to be sure - but it is sugar cut with cannon fire and barbed wire and the horrors of war." (Read the full review...) 543 words, 12/23/11 Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE (cg) "For all its galloping, 'War Horse' is weirdly static." (Read the full review...) 521 words, 12/25/11 Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT (cg) "...incredibly well-made, breathtaking in its visual scope and texture, gritty in its depiction of World War I battles and borderline lachrymose in its emotional manipulation.... a throwback capable of speaking to modern audiences." (Read the full review...) 564 words, 12/23/11 Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD (cg) " 'War Horse' is the best film of the year. The year, unfortunately, is 1942.... The film is self-consciously old-school, to the point where you can feel Spielberg treating us like children, just as the old studio heads used to." (Read the full review...) 500 words, 12/23/11 Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD (cg) "Spielberg's phenomenal skill for making images remains undiminished." (Read the full review...) 616 words, 12/23/11 Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD (cg) "There are extraordinary and beautiful things in 'War Horse,' enough of them to make the movie a pleasure and a worthwhile experience... It is not Spielberg's best movie, nor is it even close. But it's no small thing that it contains some of his best stuff." (Read the full review...) 725 words, 12/23/11 Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...a story so familiar it seems as if we've already seen it, told in a way that brings no surprises." (Read the full review...) 371 words, 12/23/11 Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT (cg) "...beautifully shot and staged and edited with little sense of showiness. It knowingly and ably uses antique grammar to tell an old-fashioned story in an attempt to move its audience in the way film is widely said to be able to do but rarely does." (Read the full review...) 497 words, 12/23/11 Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD (cg) "Although it's saddled with sentiment, 'War Horse' is strong and noble enough to carry us away." (Read the full review...) 440 words, 12/25/11 Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: EXCELLENT (cg) "A horse is a horse, of course, unless a cinema virtuoso like Steven Spielberg is holding the reins. Then it can become a four-legged symbol of what he enjoys dramatizing: resiliency, loyalty and innocence threatened by turbulent times." (Read the full review...) 489 words, 12/22/11 Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD (cg) "A beautifully crafted serving of old-fashioned corn... it isn't groundbreaking, but it is gratifying." (Read the full review...) 480 words, 12/23/11 Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a beautiful, generous, rousing movie... it feels like an instant classic." (Read the full review...) 841 words, 12/23/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...served up with a self-aggrandizing, distracting surplus of Norman Rockwell backlighting, aerial landscape shots designed to out-swoop David Lean's.... Every triumph is pounded into your head and punctuated by a dolly-in close-up." (Read the full review...) 857 words, 12/21/11 Josh Tyler, Cinema Blend: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...if you're looking for a way to teach your kids about one of the darkest periods in human history, 'War Horse' is the perfect way to do it. If you're looking for something more than a few interesting stories in an overlong movie, you'll walk away disappointed." (Read the full review...) 399 words, 12/22/11 Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD (cg) "...corny, sentimental, overlong, but also spectacular and at times, even stirring. Spielberg sure knows how to orchestrate a big-budget popular movie." (Read the full review...) 123 words, 12/22/11 Keith Phipps, AV Club: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Spielberg exercises stunning control behind the camera... His exactitude always serves the film's emotional directness, as do the openhearted performances of the actors (both human and otherwise)." (Read the full review...) 603 words, 12/22/11 Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: EXCELLENT (cg) "...masterly, accomplished, stirring, a real bang-up, show-off job... Janusz Kaminski shoots the craggily gorgeous Devon countryside as if he were looking at it through God's eyes." (Read the full review...) 1,246 words, 12/23/11 Jaime N. Christley, Slant: MODERATE (cg) "Spielberg works hard to put personality into the horse, instead of drawing it out of him. The result is a film of unimpeachable craft, even occasional lyricism, that somehow turns an amazing horse into a boring one." (Read the full review...) 738 words, 12/21/11 Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg) "...the kind of solid, old-fashioned filmmaking that wins awards and pleases crowds.... The ensemble cast is solid.... a fine movie full of humanity and heroism..." (Read the full review...) 246 words, 12/22/11 Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...can be powerful and harrowing. When it shifts to farm life, such as the endless first half hour, it's clumsy, mawkish, and practically crushed under the weight of a suffocating John Williams score." (Read the full review...) 145 words, 12/21/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...an impressive entertainment, and an occasionally stirring one.... makes an eloquent case for the unspeakable bestiality of war and the nobility of wordless beasts." (Read the full review...) 268 words, 12/30/11 A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "Suppress your instinctive impatience, quiet the snarky voice in your head and allow yourself to recall, or perhaps to discover, the deep pleasures of sincerity.... The film pays tribute to a glorious tradition of honest, emotionally direct storytelling." (Read the full review...) 1,162 words, 12/23/11 David Denby, New Yorker: MODERATE "...a bland, bizarrely unimaginative piece of work." (Read the full review...) 546 words, 12/26/11 Ian Buckwalter, NPR: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a film that feels of multiple minds about what it wants to be. It's not that a film can't be lighthearted family fare, a gritty war epic and a weepie all at once; the problem is that here, those elements feel strictly compartmentalized -- and calculated." (Read the full review...) 621 words, 12/22/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "There is great beauty in 'War Horse,' great power in the emotional journey for both boy and beast, if only Spielberg had trusted that we would be able to read between the lines." (Read the full review...) 830 words, 12/23/11 Dana Stevens, Slate: VERY GOOD "...a love story about the bond between humans and animals that somehow sneaks past the viewer's emotional defenses.... Just beneath the movie's folksy sweetness lies a powerful and painful critique of war." (Read the full review...) 944 words, 12/23/11 Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: MODERATE "It's almost a great war movie in one direction, and almost a piece of irredeemable cheese in the other, and there you have it." (Read the full review...) 1,212 words, 12/25/11
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...beautifully composed... [but] for all the film's efforts to dramatize the senseless, arbitrary brutality of war, its polished surface rarely allows a gut-level sense of peril to materialize, so tidy are the story's dramatic ironies and so transparent the manner in which the characters are made to function along the way." (Read the full review...) 1,114 words, 12/15/11 Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "A grandly made, tear-jerking film for all audiences, the way Hollywood used to make them.... many of Spielberg's interests dovetail here: A boy, isolated in an adult world, who takes to heart a non-human creature; 20th century war, and storylines that force humanity to take stock and encourage rising above differences to come together." (Read the full review...) 1,737 words, 12/15/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "There is great beauty in 'War Horse,' great power in the emotional journey for both boy and beast, if only Spielberg had trusted that we would be able to read between the lines." (Read the full review...) 830 words, 12/23/11 Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: EXCELLENT (cg) "...a sprawling historical epic, boasting some emotionally stirring moments.... does not rank among Spielberg's strongest works, but it is nonetheless an iconic work... adds an honorable panel to tales of children and their love for animals, a cherished, classic Hollywood genre..." (Read the full review...) 1,160 words, 12/19/11 A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "Suppress your instinctive impatience, quiet the snarky voice in your head and allow yourself to recall, or perhaps to discover, the deep pleasures of sincerity.... The film pays tribute to a glorious tradition of honest, emotionally direct storytelling." (Read the full review...) 1,162 words, 12/23/11 Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "...an impressive entertainment, and an occasionally stirring one.... makes an eloquent case for the unspeakable bestiality of war and the nobility of wordless beasts." (Read the full review...) 268 words, 12/30/11
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