Movie Praise: Dreamworks Studio’s War Horse

I have two rules for movies, 1) I don’t do war movies 2) I don’t do sad animal movies. (Ok, my best friend would tell you that I have a list of other rules too, but let’s just say those are at the top.) I honestly wasn’t really interested in seeing War Horse until a co-worker was telling me how badly he wanted to see it and how spectacular it was supposed to be. His persuasion got to me and I decided to go ahead and attend the premier for War Horse.  Let me just say, that I am SO GLAD that I did.


War Horse is set in rural England and Europe during the First World War. The scenery in the movie is breathtaking and adds to the already perfect story of a boy and his horse. From the time Joey (the horse) is a colt, he and the boy, Albert (Jermey Irvine) have a special bond. Albert’s father purchases the horse on a whim to one up the local business man. In order to keep the horse, Albert, spends all of his time hand training this “miracle” horse. 


The true story comes, when the war comes to England and the horse is sold into battle. The horse begins an epic journey through through the war, having his own experiences until finally finding himself covered in barbed wire in “no mans land.”

The movie is filled with opportunities to cry and cheer, to weep and laugh. You find yourself holding your breath, closing your eyes and praying that Joey can make that one last step. All the while you just know that Joey and Albert must be reunited one last time but are they? For that you will have to see the movie. 

If you are looking for an amazing movie to see to wrap up your Christmas weekend, I highly recommend War Horse. The story is beautiful and the acting is top notch. You won’t find a better film this year. War Horse is definitely an epic adventure made to tug at your heart. 


My mom’s take: I do want to say that while this movie is PG-13, I was very happy that I chose not to take my 7 year old. While the violence is not as graphic as many current video games and modern movies, the depiction of the war is very accurate. There are a few scenes that I found very troubling and would not want to answer the questions associated with the whats and hows of war.


Learn more about Dreamworks War Horse by visiting these sites:

Follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/warhorsemovie 


Disclaimer: I received complimentary tickets to see the premier of War Horse in exchange for this post. All opinions are mine. This blog is in no way affiliated with Twitter, Facebook or other network.