I caught up to Steven Spielberg's War Horse (2011) last night, courtesy of Netflix. Based on a 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo, it is solid film-making, but the story rarely soars. It is unusually understated for a Spielberg film. It is basically a reworking of Homer's The Odyssey, set during WWI, with a beautiful stallion at the center. One big plus is the avoidance of gore, which probably would not have worked in such a feel-good movie. The deaths of likeable characters occurs off-screen. One minus: German characters address each other in English. This is unacceptable in such a big time production. People at IMDb rated it 7.2 out of ten. I can't decide whether to rated it three or three-and-a-half out of five. The cinematography is beautiful, the characters are easy to root for, and there was a moment when I experienced chills but, overall, I thought it was standard stuff. It was nominated for six Oscars but took home none.
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