War Horse: Press reviews

'A moving masterpiece'

'bold, exquisite family filmmaking in the grandest Hollywood tradition. Be warned: whether you're a hippophile or not, it's a four-hankie moviegoing experience.'

'Many will be moved to tears as one more sunset glows improbably.'

'Mr. Spielberg lays siege to your cynicism, bombarding you with strong and simple appeals to feeling.'

'contains more brio, more surprises, and – dare I say it – more sheer cinema than you might expect.'

'a fable with a high moral purpose, not a documentary, and audiences will either be overwhelmed by the impact or find themselves fighting to resist it.'

'He's taken Michael Morpurgo's novel and created a cinematic tour de force. Spectacular.'

'You won't shed E.T. tears, but War Horse shows Spielberg back in the saddle, in full command of story, setting and characters.'

'An unsatisfying fable that fails to engage all ages.'

'Fairytale, quasi-mythical visions of life, even war, are fine, but there's an alienating push and pull here between the savagery of war and Spielberg's fear of scaring the horses.'

'In the end, while you can't doubt Spielberg's commitment to telling a putatively heartwarming and emotion-wringing tale, War Horse is just too calculated to do what he wants to do.'

'Nothing feels fresh, nothing real.'