The film begins promisingly. You sense the Spielbergness of it all -- interesting characters young and old, the complexity of parent/child relations, epic cinematography, and the backdrop of war.
Unfortunately, those early resemblances stick; and don't take us anywhere new. Usually I'm on board with Spielberg's sentimentality and emotional manipulation -- It's good storytelling with a bit of heart. 'Warhorse' falls short in this manner. The scene where the German soldier and English soldier come together to help the horse get out of the barbed wire -- this is such a flagrant attempt at tugging the heart strings that I seriously doubt anyone could ever find it moving or touching. Spielberg is a crowd pleaser and makes movies for the whole family to watch; but even so, it seems too broad and simple in this movie, even by the standards of the lowest common denominator.
The same can be said for John William's score. He is, undoubtedly, the greatest living film composer, but his work on 'Warhorse' is overly-familiar and predictable -- and the horse's theme reoccurs like clockwork whenever something emotional happens. It's obvious and panderous.
What I am saying, I think; is that this feels like Spielberg at his laziest, creatively. The elements are there; but it falls short of truly grabbing you, of inspiring. Of course, we expect too much from Spielberg. We expect 'Jaws' and 'Saving Private Ryan' every time. That's not possible, which is obvious; but the problem with 'Warhorse' is that Spielberg doesn't take risks, he doesn't tread new ground. When he's at his best; regardless of genre, he brings something new to the table. As bizarre as this comment might sound -- 'Warhorse' felt like a re-make of some of his older films. It was Spielberg doing Spielberg.
