|
The Water Horse is directed by Jay Russell, and stars
Alex Etel, Emily Watson and Brian Cox. The musical score
is composed by James Newton Howard. ***
In the time of a Europe that is torn by World War II,
a boy named Angus stumbles across a strange egg. The egg
eventually hatches, and a much-fabled and rare creature
known as a Water Horse hatches. He makes an effort to keep
this creature a secret from his family - but this isn't
an easy task, considering how quickly it grows. ***
The Water Horse has received generally favorable reviews,
and with some good performances and a heartwarming story,
it isn't hard to see why. This isn't a great film, and it's
certainly nothing original, but it's still a terrific family
movie. ***
Where the movie tends to shine brightest is through
its performances. Every member of the cast puts on a pretty
good performance, even if the whole of what they're doing
is nothing really new. Alex Etel gives a good performance
as Angus, the young man who stumbles across the egg and
befriends the Water Horse. And Brian Cox is terrific as
the figure narrating the tale. All of the performances,
supporting and leading alike, are good. ***
The cinematography and special effects are well done,
too. The movie is shot in drab tones that tend to reflect
the war times, in which the movie is set. And the creature
itself is well-animated, and you wont want to take your
eyes off the screen whenever it is featured. To put it simply,
the movie looks fantastic. ***
It's not a perfect movie, though. The subplot about
the war could have been aborted entirely, and the overall
main storyline with a boy befriending a creature is nothing
new - it seems like every generation tries to cash in on
this storyline. Still, these are minor problems in the long
run. ***
Ultimately, despite its flaws, the Water Horse is an
entertaining family film that tended to get overlooked during
its stay in theaters. It's definitely good enough to give
a recommendation to. ---
Image And Sound:
The cinematography, one of the greatest strengths of
the film, is ported well to the DVD format. This is a movie
that was intentionally never made to look bright and vibrant,
and this version of the film does that justice. Apart from
some minor grain in a few spots of the film, there are no
issues. Both fullscreen and anamorphic widescreen versions
of the film are included. The audio is terrific, there aren't
any serious flaws at any point in the film.
|
