The Water Horse

Just got back from an advanced screening of this movie and I really liked it - it isn't phenomenal or overly brilliant - but what it is is very charming and a good time for the family or couple or anyone looking for a feel good movie. The acting is well-done by the entire the "creature" is cute and believable with enough "awwwwwwww" moments, but not too much to become redundant. I read about the legend of Loch Ness when I was about 6 years old and imagined and fantasized how awesome it would be to see and witness something like that - this is probably as close as I will ever come - so in essence, I've waited 30 years for this movie - and my family and I enjoyed it very much.

I saw this film this afternoon with my partner. I agree with other posters that the opening modern day scene in the pub, setting up the narrator, felt forced and false. Otherwise, what a wonderful film this was! It's a real "coming of age" story of an introverted young boy, missing his dad (off to war) terribly, and the events that help him come out of his shell and begin to interact with others. The CGI water horse was totally convincing, from newborn baby just out of the egg to full-blown adulthood. It really had a personality. The actors were convincing in their roles, too. My partner and I were brought almost to tears, in a good way, by some scenes. The ending, which I will not reveal, brought the tale full circle beautifully. If not for the jarring narrator scenes, I would have rated this film higher than I did.

CGI—of course: You can't depict the Loch Ness monster with just the putative photo of the famous myth. But after you accept the clever graphics, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is just plain ol' good story telling, fit for pre-adolescent kids and their young-at-heart parents.

Narrator Brian Cox (his character is not identified) tells of WWII era in Scotland at the famous loch, where young Angus MacMorrow finds an egg at the shore and nurtures the lovable monster until he has to go to the loch to survive. The Scottish regiment occupying the home and the new handyman, Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin), complicate life and endanger the elusive monster. Although the usual clueless mom (Emily Watson) and dangerous thugs are here to further the horror genre staples, the challenges Angus faces are instructive about the collision of reality and fantasy for an adolescent.

WWII looms large, a fitting embodiment of the challenges the unknown and potentially dangerous can be to the stability of the world. The fantasy world, centered on the monster, who becomes his best friend, collides with the reality of people who want to destroy the monster and the boy's imaginative life.

Mix in all this with the father who has been away to war, never to return, and you have a child's romance with the right balance of love and hate, certainty and uncertainty, illusion and reality. It's all much less sophisticated than Shrek, and more like Whale Rider, also filmed in New Zealand. In the latter, a girl rides a whale as an embodiment of the country's hope; in Water Horse, the boy rides the monster to expunge his own fear of water and elude the malignant forces of the adult world. Pretty heady stuff, that.

It is reassuring to see more and more family-oriented films being issued without everyone having to rely on the Disney and Pixar folks to carry all the weight. That said, it would have been interesting to see what Disney might have done with this story. In the end, I would highly recommend this for family viewing - it has laughs, thrills, beautiful scenery, and a heartwarming storyline that offers opportunities for family discussion.

As with most things, there are good and bad sides to this film. On the plus side, the acting is above-par by all the actors(the adult male leads look startlingly like a young Liam Neeson and a Gaelic Antonio Banderas), the location footage is gorgeous, the period "feels right", and the title namesake is very well executed and most believable. Major kudos to the special effects teams, they did a magnificent job.

On the downside, the denouement is telegraphed well in advance and comes as no surprise, and there are some unanswered questions and several plot lines end without resolution. I have a feeling a "directors cut" would probably restore studio-mandated cuts and resolve these issues. The Director, Jay Russell, has helmed other very successful films (including a little-known but personal favorite "End of the Line") which were also obviously "fiddled with" by studio decree. Such is the business of film-making.

In the end, I greatly enjoyed this film, and plan to add it to my vast collection when it is released for home viewing.

There has been an overloaded release of fantasy films since the success of the 'Harry Potter' and 'Lord of the Rings' series. While some manage to gain some recognition, others vanish without a trace. 'The Water Horse' is an amusing fantasy-like film for the whole family. It does fall on the lines of Guillermo Del Toro's 'El Laberinto De Fauno' but much less violence. Set in Ireland during the Second World War it tells the story of a bonding between a boy and a water horse. The story isn't anything new but that doesn't stop the film from being charming and likable because it has heart. The use of the mesmerizing landscape is both refreshing and breathtaking. The cinematography is good. Director Russell does a fine job by mingling the subplots well enough with the main story. The music is great but the use of it is arguably a bit clichéd. The CGI is not of the highest quality but Crusoe is lively enough to compensate. Young Alex Etel is brilliant as Angus and Brian Cox does well as the older Angus. Emily Watson is fabulous. Ben Chaplin and David Morissey are wonderful too. To sum it up further, 'The Water Horse' is a nice enough movie that both children and adults can enjoy.