War Horse

Steven Spielberg always seemed like the perfect director to bring War Horse to the screen, and his version of the stage play, adapted from Michael Morpurgo's book, mostly lives up to expectations. This story of a young man (Jeremy Irvine) separated from his beloved horse by the Great War is a resolutely old-fashioned piece of filmmaking, played with a sincerity of emotion that will either repel viewers or move them to tears.

At times, the director can be guilty of trying a mite too hard to yank on our heartstrings, but so many sequences here show Spielberg at his absolute best, notably a thrilling raid on a German camp or a lovely moment between two enemy soldiers as they tend to the wounded horse in No Man's Land. Even with a running time of almost two and a half hours, War Horse is captivating and frequently affecting. In time it may come to be regarded as yet another family classic from this great filmmaker.