Out of Water
posted on Thursday, February 28, 2008 in Movie Reviews
As children's fare goes, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep isn't too bad. At the center of the film is a precocious little creature that's sure the enchant kids and adults alike. Take it any further, though, and the film begins to show its weaknesses. It isn't particularly bad by any means, but it just feels like The Water Horse isn't offering us anything particularly magical. The film is framed as a story being told by an old man in a Scottish pub. The story is set in the 1940s. Young Angus is a boy struggling to come to terms with his father's death in the war. One day, while gathering shells by the lake shore, he finds a mysterious egg. The egg hatches to reveal a water horse, a magical creature. Angus tries to hide it in his house, which some soldiers have been using as a base of operations. The water horse causes some trouble around the house, and it eventually has to be moved to the loch. It grows quickly, however, and it isn't long before its existence has to be acknowledged.
The “young boy makes friends with a strange (but cute) creature” trope is well-trodden territory, and The Water Horse doesn't do much different. The script is solid but unspectacular, offering up easily palatable but ultimately predictable fare. There's a lot of potential in the characters here, but it never feels like the film goes deep enough, choosing instead to spend more time with the water horse itself. While the creature is undoubtedly the main attraction of this film, the story just feels weaker because of the lack of real character development. To its credit, there is real drama in this film, but it almost feels secondary to the quick and easy appeal of the computer generated critter.
Technically, the film is on solid ground. WETA Digital is a proven property is special effects, and they don't disappoint here. They've built a name of bringing strange creatures to life, and the water horse is a pretty good achievement. The creature is very expressive, ultimately elevating it from just being a special effect to being a full blown character. There are some pretty good visuals throughout the film, really.
The cast is pretty solid. Veterans Emily Watson and David Morrissey aren’t given a lot of time, but they shine all the same. Their talent and experience bind up the performances. The cast is headed up, however, by the performance of young Alex Etel. There’s a lot of potential in his boy, and he shows a lot of it off in this film.
It isn’t easy to be so hard on what is essentially a heartwarming little film, but it mostly feels like a rehash of a lot of family fare that came before it. The elements of a great story are there, but the filmmakers don’t really exploit those elements enough, choosing instead to keep showing us that wondrous little creature. And granted, that creature is rather wondrous, but stories are what make us remember them in the long run. Still, this isn’t bad fare. It just isn’t exceptional.
My Rating:
Do you agree with this rating? Submit your own.
Read User Reviews
I'm looking for The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.
PLDT Watchpad
