The Water Horse

Magandang pelikula!

A kids' film about the origin of the infamous Loch Ness Monster has the potential for all kinds of fun and wild adventures, given the monster's rich legend and reported shennaigans. Alas, this film's unimaginative creators exploit very little of the potential excitement. OK, so the animation of the baby sea creature is cute and believable. And, there are some fun chase scenes, and a brief bit of lighthearted relief from two shocked fishermen. But once Nessie grows up we only get a few final and very dark glimpses before it abruptly sails off into the sunset. The filmmakers manage to squeeze in a gratuitous boy-rides- monster scene. But, it is too late, and too little for this fractured fairy tale. The contrived presence of soldiers that maniacally shoot rounds of shells into the lake is utterly ridiculous and undercuts the film. The premise is absurd. Loch Ness does not directly link to the ocean. This is exactly the mystique about Loch Ness: it is the isolated home of an isolated creature. That location has no military relevance to WWII. Did the soldiers get lost the way to Dunkirk? One might as well crafted a yarn about deployed soldiers at Niagara Falls. Once again, the producers got preoccupied with the animation and beautiful setting, but let the story flounder miserably.

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.

Magandang pelikula!

Magandang pelikula!

source: The Water Horse

The film is amazing, the idea is great but the script is just bad. A lot of illogical decisions in the script. The villains are villains just for the sake of it, more like video-game characters than humans. We can clearly see that the boy, that the main character is only taking decisions for the visuals and emotions of the plot, not for his own protection. I feel the script writer might be specialised in photography directing or film producing, or the editor, as it has huge logical gaps in the script

This was a very predictable kids' movie. A lot of goofy moments, like the kid somehow being able to ride underwater on the back of the Waterhorse . . . like the unrealistic goofy military guns shooting the water . . . like the stereotypical subplot involving the evil army people versus the good civilian people, etc. The script shamelessly uses every plot device in the book to tug at the audience's heart strings. Glad I didn't pay to see it. It was not bad, though . . . it does seem like a very good movie to see with your children, because, sometimes you need to watch goofy kids' movies with your kids just to spend some quality time with them. I would have loved this movie, if I were 9 years old. By age 10, I was already into movies like "The French Connection."

I enjoyed this film. I loved the setting especially. Who wouldn't? Plus, the story line flowed well and the special effects were amazing. Indeed, this film would have received at least 8 stars IF it had bothered to cast more Scottish actors. Since it didn't, it gets just 3. I picked up on only two genuine accents: Brian Cox, of course, and probably one of the fishermen. Ben Chaplin puts in a noble effort, and the boy can almost be forgiven for limping along trying to shape his mouth like a Scot, but casting a bunch of Sassenachs muddling through the burr while accusing each other of being Sassenachs is incredibly lame. Emily Watson and I both were most at ease when her mouth was shut during a scene. Misery to watch her try to portray a Scottish mother. There are tons of excellent Scottish actors. What's the matter with you, Liz Mullane and Susie Figgis, that you thought this would fly? Big mistake for an otherwise wonderful movie.

On a foggy morning on the shore of a Scottish lake, an ordinary boy finds a mysterious large egg. When the egg opens, a mythical creature resembling a dragon appears. The hero of the oldest legends begins to grow rapidly, and his appetite with him. And the perky nature of the creature leaves less and less chance that the "little" secret will remain so. The boy tries to protect his ward from those to whom he is given a threat. But how to hide it from human eyes?