Water Horse – Legend Of The Deep (Sony DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: C+
In what
is shaping up to be a cycle of Walden Media children’s films, few of which have
either been good or been hits, Water
Horse – Legend Of The Deep (2007) is another extrapolation of the old ‘boy
& his dog’ tale substituting the dog with a new kind of being. Spielberg did this best with E.T. in 1982 and most have not come
close to matching that. This film could
have, but misses the boat, no pun intended.
Alex Etel
is Angus, a young boy who finds an egg.
When it hatches, a baby version of the mythical title creature turns up,
though he does not know what the creature is at first. However, he does what he can to help the
creature he named Crusoe, especially with an annoying military presence. Pan’s
Labyrinth has nothing to worry about.
The
biggest problem is the infantilized approach sadly revived in the 1980s is that
the whole thing is told in flashback, which always kills suspense and is
usually condescending to the audience.
However, Etel is very good here and is joined by a solid cast that
includes Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, Brian Cox and even the always uneven David
Morrissey. Locations are a plus, even
when they have been digitally altered.
Jay
Russell is a weak director, from other forgettable children’s fare (My Dog Skip) to goofy films (Tuck Everlasting) and ridiculous
melodramas disguised as edgy dramas (Ladder
49) so making this his best film by default. Robert Nelson Jacobs adapted the Dick
King-Smith (Babe) story and it is
obvious that he is only as good as his source material, especially if Out To Sea, Dinosaur and Flushed Away
are any indication. The two combine to
keep this too plain and predictable when it had more potential.
The anamorphically
enhanced 2.35 X 1 image was shot in Super 35mm by Director of Photography
Oliver Stapleton in some of his more interesting work in a while. The digital animation is not bad either, but
both are trashed by the 1.33 X 1 version sadly included on DVD 1 with the
widescreen version. The Dolby Digital
5.1 mix is also not bad, with some good surround use. The dialogue is nicely recorded too and James
Newton Howard does not overplay his musical hand to the benefit of the viewer. The Blu-ray should be better. Extras include six featurettes and deleted
scenes on DVD 2.
- Nicholas Sheffo
