Water Horse (2007)
Adventure | Family | Fantasy

When a lonely young boy name Angus discovers a large, mysterious egg along the shores of Loch Ness, no one is prepared for what lies within. He soon discovers that the strange, mischievous hatchling inside is none other than The Water Horse, the loch's most mysterious and fabled creature! But with the Water Horse growing ten times its size every day. Angus finds it increasingly difficult to keep his new friend a secret.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Emily Watson (1998, Hilary and Jackie; 1996, Breaking the Waves), Alex Etel, Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line), David Morrissey (The Reaping) and Brian Cox (Running with Scissors) star in this heart warming tale from director Jay Russell (Tuck Everlasting) and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs (Flushed Away).

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.


º º