Simon Dillon reviews the film

Referencing such classics as Lassie Comes Home and Gone with the Wind, War Horse is an unashamedly and deliberately old fashioned tearjerker that feels as though it belongs to Hollywood's golden era of the 1930s. It evokes the films of John Ford and Victor Fleming, but at the same time is unmistakably and emphatically a Steven Spielberg film.

The plot, based on the Michael Morpurgo book and its successful stage adaptation, is told entirely from the point of view of Joey, the eponymous horse of the title. Through his eyes we see his bond with Devon farm boy Albert (Jeremy Irvine), and how that bond is shattered when he is sold to the British army at the outset of the First World War. Joey then has a series of adventures amongst the British, German and French sides which I won't detail here for risk of spoilers. Essentially, think Black Beauty with World War I thrown into the mix. National Velvet on the Western Front perhaps.

Depending on your point of view, this is either a heartfelt weepie or brazenly manipulative drivel. Cynics will take the latter view, which is a bit of a shame. War Horse isn't in the same league as ET, but given that it is intended as a family friendly boy and his horse story it succeeds reasonably well. Criticising this for being too sentimental is like criticising a horror film for being too scary, or a comedy for being too funny. Besides, with this and his recent dynamic Tintin film, it's great to have the old Spielberg back. Much of his output throughout the last decade, although often admirable, has been considerably darker and at times unremittingly bleak and despairing (those who foolishly assume all his films are sentimental or at least essentially hopeful clearly haven't seen Munich).

Spielberg's direction is, as ever, second to none. Aided and abetted by Janusz Kaminski's impossibly gorgeous cinematography, the beauty and bleakness of Dartmoor is superbly captured in suitably epic style. Since I live in the area this was filmed, I did find myself location spotting somewhat, noting places where I go walking with my children. Anyway, later in the film the horrors of the trenches are vividly depicted in some typically intense battle scenes, although Spielberg cuts away from any overt blood and gore. There are several moments of typically Spielberg directorial flourish; the refection of a girl in a horse's eyes, one involving a windmill and another involving a highly emotional sequence when Joey gets caught in barbed wire in No Man's Land.

Performances are all good, although most of the characters are sketched in broad strokes given their limited screen time, which is inevitable given the somewhat episodic nature of the story. That said, Jeremy Irvine is a fine discovery, and there are good bit parts for the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis, Celine Buckens, Eddie Marsan, Emily Watson, David Kross and various others.

No Spielberg film would be complete without music from legendary composer John Williams, and his work for this is absolutely magnificent. Like the film, the score is unashamedly emotional and defiantly old-fashioned (ie, it's recorded with an actual orchestra, unlike so many other scores today). Evoking composers such as Elgar and Vaughn Williams, the score perfectly captures the pastoral beauty of the English countryside. It also brings to mind the sweeping music of classic Hollywood composers like Max Steiner and his work for films like Gone with the Wind. It is vintage John Williams and really, really deserves to win this year's best music Oscar.

Unlike the music, the film itself has a number of flaws. Bizarrely, it feels both too long and too short. This is because on the one hand the plot takes a while to build up steam, particularly in the opening stretches. On the other hand, we spend such little time with the various disparate groups of characters Joey meets along the way that at times it seems a shame to move on. Yet in spite of this, the horrific nature of Joey's plight holds things together.

War Horse has been described as a plea for peace, and in that it depicts the devastating insanity of World War I through the eyes of an innocent animal, it is certainly that. There are no villains per se, and Joey meets good people on all sides during the war. Such unfashionable and old fashioned virtues like courage, loyalty, endurance, friendship, hope and keeping promises whatever the cost are extolled without a hint of irony, and I think it is a shame more cynical audiences feel out of touch with such sentiments. Some have also questioned its appropriateness for children, but I beg to differ. Frankly this is one of those occasions when - temperament permitting - I would recommend taking older children to see it. My seven year old for one very much enjoyed it.

In short, if you enjoy a good epic tearjerker, War Horse is not for the knackers' yard as some would have you believe. Ignore the neigh sayers and see it.

(With apologies for the horse gags - I made it through most of the review manfully resisting the temptation, before I finally cracked)