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Reviewed by: Chris Burton

11 Apr 2008

Water Horse, The: Legend of the Deep

Kids movies. I'm a cynic and hate things the shining light and innocence that children bring. I also generally think that kids' movies are terrible, even for the kids (they just don't know it yet). This one's being compared to Free Willy, so be prepared to be incredibly bored. However, despite the boredom it induces, it could see it being entertaining for some (especially people who are happy).

This was a very small and low-profile release, definitely not up there with some of the bigger Christmas kids fare. Consequently, the awful computer animation leaves much to be desired. But, I don't want to be too cynical. The film is set in Scotland, in the lake of Loch Ness. We should all be familiar with the legend of the Loch Ness monster, so I won't go into it. A visiting American couple notices a copy of the famous newspaper photograph of the monster mounted on the wall. The guy remarks that it's a fake and one of the residents (Brian Cox) agrees with him. He then offers to tell them the whole story. When they agree to hear the tale, his words take them (and us) back to 1942 Scotland. Young Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel), still in denial about his father's death, is searching for a friend. He finds it when a strange object he discovers while beachcombing hatches a tiny reptile.
Angus hides the creature from his mother and his sister, among others. After years of nursing the friendly little reptile, he becomes too big and Angus releases him into the lake.

Its enjoyable enough. The children do an amazing job, as does Emily Watson. The kids will love it, even though the stars speak in these strange foreign accents. Woo hoo.

The Blu-ray is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen and encoded at 1080p/ AVC MPEG-4. . Absolutely every scene is pristine and perfect. The colors, the black detail- everything is quite good. Many scenes do look amazing . There is very little chroma noise and film grain.

Audio is Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround, and it sounded surprisingly aggressive for a low budget film. The bass is heavy, the music kicks. Dialogue is never garbled, and always clear even with all of the background sounds. This is a very immersive transfer.