The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Reviews

It's a little corny and somewhat overlong, but a sweet sensibility and stirring adventure scenes make "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" a welcome gift for anyone looking to keep kids entertained over the holidays.

Emily Watson plays Anne MacMorrow, a single mother living in Scotland during World War II. Her husband was killed in action, but their son, Angus (Alex Etel), is unable to acknowledge this tragedy. Instead, he spends his time playing alone at nearby Lake (or Loch) Ness, where he finds an odd egg that soon hatches a water horse - the legendary creature of Scottish myth.

Angus puts his new pet, whom he names Crusoe, in his bathtub. But Crusoe begins growing at an alarming rate, and it's not easy keeping him hidden. Making matters worse, the house has been taken over by Scottish troops, whose nasty commander, Capt. Hamilton (David Morrissey), is trying to get in good with Anne.

Aside from his sister (Priyanka Xi), Angus' only ally is Lewis (Ben Chaplin), the new handyman. He convinces Angus to set Crusoe free in the lake, but they regret this decision almost immediately, when Capt. Hamilton declares Crusoe a monster that must be destroyed.

In another season, it might be tempting to criticize the film's awkward flashback structure, or the fact that the script leans a little too heavily on predictable charm.

But this isn't the week to be Scrooge-like. Etel is a likable young actor, while Chaplin adds a nicely gruff presence. The computer-animated water horse is adorable as a baby and imposing when it grows to dragon-like full size. Best of all, the rousing action scenes, while too scary for young children, should thrill older kids.

Usually, I don't really like kids flicks. They are too condescending and patronizing, for my taste and the quality is just lacking because children are not taken seriously as an audience which is a real shame. But, from time to time, there are some nice exceptions like this movie. Obviously, the plot is nothing amazing and rather predictable but it was entertaining enough. Furthermore, I heard a lot of people bitching about the special effects but I didn't have any problem with those. I mean, it's not 'The Lord of the Rings' obviously but it was convincing enough. A part from that, I thought that the cast was pretty good, especially the always amazing Emily Watson. Above all, thanks to the effective directing and acting, I did care about those characters and that's why I eventually enjoyed this flick. To conclude, I thought it was a decent and entertaining family feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to watch something else than something dreaful like 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' with your kids.

As the movie starts, the viewer will become aware very soon of what is going to happen: tourists visit and enter a pub where they encounter an old man, telling the story of a young boy - his story obviously! -, Angus, who finds an egg at sea and raises the water horse that hatched from the egg. This all takes place during World War II.

Honestly, not much to say. Bad special effects, predictable story, with not that great actors. Alex Etel, young Angus in this movie, has potential and is quite cute. He probably will appeal to young girls watching this movie.

This can be summarized as a typical Hollywood movie. It's somewhat enjoyable despite its terrible flaws.

A little boy finds an egg that turns out to be the monster of Loch Ness... that is pretty much everything.
as one watches, one keeps waiting for something exciting to happen but it doesn't. what a waste.

During World War II in Scotland, a boy finds a egg which turns out to be the monster of Loch Ness, so we have beautiful scenery and music in this movie. I also thought it was quite well-acted.
However, I felt it lacked in the plot department. A movie about this creature could have been so great, but this is basically just a story about a boy and the love he has with his adorable CGI animated pet and how it empowers him. You could substitute a giant mutant slug for the monster, and it would have made no difference in this movie.
It is a sweet film, and I did tear up at the (predictable) ending, but if they could have explored the Loch Ness mystery more and had more fantasy elements it would have been so much more engaging.