Review of The Water Horse

This is a fantasy story that purports to explain the origins of the Loch Ness monster. A young boy Angus, whose father is off in the Royal Navy in WW II, finds an egg by the seashore, it hatches into a baby monster, and then we find ourselves following the various escapades as the monster gets bigger and gets everyone into more trouble. The boy of course gets very attached, they have to part, then reunite, etc. etc.

Strengths: - scenery is gorgeous all around: lakes, mountains, seashore, grand family mansion. I didn't think Scotland had as many clear sunny days in a century as what they show here in a few weeks, but heck, that's artistic license.

• Cast is solid and convincing; especially good is Ben Chaplin in a key supporting role as Mowbray who becomes a sort of surrogate father to the young Angus.

• Pace and storytelling are just right for a younger audience. There is danger but not too much, there is suspense but not too much, there are bad guys but they aren't really that evil.

• The CG monster is very well done, and it looks totally seamless, even when he's splashing in the water and interacting with the human actors.

Weaknesses: - There is just not enough meat to the plot for an adult audience. It's all rather simple, predictable, and not always engaging.

• There are many potential leads for interesting subplots which are left completely unexplored. The Mowbray character, for instance, is brought in as though he had some dark mysterious past, but it never really materializes. Much more could have been made of him, and also of the British officer whose affection for Angus's mother begins to appear.

• The story is told as a flashback by the old Angus, but the flashback really doesn't add anything to the story. The tourists to whom he narrates the tale are totally cardboard cutouts. It would have been much better told straight up.

So overall, for young people I'd maybe give it an 8; for adults it's more of a 6.