Different kids have different kinds of pets. When Angus (Alex Etel) discovers a reptile egg and nurtures the creature that emerges from it, in The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, little does he realize that this best pal of his, Crusoe, would very soon grow up to be a magnificent Loch Ness monster.
The setting is Scotland during World War II. Angus, his sister, and mother, Anne (Emily Watson) live in a Scottish manor. One morning, a regiment arrives and sets up base at their place, anticipating a German U-boat invasion.
The character who plays the captain at times behaves like a loser who has lost his mind. His acts of firing incessant at empty seas even when there is a kid around who is running havoc, and getting ridiculously excited in the face of an albeit false alarm unintentionally gives the impression that the British army in WWII was led by a bunch of aimless clowns.
Alex convincingly displays the emotions of a lonely kid who secretly adopts a pet and loves it deeply without a trace of fear even when it turns violent and attacks. But many a time, he forgets to put on his character’s accent. Poetic license is employed in the breathtaking scenes when he is sent hurling under the sea at prolonged stretches of time without an air mask, and instead of gasping, he keeps his mouth wide open in astonishment.
Having set a very high benchmark for herself after her phenomenal debut, Emily Watson once again demonstrates her talent, but she too falters on the accent. Ben Chaplin as a handyman and a pair of enterprising fishermen looking for a good catch flawlessly deliver their respective lines and expressions.
Interestingly, a bulldog too puts up a wonderful act. It would be nice to know the tricks that were employed to get the fellow to run after and pounce upon an imaginary object: the computer-generated monster as a pup. The editor seems to be a person in a hurry, at times jump-cutting right to the scene of action and leaving out details that others might have wanted to retain.
Jay Russell’s Loch Ness monster /WWII /children’s film is quite the stuff of childhood fantasy. It is highlighted by a thriller ride of a lifetime: the kid hangs precariously on the neck of his gigantic loving pet while it splashes and rips through the sea.
