“Black Beauty” (** out of four) was a wan adaptation of Anna Sewell’s 1877 novel about the title wild horse (voiced by Kate Winslet) and a young girl (Mackenzie Foy) who form an unbreakable bond that becomes tested by time and tragedy. Nicely captured and filmed and has some scattered effective moments but is muted by its sluggish pace. A definite improvement over the dismal 2015 remake and about on par with the 1994 version which also suffered from its plodding storytelling. Winslet’s stirring voice work as the horse is a definite plus.