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Movie Overview
Cast
Viggo Mortensen
Omar Sharif
Zuleikha Robinson
Director
Joe Johnston
MPAA Rating
PG-13 - for adventure violence and some mild innuendo
Hidalgo (2004)
REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS
OTHER
(1 - 40) of 40
OFCS Rating: 38% Rotten
Page
1
2/5
"Leave it to Hollywood to turn an amazing true story about courage and self-redemption into a shameless action extravaganza. "
Filmcritic.com
Blake French
5/5
"This is grand cowboy fun, a wild adventure with a glorious sense of excitement and wonder."
eFilmCritic.com
David Cornelius
C+
"“Hidalgo” is a barely entertaining movie; what it does best is prove that Viggo Mortensen has legs"
EDGE Boston
David Foucher
2/4
"...essentially
Seabiscuit
minus the cheering crowds"
Cinemaphile.org
David Keyes
2/4
"Bogs itself down with overplotting and a languid pace."
TheMovieBoy.com
Dustin Putman
B-
"You know exactly where the story's going, and you know exactly what Frank's going to do in any given situation, though I admit he generally does it with panache."
EricDSnider.com
Eric D. Snider
2/4
"If I bought tickets at Arlington Park and made a wager, the last thing I want to see is a jockey leave his mount to go rescue someone’s daughter"
eFilmCritic.com
Erik Childress
C
"If there's one thing I learned from
Hidalgo
, it's that Americans are better than Arabs."
Film Blather
Eugene Novikov
B-
"While the picture is well-meaning and handsomely mounted, many will find it too formulaic, earnest and leisurely to be much more than a barely passable diversion."
One Guy's Opinion
Frank Swietek
3/5
"Hidalgo is an old-fashioned adventure yarn that works well and will appeal to equine lovers. "
Spirituality and Practice
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
2.5/4
"A sporadically entertaining adventure movie that is hampered by poor pacing, a badly focused screenplay, and cheesy special effects."
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
2.5/4
"at its most effective when it distills everything down to the love story between a man and his horse"
Q Network Film Desk
James Kendrick
2/4
"Nothing kills my Viggo jones like a bad western set in the Arabian Desert."
Palo Alto Weekly
Jeanne Aufmuth
6/10
"A fun/schmaltzy action adventure Disney flick."
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
JoBlo
5/10
"...why weren't the Disney folks content simply to tell a good story? Could it have been because they knew they didn't have a very good story?"
DVDTown.com
John J. Puccio
"You would think that playing loose with the facts would make the filmmaker's job easier, but they use the freedom to stuff the script with unnecessary pit stops."
Light Views
John Larsen
6/10
"Mortensen attempts to channel the Ghost of Clint Eastwood Westerns Past."
Planet Sick-Boy
Jon Popick
C
"Capitulates to weak dialogue, poor pacing, and a half-hearted performance from mumbler Viggo Mortensen, leaving it to be remembered more for a few scenes than as a total film"
Countingdown.com
Larry Carroll
B-
""Lawrence of Arabia" locations, "The Mummy's" sandstorm, a rescue a la "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and a scrappy horse besting bigger thoroughbreds like "Seabiscuit.""
Reeling Reviews
Laura Clifford
2.5/5
"Mortensen's charisma makes Hopkins' 'aw-shucks, ma'am' mannerisms surprisingly palatable, but he's still in constant danger of losing the spotlight to the personable Hidalgo."
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Maitland McDonagh
5/10
"It could have been a good adventure story. Disney should have stuck to Hopkins's story whether it was true or not."
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Mark R. Leeper
"[A]s grand as old Hollywood and as fun and as breathtaking and as touching as anything you’ll see at the movies today..."
Flick Filosopher
MaryAnn Johanson
2.5/4
"I know
Seabiscuit
.
Seabiscuit
was a friend of mine.
Hidalgo
is no
Seabiscuit
."
Aisle Seat
Mike McGranaghan
B
"There is a lot for the eyes, but not enough for the heart."
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Nell Minow
2/4
"It’s
The Last
Samurai except that proud Arabs substitute for the dignified Japanese, and our rugged hero is given a stout, mixed-blood equine sidekick."
Slant Magazine
Nick Schager
"I don’t object to 'Hidalgo' because it may fudge facts...I object to it because they are used in the service of a story that is, frankly, quite boring."
Critic Doctor
Peter Sobczynski
1.5/5
"A big old chunk of horse poop."
Film Threat
Phil Hall
3/5
"A big, beautiful film that's thoroughly enjoyable even if it never tries to be meaningful."
Shadows on the Wall
Rich Cline
C
"It's hard these days to associate Viggo Mortensen with words like 'adequate,' 'competent,' or 'workmanlike.'"
Flipside Movie Emporium
Rob Vaux
B
"An enjoyable ride, as long as you don't take it seriously."
Laramie Movie Scope
Robert Roten
B-
"If you are in the mood for an old-fashioned adventure in exotic locales with magnificent equines and lots of familiar action, then this may be the movie for you."
Reeling Reviews
Robin Clifford
3/5
"Dances with Seabiscuit of Arabia...of the Rings"
eFilmCritic.com
Scott Weinberg
C
"Why am I so surprised that a movie about a grueling endurance race takes so long to reach its own finish line?"
Eclipse Magazine
Sean O'Connell
C+
"Fitfully entertaining hokum as long as it isn't taken too seriously Remarkably, Disney doesn't whitewash the more politically incorrect elements of Hopkins' tale."
Decent Films Guide
Steven D. Greydanus
2.5/4
"Although
Hidalgo
is frequently exciting and has been handsomely produced on a grand scale, you can't help but wonder what either Spielberg or Cameron could have done with this material."
Reel.com
Timothy Knight
1.5/4
"A facile tall tale of race and a race made by Disney in decline."
Film Freak Central
Walter Chaw
1.5/4
"The film's most harrowing scenes are predictable and utterly unoriginal."
Oscar Guy
Wesley Lovell
C
Read review
FilmJerk.com
Brian Orndorf
8/10
Read review
www.susangranger.com
Susan Granger
Read review
PopMatters
Cynthia Fuchs
(1 - 40) of 40
OFCS Rating: 38% Rotten
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