Hidalgo (2004)

Must See Movie...

A different way of telling a story

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

What can I say, I thought I would enjoy it but I didn't.It seems they spent enough to make this a good movie and the scenery and effects were very good, but for me it didn't work.I think this was mainly down to it being too drawn out with many boring unnecessary bits but also because for me the casting was all wrong.Viggo Mortensen has no charisma or star presence and in no scene did he seem capable of anything. Maybe he looks like the person he was playing but he just can't act or command a scene as can Omar Sharif who for me stole every scene he was in. Louise Lombard was OK as Lady Anne Davenport but the actress playing the so called romantic lead, well she wasn't really that because nothing happened, was neither beautiful or a good actress.It also implies that this is a true story but the real Frank Hopkins had a reputation for telling exaggerated or even made up tales and what happened in this movie seems pretty unbelievable.

This film has several points of interest. To begin, remember the importance of the horse to the man. The horse is truly our best friend. However, despite being an adventure film, it is not as adventurous as other such films. It has moments of great psychological depth, calm, humor and even sad moments. All this has value. I, at least, I was not displeased or felt that the film deceived me. Sometimes what deceives us is advertising.Vigo Mortensen plays the lead role, with his mustang horse, and get a good performance, full of humanity and feelings, particularly visible when you talk to the horse or recalls his forebears. Your character is a man marked by conflicts against the Indians, with whom he sympathizes, to the point of knowing the language. Omar Sharif is also participating in this film, giving life to the Arab sheik, the host horse racing that the film portrays. As usual, the actor managed another great performance. The scenarios are great, as are displayed desert landscapes. The dialogues were very well thought out and avoid inelegant words.This is a family film, essentially based on humanistic values ​​and is recommended for the whole family.

Of course, a Spielberg's Indiana Jones wanna be.I like Viggo so much, I could watch his movies with closed eyes. He doesn't have a impressive (read very expressive) play, but he is pleasant to watch and has a rather constant play.The set up, the photography are beautiful if clearly exaggerated with postal card overwhelming 'reddish' looking images. This could have been a beautiful adventure movie, but it lacks a single item. Because of this, it's a dish not only without salt, but also without spices.The missing item is called directing. Not that it doesn't have it, it's just awful. Joe Johnston was a poor choice for this movie. It makes it look like a b series movie with the actors moving slowly, saber fight scenes poorly directed than Power Rangers fights, slow image change in action takes, and so on.Because of this, the movie lacks pace. There are action/adventure movies with slow pace, but that's another level of mastering the art of directing.

Based on the legend of American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his horse Hidalgo,this film tries to recount how he raced against Arabia horses back in the 1890's.It stars Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, and Omar Sharif.This movie entitled "Hidalgo" is directed by Joe Johnston.The Ocean Of Fire is a three thousand mile survival race that is held across the Arabian desert and it restricts its participants to the finest horses found in Arabia that are owned by noble families. Then,a wealthy sheik invited an American,Frank Hopkins and his horse to enter the race for the first time.Billed as the greatest rider in the West back in the United States,Hopkins gets into a big challenge against the greatest Arabian horses who are just as determined to prevent a foreigner from winning.With another theme of having the main protagonist being the underdog and being up against the best of the world,we have another yet a clichéd and predictable film at Hidalgo particularly the conclusion when everyone knows who is going to win and how it is going to end.It also tries to relive Western movies when it was released but there is nothing groundbreaking nor refreshing in it except the excitement and entertainment that it can bring to viewers who love this particular types of films.What's even worth noticing is the fact that the story was definitely cheesy that people of today may no longer look for when going to the theaters.Overall,it is one clichéd movie from beginning to end.