Hidalgo Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)March 10th, 2004
HIDALGO (2004) / ***
Directed by Joe Johnston. Screenplay by John Fusco. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Zuleikha Robinson. Running time: 136 minutes. Rated PG for mature theme by the MFCB. Reviewed on March 9th, 2004.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: In the late nineteenth century, dispirited cowboy Frank T Hopkins (Mortensen) accepts the challenge of Sheik Riyadh (Sharif) to participate in an ancient Middle Eastern horse race, stretching across the punishing desert from Saudi Arabia to Syria. The Arabs scoff at Hopkins' prize horse, a stubborn mustang named Hidalgo, but the American soon proves himself to be a serious threat to win the contest. He also attracts feminine eyes, including the Sheikh's free-spirited daughter Jazira (Robinson) and cunning European Anne Davenport (Louise Lombard).
Review: A rollicking, old-fashioned adventure movie, "Hidalgo" demands little more from its viewers than their enthusiasm and their attention for slightly more than two hours, and delivers thrills and excitement in an exotic environment -- no more, no less. Had "Hidalgo" been crafted by less competent filmmakers, it would be easy to pick away at its paucity of deeper characterisation (it's no stretch to say that the titular equine is probably the second-best developed character in the movie next to Hopkins), the mostly predictable nature of the plot, or indeed the gross historical inaccuracies scholars now claim are perpetrated therein. But "Hidalgo" is beautifully photographed, keeps the audience excited and amused, and offers acting which, while hardly Oscar-calibre, nonetheless more than suffices to clearly paint who are the good guys, who are the bad guys, and who lies somewhere in between. Touchstone Pictures should perhaps be chastised for promoting "Hidalgo" as being based on a true story when it appears that Hopkins' tale has about as much basis in fact as other American legends such as Paul Bunyan or the viable three-party system. But by now, moviegoers should be well aware that that label has been reduced to the brink of meaninglessness. Enjoy "Hidalgo" as a throwback to the cowboy films of yore, and don't sweat the details.
Copyright © 2004 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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