Patman

This film wanders from storypoint to storypoint, but does so in such a lackluster way. Sure, the bits with the shots of Hidalgo interjecting his 2 cents were humorous, and many things that Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) said were spot on, although those bits are few and far between. There was no "juice", no "energy", to this film and the film suffers for it. The film is full of a few peaks and looonnnggg valleys. When the action is present, it very entertaining, and when the action is not, the film gets dull. Unless you are interested somewhat in the story of Frank Hopkins and Hidalgo, I can't recommend it heartily.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

Zodiac_Speaking

I agree with you to an extent. It was a bit long, but I like to also agree with Ebert here. It was a fun adventure, I doubt if it will be a classic, but fun nonetheless. My last movie prior to this was the Passion, so I was hoping it was fun and light-hearted-and it was.

My grade: B-

Orbi-Wan Techno

We saw it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were looking for some escapism, and felt Hildago more than fit the bill.

lisadoris

Yes it was a bit longer than I was expecting but it was fun. And as strange as this might sound, the chemistry between Mortensen and the horse was better than some on-screen human duos.

Dr. DVD

Saw it yesterday. I thought it was good way to kill some time on a Saturday afternoon and highly entertaining. Nothing special, but a nice movie.

movielib

I thought there were two good movies in the film: a fairly straightforward one about the horse race and race relations and feminism in Arabia; and an Indiana Jones type one about kidnappings and rescues and swordfights and gun battles and outrunning sandstorms and locusts. Unfortunately the two didn't mesh, the tone was very uneven and the result was one mediocre movie.

IC_Freeze

I haven't even seen it yet but the trailers I've seen was just stupid story

Josh H

I thoroughly enjoyed. Very entertaining from start to finish IMO.

Dr. DVD

I agree that while highly entertaining, the movie really tried to cram too much material into one picture. If Disney had taken the approach of maybe doing it as a serial, it might have worked, but those days are long gone.

javanut

I saw it, too, and thought it was a lot of fun. Nothing over the top, but just a good movie to sit through and enjoy on a weekend.

QuikSilver

Looking forward to seeing this one. I am starting to like Viggo as an actor.

harosa

I thought the film was an excellent adventure movie, if you dont get hyped watching the end as they tear for the finish line then you're just jaded.

Horror Dude

Saw it yesterday...walked in with the thought of..another movie my gf drags me too...and walked out thinking, wow, that was a good movie..the horse and viggo definately have something there, quite nice!!!

Josh H

Yep. I think I read somewhere that Viggo bought the horse after filming the movie because he liked it so much.

dcprules

I just saw it earlier tonight and liked it quite a bit. Yeah, it's kind of long and there are a few spots (especially in the middle) where it drags a bit but who cares, it was really entertaining.

mikehunt

hollywood claims it's based on a true story
http://www.thelongridersguild.com/hopkins.htm claims it's a lie

movielib

I watched "The True Story of Hidalgo" which aired on the History Channel last week. The Long Riders Guild showed how absolutely nothing Frank T. Hopkins claimed could be verified. They couldn't even be sure if he was born in 1865 (as he claimed) or 1884!

No doubt in my mind the story is pure mustang manure.

B.A.

I believe he bought the horse he rode for the LotR trilogy, too.

tanman

These are the kind of movies your GF drags you to? Boy you have it so tough. I really pity you.

B.A.

I really enjoyed it and give it ***1/2 out of *****.

Viggo was great. I enjoyed a lot of the cinematography, but the print at my viewing wasn't too great - the color went in/out during the halfway point of the race.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised how good it was - it exceeded my expectations.

JimRochester

Saw the movie yesterday. Was a good flick. Was a tad disjointed moving from the race to the action scenes but I may not have noticed had I not read the reviews. Not great but a very enjoyable movie.

Trigger

Saw this finally tonight... it was a turd salad. Totally boring and complete with bad acting, amateur cinematography, and abundant continuity errors. This is why I don't trust reviews or trailers or the opinions of others.

joeydaninja

hahaha, after all those reviews, I got interested. And then Trigger comes along and dashes it to pieces.

I guess the bottom line is, I'll watch this movie, if HBO chooses to let me see it

Snowmaker

I liked it. Its a good renter.

taa455

Didn't like this one. I was very bored and found Viggo's acting to be tiresome and dull. This movie drags, big time. It wasn't completely terrible, but I would only give it 2 out of 5. Worth a rental, barely.