Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western, Suspense, True Story, Period Piece
Tagline: Unbridled. Unbroken. Unbeaten.
Plot: Onetime cowboy Frank T. Hopkins (VIGGO MORTENSEN) was once billed as a living legend, but in fact the glory days for Hopkins and his beloved horse, a mustang named Hidalgo, are long past. Outcasts from their own land, Frank and Hidalgo both have something to prove when Hopkins became the first American invited to enter the Ocean of Fire, a grueling 3,000-mile survival race across punishing terrain of the Arabian Desert. With his competitors vowing victory, the race becomes not only a matter of pride and honor, but a fight for survival as they attempt the impossible.
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Behind the Scenes:
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 If it transpires that the historical aspects are in question I don't think people would care that much. Hidalgo is a family film. It has little to do with reality." Yes, Hidalgo is a family film (albeit a mediocre one), and it deserves to be seen for what it is, not as the centerpiece of a controversy that has resulted from Disney's dishonesty.  -- (ReelViews)
This so-so western starring Viggo Mortensen and a very attractive horse never quite hits its stride.-- (Salon)
Whether you like movies like this, only you can say. But if you do not have some secret place in your soul that still responds even a little to brave cowboys, beautiful princesses and noble horses, then you are way too grown up and need to cut back on cable news. And please ignore any tiresome scolds who complain that the movie is not really based on fact. Duh.  -- (Chicago Sun-Times)
But under the helm of Joe Johnston the story makes fitful progress, moving between natural disasters (a CGI sandstorm, locusts) and manmade perils. The swordplay and shoot-'em-ups feel like distractions from the tale of a compelling outsider.  -- (Boxoffice Magazine)
Capitalizing on Mortensen's heroic, larger-than-life appeal, thanks mainly to a little trilogy called "The Lord of the Rings," the film plays out like a brisk, if bumpy, Old Hollywood-style epic.--Michael O'Sullivan (Washington Post)
Please, anything but "Lawrence of Arabia." These were my thoughts watching "Hidalgo," which -- among a host of other creative misdemeanors -- tries to download the cinematic lore of David Lean's fabulous desert classic for free.--Desson Thomson (Washington Post)
For a movie that depicts the world's most unlikely horse race as an ironclad historical fact, "Hidalgo" is an awfully uninvolving affair.
Never mind the sketchy truth of the thing or the dodgy racial stereotypes it skirts. If the filmmakers had botheredto focus on the race itself and not get lost in some silly subplots that pad its running time to an uncomfortably long 136 minutes, "Hidalgo" might be something of a lark instead of the intermittently entertaining slog that it now is. -- (L.A. Daily News)
At the end of the day, this is a chase movie focusing on an underdog and his under-horse, both of whom are past their prime, but both of whom, still have a lot of grit, dedication and persistence left in their souls (not to mention, great manes!) 6/10-- (JoBlo.com)
The screenplay bludgeons the viewer with Heavy Symbolism, until the only question more pressing than whether these two misfits, man and horse, can compete against foreign purebreds is whether Cher will burst onto the soundtrack singing "Half Breed."  --Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
A splendid re-creation of a long-distance horse race across the Arabian desert runs into a sandstorm of melodrama and racial cliches.--Kirk Honeycutt (Hollywod Reporter)
Hidalgo is a good, if long, story about a man and his horse, and it's worth seeing even though its length may leave you a little saddle sore. --Leigh Johnson (Hollywood.com)
Hidalgo is a joke, too, just not a very funny one, nor one that proves to be very engaging.  --'Greg C.' (Movie-Vault.com)
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| Written by |
John Fusco
Young Guns, Young Guns II, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron |
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| Cast |
Viggo Mortensen
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
 | J.K. Simmons
Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, The Cider House Rules |
 | | Omar Sharif
Lawrence of Arabia, The 13th Warrior, Doctor Zhivago | | | | |
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With all of its indistinguishable characters, Hidalgo just doesn’t work in its present form.  --David Levine (FilmCritic.com)
Return of the King of the Horse Whisperers it is NOT. A rollicking adventure, seamlessly executed, served on a grand scale equal to the great adventure movies of old.  --Derek May (MovieWeb)
Another Goddamn horse movie. Who does Hollywood think I am? A little girl? Hmm. Maybe they’re right. --B. Alan Orange III (MovieWeb)
It’s certainly not an embarrassment to anyone, but it’s the sort of cinema that evaporates from your mind – like a mirage – when you walk out of the theatre. 67/100--Brian Webster (Apollo Guide)
Twenty minutes into the movie, I kept asking myself, "So what is this movie about? The horse? The man? The race?" It seems, the filmmakers couldn't decide either.  --Lynda Lin (The Movie Insider)
Somewhere inside Hidalgo is a good movie, kicking and fighting to get out. There are moments when it hums along with a swagger that would make Indiana Jones proud; there are other times when the racing scenes run neck-and-neck with those from Seabiscuit.Eventually, however, it capitulates to weak dialogue, poor pacing, and a half-hearted performance from mumbling macho-man Viggo Mortensen, leaving it to be remembered more for a few scenes than as a total film.--Larry Carroll (CountingDown)
Old-fashioned, Boys’ Own-style adventure movie with mostly impressive special effects, unfortunately let down by the spectacle of Viggo Mortensen being out-acted by his own horse. --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
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