Hidalgo

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Hidalgo sees Lord Aragorn exchange Elvin dialect for a Southern slur to challenge an entire country in a deadly cross-desert horse race. As with any big-screen, bottomed-out alcoholic, Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) has lost the will to go on until he’s goaded into saddling up for the challenge of his life: the Ocean of Fire, a 3,000-mile race through the Arabian Desert. Apparently, this is based on the life and times of the pistol-poppin’ Hopkins, though his back-story is dubious—and there’s no record of any Arabian Desert horse races. But put aside those minor inaccuracies and you still have a surprisingly exciting (for 3,000 miles spread over a two-hour-plus running time) thrill-ride across the sands of the Middle East that pits an underdog against the heavily favored, gloomily soundtracked home team. Mortensen takes a little getting used to with his Jack Daniels–inflected drawl, but he’s made a good choice as another unconquerable hero—and his horse provides enough comedic neighs to make Mr. Ed spin in his glue pot. Ignore the odd blend of family-friendly fun and mature-audience violence—this fictional horse race still manages to rustle up enough action to hold you over until your next OTB binge.

Share