Hidalgo

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It's mostly quite enjoyable. Director Joe Johnson's many action sequences are lively and engaging, the location photography (mostly Morocco) is breathtaking, and both the horse and Sharif (in his biggest Hollywood role in years) are adorable.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

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.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

The beautifully photographed film is quite stylized at times...But it manages to steer clear of the stereotypes one might expect of a movie set in this time and place, thanks in part to the underlying and, mostly, underplayed themes of spirituality and the search for identity.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

The movie's a veritable Viggo-a-go-go.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

After a slow start, it moves.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

This big-budget western bears a striking resemblance to the recent Tom Cruise vehicle "The Last Samurai," though it's more fun and less pretentious.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

One rousing, if rote, adventure.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Hokey though it is, with a horse-hugger ending thrown in to boot, Hidalgo has a sweet-natured appeal that welcomes sentiment without overdoing it.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Tells an old-fashioned boys' adventure yarn in an equally old-fashioned way.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

There is enough compelling adventure, awesome cinematography and dynamic stunt work involving horses to keep one entertained by Hidalgo.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Hidalgo can still be a wonder to behold, especially in its dynamic racing sequences, but the movie bogs down in its midsection with a needless kidnapping subplot that ultimately becomes quite tedious.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A sometimes stirring, sometimes preposterous movie.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

A family film (albeit a mediocre one).

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Performances are simple and complementary, and Hidalgo's potential death scene sustains suspense as much as is equinely possible.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Hidalgo is the first Middle East western.

Premiere Sara Brady

Mortensen proves once again that he’s an able, even intuitive performer, more compelling speaking Lakota Sioux than many others in plain English.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Like most movies about men and horses, Hidalgo spares no expense in matters of corniness. Set in the 1890s, it's sort of a throwback movie, executed with the boyish kick of dusty old cowboy matinees.

USA Today Claudia Puig

There is some lovely cinematography by Shelly Johnson in the classic David Lean style and plenty of excitement. Taken just for that, Hidalgo delivers.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Fortunately, most of the malarkey in this movie seems intentional in the same Sunday-afternoon-serial way as the Indiana Jones movies (some of which Johnston worked on).

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Mortensen nicely underplays his role, offhandedly tossing off one-liners and making the script's sometimes purple dialogue sound a little less cheesy, but the rest of the film often lurches into hammy overdrive.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Simplest of its charms is the opportunity to watch Mortensen adapt his charismatic demeanor of wary, taciturn soulfulness from that of a Middle-earth king-in-waiting to one fitting a half-Lakota horseman in 1890.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

Yet another version of the conscience-stricken white soldier Kevin Costner played in "Dances With Wolves" and the Indian killer-turned-noble warrior Tom Cruise gave us in "The Last Samurai."

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

You might expect "Seabiscuit" meets "Lawrence of Arabia," but overall, it's a big, beautiful bore.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

It's a bit of an oddball story, but surely there was a less plodding way to elaborate on it.

Village Voice Benjamin Strong

The screwball antics recall "Cannonball Run" more than David Lean.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The supporting cast is a riot of stock exotic characters, verging on the offensively stereotypical.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

An adventure that never met a cliche it couldn't saddle, mount and ride for a butt-numbing two hours and sixteen minutes.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Ultimately, Hidalgo won't win any movie races, but I'd definitely bet on the movie to show.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

While often diverting and physically impressive in an old-fashioned way, Hidalgo suffers from weird shifts in tone, offensively outdated stereotypes, a cumbersome subplot - and a supposedly fact-based story that bears only a nodding acquaintance with reality.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

The racing itself is entertaining enough, though it's not so mesmerizing as the shorter, more focused competition in the far-superior "Seabiscuit."

Salon.com Charles Taylor

The lost opportunity of Hidalgo isn't that it fails to live up to its potential for romantic adventure, but that it fails to dig into the romance between man and horse that's at the heart of the story.

Empire Olly Richards

Ultimately, Hidalgo falls down due to a neglect of basic story elements -- anonymous villains, a hero with no clear goal other than money, love interests who sound alternately gin-sodden and lobotomised -- and after a brief burst of energy staggers home at a mild limp.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

This movie needs a star performance at its center, and the director, Joe Johnston, doesn't seem to know it. His closeups dote on Mr. Mortensen's striking face, and on the actor's interesting inwardness, but he doesn't ask for, or find, the sort of zest that could turn laconic into romantic.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The much too long, primitively plotted family action adventure Hidalgo, directed by Joe Johnston, has a handful of well-handled sequences but, given the young audience the film is intended for, the picture may be like having to finish an entire pot of broccoli to get a couple of jelly beans for dessert.

Film Threat Phil Hall

Nothing more than a big old chunk of horse poop.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

If it weren't for Sharif's extraordinary presence, there wouldn't be a cherishable moment in the movie.