Secretariat
User Score
6.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 66 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 66
  3. Negative: 6 out of 66

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  1. fantasy
    Oct 10, 2010
    4
    This could have been a great movie if not for Hollywood turning Secretariat the horse into a full blown version of Rocky. Poncho Martin trainer of Sham, Secretariat's arch rival "Secretariat is going down". Folks it never happened. Secretariat was the BEST racehorse that ever peered thru a brial. His accomplishments are virtually unmatched by any horse present, past or future. Why Hollywood filmed the Belmont Stakes at Keeneland and show horses racing on poly turf not dirt is beyond me. For anyone to think that any horsemen would start a fire in a wastepaper basket in a barn surrounded by hay, or that the trainer would say he was afraid to hold the horse as he is out to get him is pure Hollywood. And do you think any trainer would hand a multi million dollar thoroughbred to an owner to give a sponge bath? Basically this is a good family movie in which the outcome is known from the moment the movie starts. John Malkovich portrays a Hall of Fame trainer in Lucien Laurin and plays him as a joker for comic relief. Lucien was a great trainer and is nothing like that. As for Diane Lane she is always lovely to look at. She does her best to portray Secretariat's owner who took on a male dominated sport. What the movie fails to show is the price she had to pay with her family to achieve success. But then again this is a Disney movie and only Happy Endings are approved. My recommendation is that if you are unfamiliar with Secretariat you can feel comfortable in taking the family to see it. But if you are a true horse lover or horsemen you are going to be very disappointed. Secretariat the horse is just a supporting character in a movie that should have been about him.â… Expand
  2. Dalem
    Nov 6, 2010
    4
    A little too squeaky clean. If you've ever worked with horses, you know that horse barns smell, that there is often mud and worse, and that there are flies and bugs. If horse racing were as pristine as presented, it just wouldn't be the same. Much of the dialogue of this movie is contrived and artificial. I also didn't buy into the idea of the millionaire woman having to struggle to save the farm. There was actually very little to create much dramatic tension in this movie, and Diane Lane seemed rather stiff in her role. The Secretariat I remember was a bigger horse than the horse in the movie. There was something almost monstrous about him. The horse in this movie is Disneyfied down to a pretty thing. At one point they show some hippies, and even they are clean and odor-free. The best thing about the movie is a quote from the Book of Job about the pure god-made monstrous energy of the horse, but the movie fails to present us with anything like this energy.… Expand
  3. conschobhar
    Nov 15, 2010
    2
    There is very little to recommend about this film unless you're kind of bummed out and tired and want something to perk you up which requires not mental effort. There are better "feel good" movies out there and there are better "mindless entertainment" movies out there but there are perhaps few that succeed on both these levels as Secretariat does. Highlights: every scene with the horse. Lowpoints: the cheesy and one-dimensional depiction of the early 70's.… Expand
  4. mamafenix
    Oct 11, 2010
    3
    Correction: Sorry, big mistake, Riva won the Derby and Belmont. Had it not been for poor track conditions for the Preakness, Mrs. Tweedy and Mr. Lucien might well have had back to back triple crown winners.
  5. shaunmed
    Jan 10, 2011
    1
    There are far better horse movies to be seen than this. This is a watered down Disney flick that lacks any grit or conflict. A horse from known winning blood lines, owned by rich people that wins virtually all his races. So? If you want to see an excellent horse movie, watch Phar Lap or The Black Stallion.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
61 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    58
    The film ultimately feels like a well-trod journey to a familiar destination with not enough wonder along the way.
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  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    60
    Wallace layers on some era-specific meaning to Chenery, who seems to be simply following her lineage, thanks to Lane's quietly dignified performance. Malkovich is more fun, though Laurin isn't as outrageous as the movie thinks he is.
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  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    88
    Grace is grace, and however it arrives, there's no denying its presence.
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