I didn't have very high expectations on this film, but how hard could it be to make an entertaining adventure flick? Apparently, Joe Johnston, director of Jurassic Park 3, found it to be pretty hard.
The film starts out with Viggo Mortensen's character Frank Hopkins with witnessing a slaughter of an Indian tribe, which is very badly edited. I felt nothing for the Indians cause it came so sudden and the tone was anti-dramatic. Not a very good start. It is later revealed he is part Indian, and a very good horse rider. He and his horse Hidalgo has won several endurance races throughout their years. The word of Hidalgo and Frank has spread across the Atlantic, to the Sheikh of Sheikhs (Omar Sharif).
The Sheikh offers Frank to participate in the annual "Ocean of Fire" race, which spans 3000 miles across the Arabian desert. Frank agrees, and travels across the Atlantic to Arabia. Along the way, we find the obvious reason why this film is so ludicrous: Malcolm McDowell in a cameo! Augh! As he arrives to Arabia, he meets the Sheikh and a bunch of other characters who find the entrance of an "infidel" to be "sacrilege". Everyone tells him he will be among the first to perish in the Arabian desert. Soon after, the race starts and Frank and Hidalgo take off.
In the scenes with Frank in the Arabian camp, a lot of culture clash scenes occur. Their purpose is to show that we, the US, are more civilized than the Arabians. Well, there's one scene that absolutely stuck to my mind. When Frank first arrives to the Arabian camp, he rides past a few poorly dressed people being shoved away. One of his guides says something along the lines of: "Have you ever seen a slave market before?" to which Frank responds with a kind of grimace, reminding the audiences that "No, we are the USA, home of the free.". But if this film takes place in 1890, that was only 27 years after Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery. Nice tough, Joe Johnston, better check on your history next time.
The action scenes (This is an adventure film after all) are few, poor and far apart. The most enjoyable one has to be when they visit a thief market and a fight breaks out, where a kick ass Nubian rips out his sable and with some really nice swordplay defeats a handful of brigands. As with every other sympathetic character (apart from Frank, the Sheikh and his daughter) he gets shot in the stomach. I'm not kidding, almost every character in this film suffers the very same fate. It's a shame too. I wish the film would have focused on his character, instead of Viggos (not that Viggo is a bad actor, but his character is 100% 1-dimensional). Other action scenes includes: A short flight from a sandstorm, a short climactic fight with the main bad guy, a short (and poorly done) scene where the bandits attack the Arabian tent. Some really poor swordplay choreography is shown here. (I also want to add that the film is incredibly long and somewhat slow paced. Tends to get boring at times.)
Now, now, not everything about this film is bad. I mean, one of the main characters is Omar Sharif. That can't be bad! He plays his usual character, sympathetic Arab who wants well (why change a winning concept?). The special effects are quite nice. I really liked the short sequence where two cat creatures attack Viggo and his friend. Some really nice animation there! The music is perhaps not James Newton Howards best, but it's pretty good. Nothing that sticks to your mind, however. Also, the ending is incredibly beautiful and brought a tear to my eye. Very touching indeed!
All in all, not a very good film. But if you're a fan of Viggo, horse movies and adventure flicks, then this film is perhaps something for you. But beware, it's very long and not that action packed.
5/10
The film starts out with Viggo Mortensen's character Frank Hopkins with witnessing a slaughter of an Indian tribe, which is very badly edited. I felt nothing for the Indians cause it came so sudden and the tone was anti-dramatic. Not a very good start. It is later revealed he is part Indian, and a very good horse rider. He and his horse Hidalgo has won several endurance races throughout their years. The word of Hidalgo and Frank has spread across the Atlantic, to the Sheikh of Sheikhs (Omar Sharif).
The Sheikh offers Frank to participate in the annual "Ocean of Fire" race, which spans 3000 miles across the Arabian desert. Frank agrees, and travels across the Atlantic to Arabia. Along the way, we find the obvious reason why this film is so ludicrous: Malcolm McDowell in a cameo! Augh! As he arrives to Arabia, he meets the Sheikh and a bunch of other characters who find the entrance of an "infidel" to be "sacrilege". Everyone tells him he will be among the first to perish in the Arabian desert. Soon after, the race starts and Frank and Hidalgo take off.
In the scenes with Frank in the Arabian camp, a lot of culture clash scenes occur. Their purpose is to show that we, the US, are more civilized than the Arabians. Well, there's one scene that absolutely stuck to my mind. When Frank first arrives to the Arabian camp, he rides past a few poorly dressed people being shoved away. One of his guides says something along the lines of: "Have you ever seen a slave market before?" to which Frank responds with a kind of grimace, reminding the audiences that "No, we are the USA, home of the free.". But if this film takes place in 1890, that was only 27 years after Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery. Nice tough, Joe Johnston, better check on your history next time.
The action scenes (This is an adventure film after all) are few, poor and far apart. The most enjoyable one has to be when they visit a thief market and a fight breaks out, where a kick ass Nubian rips out his sable and with some really nice swordplay defeats a handful of brigands. As with every other sympathetic character (apart from Frank, the Sheikh and his daughter) he gets shot in the stomach. I'm not kidding, almost every character in this film suffers the very same fate. It's a shame too. I wish the film would have focused on his character, instead of Viggos (not that Viggo is a bad actor, but his character is 100% 1-dimensional). Other action scenes includes: A short flight from a sandstorm, a short climactic fight with the main bad guy, a short (and poorly done) scene where the bandits attack the Arabian tent. Some really poor swordplay choreography is shown here. (I also want to add that the film is incredibly long and somewhat slow paced. Tends to get boring at times.)
Now, now, not everything about this film is bad. I mean, one of the main characters is Omar Sharif. That can't be bad! He plays his usual character, sympathetic Arab who wants well (why change a winning concept?). The special effects are quite nice. I really liked the short sequence where two cat creatures attack Viggo and his friend. Some really nice animation there! The music is perhaps not James Newton Howards best, but it's pretty good. Nothing that sticks to your mind, however. Also, the ending is incredibly beautiful and brought a tear to my eye. Very touching indeed!
All in all, not a very good film. But if you're a fan of Viggo, horse movies and adventure flicks, then this film is perhaps something for you. But beware, it's very long and not that action packed.
5/10