Review: Hidalgo
THIS WILL SPOIL THE END OF THE MOVIE. The end is predictable but if you want to be attempted to be surprised, stop reading this and go watch it first.
Hopkins and Hidalgo win the race. However, I think the movie would be MUCH better if they had come in second or even third and I’ll support this reasoning. The reason why Hopkins was invited to the race was because he claimed to be the best long distance racer in the world. He was the best in the US but has not competed in the Ocean of Fire, a 3,000 mile race across the Sahara. Well, the reason for him to race was to prove his greatness against the fine breed of Al-hattel (sp?) So anyways, he’s not in the race for the cash, though it is a nice sum of 100k USD which a lot back then. So he enters the race and all the Arabians wish him dead. They don’t think he can make it. Everyone’s against him except for a girl which adds stupid love to the story. So Hopkins SHOULD be racing for pride and for survival. Really, he shouldn’t even be able to finish the race. It’s like a month long race through the desert, he shouldn’t be able to survive let alone win the race. It should be more dramatic that he survives. Everyone’s shocked that he even makes it halfway. He nearly gives us maybe 1 mile from the finish line. He perseveres with the hallucinations of his ancestors and encouragement from another rider. It should be more impressive that a man finishes the race, rather than wins it besides the fact that’s it predictable that he wins it. I believe that him winning just adds the the American pride. We think we’re the best. Everything that we put into our minds must feed our insasitable ego. The guy goes across the Atlantic to a place far away to a land where he’s never been and conquers the elements better than those who have already traveled it before. Get real. This could be like Rocky good. Rocky doesn’t win in his first movie. Why’s the movie good then? Because it’s about a man who makes something of himself.
Another subplot was Hopkins finding himself. He’s half Native American and hides it most of the time. He identifies with the Native Americans but does not truly embrace that side of himself. In this race, he discovers who he is. A side of the movie that should have been built up more. As his name of Far Rider (which doesn’t just refer to the fact that he rides far races, but that he rides far to finds himself) describes, he’s come along why and through this race, finds himself and develops his character. This part was ignored largely with a passing reference to the girl calling him Blue Child at the end of the race and him holding his Native American good-luck-charm-symbol flag. Him losing would place larger meaning to him not just racing to win but to find himself.
This movie had the potential to be great. America needs to understand that the underdog does not always need to win to make for a great story. Hidalgo losing would place more emphasis on the major themes and developments that the movie is building. Besides, it keeps the viewer on their feet to *surprise* see the protagonist lose instead of win. I’d rather see some serious thought and character development than a feel-good I win against one million odds predictable movie.