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Starting off with an artistic tip of the (cowboy) hat to surrealist Western painter Bev Doolittle, HIDALGO introduces us to the title character a beautiful paint stallion as his natural coat camouflage blends in seamlessly with his wilderness surroundings. The mustang hears a beckoning whistle, and gallops to his best friend, Frank T. Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen).
 Above all HIDALGO should be a "boy and his horse" adventure but along with the kitchen sink, screenwriter John Fusco (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron) and director Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III), have also decided to throw in struggles against prejudice, romance, rivalry, dirty deception, the world's biggest sandstorm, a rescue mission, and an Indian rain dance hallucination that's only missing Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison. This makes for an inconsistent, often convoluted, but ultimately satisfying movie.
 Based on what is being called a true story, HIDALGO opens with the battle at Wounded Knee where half-breed soldier Hopkins struggles with his conscience as he fights for the Americans and mourns for the Natives. Cut to Buffalo Bills Wild West Show, where a guilt-ridden Hopkins can barely ride anymore, so soused is he. Redemption comes in the form of a challenge from a wealthy Saudi sheik (Omar Sharif) who finds public claims that Hidalgo is the fastest horse in the world a personal affront to his own racehorse. A patchwork mustang faster than a purebred Arabian stallion? Impossible! The sheik sends lackeys to the West with a gauntlet-down invite for Hidalgo and Hopkins to travel to Arabia to compete in the Ocean of Fire, a three thousand mile endurance race across brutal and barren desert sands.
Whether or not you like HIDALGO will depend on a couple of factors. Mainly how much you like horses, and just how true you expect your "true stories" to be.
According to the real Frank T. Hopkins, he led one of the most exciting lives of anyone in the late nineteenth century. During the 1930s and 40s the self-proclaimed legend talked and wrote about becoming a dispatch rider for the US government on his twelfth birthday in 1877, going on to work as a buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, African explorer, endurance racer, trick rider, bounty hunter, Rough Rider, big game guide, secret agent, Pinkerton detective and star of the Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. Naysayers doubt the so-called counterfeit cowboy's claims and cite an overwhelming lack of recorded evidence, while others (including screenwriter and Mustang preservationist John Fusco) steadfastly stand by their hero. Given Hopkins' era of tall tales and penny dreadfuls, it's hard to say who's right.
 But HIDALGO is a big screen adventure movie, not a documentary. So, how does it stack up on that count? It's long on adventure and short on logic, but kudos must be given to the filmmakers for making a horse movie that really celebrates the horse. Hopkins really and truly loves his painted pony, and Mortensen conveys that relationship with poignant poise and pathos: you believe that Hopkins and Hidalgo are a real team as they perform for audiences, race across desert sands, pirouette a plethora of perils, and even share in a feast of dead locusts (a word to the wise: finish your popcorn early).
HIDALGO is beautifully photographed and the story is well-told, but the music score falls a little flat. Personally, I would like to have heard something surprising maybe Led Zeppelin's Kashmir, or Achilles' Last Stand, as the horses race across the finish line? It seems that nobody ever wants to take a chance and get flashy or novel with animal movies, and that's a shame. (I'd love to see Baz Lurhmann do a remake of My Friend Flicka!)
Rightly rated PG-13, HIDALGO is a bit too brutal to be wholesome family fare, yet it shies away from being fully geared toward an adult audience. Clocking in at over two hours HIDALGO definitely could have benefited from the some tighter editing, but the characters are so likable you'll probably be willing to forgive the extra few furlongs.
 Mortensen's gap-toothed countenance is cowboyed up with a deeply lined tan, topped with a wide-brimmed hat, and his blue-blue eyes crackle with concern, consternation, and contentment in all the right moments. Sharif is a welcome sight onscreen as always, while his character's spirited daughter, Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson), accounts for a fair amount of Hopkins' troubles and onscreen excitement. Another troublesome female is played by Louise Lomand as the Lady Ann Davenport, a beautifully attired Englishwoman who will stop at nothing to see her Arabian mare win the big race.
And then there is Hidalgo himself (actually portrayed by five American Paint horses two of them doing the lion's share of the acting not Mustangs): As "the little horse who could", he's the best reason to see this ultimately heartwarming adventure drama.
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