What does a 3,000 mile race across the Arabian desert prove? Well for starters it proves that Viggo Mortensen will most certainly have a post-Lord of the Rings career.
The man we have come to know as Aragorn over the past few years has stepped down from his post as the King of Gondor to take his mustang, Hidalgo, to the Middle East to compete against the finest Arabian horses ever bred in the 3,000 mile endurance race, the Ocean of Fire.
Viggo was able to show us charm and grit as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and carries that on in this film as legendary distance rider Frank T. Hopkins. The opening scene starts the journey and Viggo nails it giving the audience a good laugh and a man to cheer for the duration, which actually happened in the screening I attended.
The best thing about Mortensen’s performance is that never once do you think you are watching a recreation of Aragorn, Mortensen manages show that he is a real actor without limitations. Mortensen is almost more of an Indiana Jones as he is able to carry off the same charm Harrison Ford brought to the Jones films along with the comedy and relentless action and adventure.
Much like the Jones films this film is not only a harrowing epic that takes you on a journey across the globe as the Frank Hopkins legend makes it’s way across the Atlantic to a wealthy Sheik who invites Hopkins to take part in the race, but it is a clash of cultures that requires particular attention to how each is treated.
Frank must compete against the elements and the torment of the land as well as the native racers, determined to make sure that a foreigner doesn’t win the race or even finishes it for that matter.
During a time where teh Iraq war is a constant in the news Hidalgo is met with the daunting task of trying to respect several cultures, mainly the Muslim culture of the Middle East and it passes with flying colors. The necessary steps in ensuring that no one culture is pushed onto the audience are taken and every character has his/her own voice and place in the movie.
If there was any gripe on the film it is that the length can sometimes get to you as character development is definitely a major part of the story, but the slow parts can really get slow. The only other issue that may raise some eyebrows is that this is supposed to be based on a true story, but, as Viggo told us in an interview, much of Frank Hopkins life was carried on through myth, which has allowed for a lot of embelishment, but embelishment sells movies and I was sold on this one.
Hidalgo is definitely a must see in the theaters as it is filled with special effects and fantastic scenery and race scenes. So set some time aside this weekend and join the crowd at the movies to check out the myth of Frank Hopkins and his determined horse, Hidalgo.
