The picture talks upon Frank Hopkins(Viggo Mortensen)a real cowboy who participated with a horse called ¨Hidalgo¨ in an extraordinary racehorses : ¨ Oceans of fire¨, a 3.000 mile survival race across the risky Arabian desert. He'll take on ominous Arab riders and many dangers. The confrontation will be terrible and he'll face off imposing winds,locust plague, quicksands... though he'll love to Arab princess(Zuleikha Robinson),a Sheik's daughter(Omar Shariff)too. The film is based on historic deeds and famous people, thus : the ¨Wounded Knee slaughter¨(1890), besides appear: Buffalo Bill Cody (J.K.Simmons),Annie Oakley(Elizabeth Berridge) and Indian chiefs: Eagle Horn(Floyd Red Crow Westerman),Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Big Foot. The final duel amongst the horsemen is breathtaking and overwhelming.
The motion picture blends adventures,action, a love story, emotions and is pretty amusing. From the beginning to the end the adventure-action is unstoppable , it's fast moving and for that reason packs a lot of entertainment . Sets and production design are spellbound and the Oriental landscapes are mesmerizing. Special effects(FX) by Industrial Light Magic (property of George Lucas) are top notch , as especially the impressible digital storm . The movie is correctly directed by Joe Johnston , including a riveting Shelly Johnson cinematography and fascinating James Newton Howard musical score. The film obtained success at the box office of all the world and in United States was number one . The flick will appeal to Oriental adventure enthusiasts and Viggo Mortensen fans. Rating: Very good, well worth watching .