Viggo Mortensen’s Underseen 2004 Western Is A Hidden Gem Streaming On Prime Video – SlashFilm – The Imperial Wire Insider

Westerns are available in all types, from Clint Eastwood’s unconventional Western Musical “Paint Your Wagon” to the elegiac revisionist masterpiece “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.” Then, there’s “Hidalgo,” an missed 2004 epic biographical Western starring Viggo Mortensen that performs out largely within the Center East. Intrigued? Nicely, the movie is offered to stream on Prime Video, however it’s price acquainting your self with the background and controversy surrounding “Hidalgo” earlier than you gallop in.

The movie is directed by Joe Johnston, who’s finest recognized for household comedy favorites comparable to “Honey, I Shrunk the Youngsters” (1989) and “Jumanji” (1995). He’d additionally assist kick off essentially the most profitable franchise in United States historical past — the Marvel Cinematic Universe — with 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger.” However earlier than he tackled that fictional modern-day legend, he determined to tackle the story of real-life American distance rider Frank Hopkins.

The horse rider and cowboy lived between 1865 and 1951, however the particulars of his life are imprecise to say the least. A Ringling Brothers performer, Hopkins made many claims about his prolific driving profession, however as “Hidalgo” would go on to show, not all people believed all of them, and the reality stays elusive to today. Did this dodgy determine and his questionable life story a minimum of make for an excellent film? Nicely, that will depend on who you ask. “Hidalgo” divided critics, a few of whom loved Johnston’s sweeping epic and a few of whom have been simply downright offended. Both means, the movie stays an attention-grabbing and largely forgotten early 2000s curio that is nicely price a watch if solely to see the place you would possibly fall on this essential spectrum.

To make certain, “Hidalgo” is not going to go down as the most effective Western of the twenty first Century. However it’s additionally not likely a Western within the conventional sense. In truth, it isn’t even a Western within the extra trendy, revisionist sense. Joe Johnston’s movie is extra of an journey film and, taken as such, is definitely a fairly good time.

Set in 1981, “Hidalgo” stars Viggo Mortensen as Hopkins, a legendary cowboy and long-distance rider who claims to be half-native American. Hopkins is tortured by his reminiscence of getting delivered a message to the seventh Cavalry Regiment that started the Wounded Knee Bloodbath of the Lakota Sioux throughout his time as a authorities dispatch rider. With these days behind him, he performs as a part of Buffalo Invoice’s Wild West Present, the place he is approached by rich Sheik Riyadh (Omar Sharif), who challenges him to a long-distance horse race within the Center East for a $100,000 prize.

The three,000-mile race, generally known as the Ocean of Fireplace, takes place within the Najd desert area and sees Hopkins face off towards Bedouin and Arab riders, all of whom sit proudly atop thoroughbred horses. Hopkins, in the meantime, rides his trustworthy half-breed mustang Hidalgo, who’s seen as an impure creature by the opposite members. Because the race performs out, Hopkins faces all method of setbacks and challenges, from locust swarms to bribery and straight-up sabotage. All of it makes for a little bit of an odd expertise if you happen to go in anticipating a extra conventional Western. However if you happen to go in anticipating an journey that performs quick and free with the info of its real-world subject material, it is a good time.

Viggo Mortensen was recent off the “Lord of the Rings” movies when he made “Hidalgo,” which was at all times going to make the movie a little bit of a letdown in some respects. That is particularly in order the film finally ended up sandwiched between Peter Jackson’s celebrated trilogy and David Cronenberg’s glorious “A Historical past of Violence” (which, by the way, additionally marked the top of VHS) within the Mortensen filmography. In that sense, it appeared destined to be missed, which it in the end was.

“Hidalgo” debuted in March 2004 and garnered blended evaluations. It additionally did not make anybody any cash, grossing $108 million on a $100 million price range. On prime of all that, A 46% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes did not do the movie any favors. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wasn’t too impressed, labelling the movie “an journey that by no means met a cliche it could not saddle, mount and journey for a butt-numbing two hours and sixteen minutes.” However Roger Ebert, who had beforehand bestowed an ideal rating upon controversial 1970 Western “El Topo,” was extraordinarily impressed with “Hidalgo.” The critic described Joe Johnston’s movie as “Daring, exuberant and swashbuckling,” remarking that “it has the purity and ease of one thing Douglas Fairbanks or Errol Flynn may need bounded by means of.”

Then, there’s the problem of whether or not any of it’s really true. Everybody from the Council on American-Islamic Relations to lecturers, and even a specifically assembled group of horse riders referred to as the Lengthy Riders’ Guild, spoke out towards the film. In the meantime, in his evaluation, Ebert urged readers to “please ignore any tiresome scolds who complain that the film isn’t actually primarily based on reality,” including, “Duh.” The one means you will know the place you stand on that surprisingly contentious subject is to stream “Hidalgo” on Prime Video.