As westerns go, "Jumanji" director Joe Johnston's new movie "Hidalgo" (***out of ****) qualifies as an old-fashioned, somewhat predictable, but thoroughly entertaining horse opera about the 'Ocean of Fire' endurance race over 3000 miles of Arabian desert from Aden to Damascus in the 1890s. Actually, "Hidalgo" meets the criteria of a western hybrid. Usually, Hollywood reins in its oaters on the far side of the Mississippi. However, this offbeat, picturesque dust-raiser with "Rings" trilogy hero Viggo Mortensen and "Lawrence of Arabia's" Omar Sharif doesn't flog sentiment to death like the usual Disney animal epic. Furthermore, the hell-bent-for-leather competition occurs well off the range in another corner of the world. No, "Hidalgo" isn't the first western to blaze a trail overseas. Cowhand Glenn Ford traveled to Brazil to deliver Brahma bulls in William Castle's "The Americano" (1955), while drunken outlaw Lee Van Cleef pursued kung fu master Lieh Lo to China in a search for hidden treasure in Anthony M. Dawson's "The Stranger and the Gunfighter" (1976). More recently, David Dobkin's "Shanghai Knights" sent Jackie Chan & Owen Wilson to London to recover the Great Seal of China. More often, Europeans and Asians do the emigrating. In Edward Dmytryk's "Shalako" (1968) a buckskin-clad Sean Connery buckled on a six-shooter as a cavalry scout and escorted aristocratic Bridget Bardot on safari through hostile Indian territory, while Terence Young's "Red Sun" (1974) teamed up samurai warrior Toshiro Mifune with roguish bandit Charles Bronson to retrieve a stolen ceremonial sword.
Like the aforementioned frontier classics, "Hidalgo" breaks new ground both with its protagonist and setting. Scenarist John Fusco, whose credits include the Billy the Kid bio "Young Guns" (1988) and the animated nag "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" (2002) has appropriated the real-life figure of Pony Express courier Frank T. Hopkins with his trusty mustang Hidalgo and sets this exciting saga in the distant deserts of the Middle East. Johnston & Fusco take their time and sketch in an interesting backstory for Hopkins before the action breaks into a gallop in Saudi Arabia. Not only does "Hidalgo" take advantage of a fistful of western clichés, but also it depicts the culture clash that occurs when an outsider enters an alien society. Literally, our hero finds himself a fish-out-of-water in the Middle East without a clue about Muslim culture. "Hidalgo" stereotypes both Americans as well as Arabs. Indeed, the most despicable character in "Hidalgo" is a Muslim, but the film presents positive images of Muslims, too. Nevertheless, the filmmakers cast a shadow over Arab culture, particularly its intolerance toward women and its rigidly segregated society, with enslaved Africans languishing in chains. Eventually, Hopkins frees one, a small boy, and enlists him as his water-bearer.
"Hidalgo" opens with an unsuspecting Hopkins riding into Wounded Knee, South Dakota, with an order for the 7th Cavalry to disarm the Indians. An overzealous trooper tries to take a rifle away from a deaf brave. The struggling Indian accidentally fires a shot that triggers the infamous December 28th massacre in 1890. Like the disillusioned Tom Cruise hero in "The Last Samurai," our guilt-ridden protagonist holds himself to blame for the senseless slaughter. When he isn't drowning himself in alcohol, he performs stunts in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Buffalo Bill (J.K. Simmons of "Spider-Man") advertises Hopkins as the best horseman in the world. Sheik Riyadh (Omar Sharif) challenges Hopkins to compete in his "Ocean of Fire" endurance horse race. Not only is Hopkins the only American in the race, he rides the only mustang. Everybody else, including the treacherous Lady Davenport (Louise Lombard of "Tale of the Mummy"), races pureblooded Arabian steeds. Nobody believes Hopkins has a snowball's chance in the Sahara to win. When Hopkins doesn't fall for Lady Davenport's charms, she bribes Riyadh's evil nephew Katib to kill Hidalgo, Hopkins' beloved horse, and set the half-Sioux, half-white wrangler afoot. Had director Joe Johnston devoted the entire movie to the race, "Hidalgo" would only have been half as interesting. The villainous Katib (Silas Carson of "Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones") raids the sheik's camp and kidnaps his headstrong daughter Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson of "Timecode") along with Riyadh's own stellar stallion. Johnston takes time out from the race to stage a bullet-blazing shoot out as Hopkins rescues Jazira from the bad guys "Indiana Jones" style. The last hour of this marathon 136-minute epic generates white-knuckled suspense as Hopkins nurses his wounded horse back onto the trail and rides like the wind toward the finish with his opponents nose-to-nose with Hidalgo.
John Fusco's adventurous screenplay, based loosely on mythic Hopkins' life, follows the ideology of the John Ford western "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." When the legend becomes fact, print the legend! "Hidalgo" inflates the legend instead of the fact. Most historians classify Hopkins memoirs as tall tales. Pretty much straightforward in its linear narrative development, the story concentrates on Hopkins with interludes with the Sheik's daughter who behaves a lot like "Mulan."
In his first starring role, virile Viggo Mortensen delivers a quiet but sincere performance. Mortensen evokes memories of iconic cowboy Gary Cooper. Viggo appears at ease whether he's straddling his painted pony, twirling his rope, or fanning his single-action Colt's revolver, like Robert Redford in the best-known western hybrid "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969). "Doctor Zhivago" Golden Globe winner Omar Sharif enlivens the proceedings with his colorful but crafty Sheik of Sheiks. Sharif and Mortensen have several good scenes together as their relationship gradually goes from adversial to amicable. Meanwhile, Silas Carson excels as Katib. You'll want to cheer when he gets his comeuppance. "A Clockwork Orange" star Malcolm McDowell makes a brief appearance as Lady Davenport's bewhiskered hubby. Veteran lenser Shelly Johnson of "Jurassic Park 3" captures the scenic grandeur of the sprawling Moroccan locales, which convincingly substitute for Arabia, and gives the action a sense of spectacle with his widescreen photography. Happily, "Hidalgo" is short on giddy-yap and long on giddy-up.