No matter how much it has been covered by irrigation and interstates, the American West will always have cowboys to spare. And, as a counterpart to cowboys, hopefully it will always offer mustangs by their side. \Hidalgo"" brings the two together in a union that combines the far-away look of the cowboy with the steadfastness of the horse next to him.
In the movie, Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) is a Pony Express courier with Indian heritage laboring for Buffalo Bill (J.K. Simmons) in his Wild West Show. He is coupled with a pony mustang, Hidalgo, and the two win every long distance horse race they enter when they're not embarrassing themselves for Bill. Hopkins gets an offer to test his horse against Arabian steeds in the Saudi desert and possibly find his way out of a cycle of boozing and bragging. Both for the sake of his horse and his own waning pride, Hopkins goes along for the ride and ventures into the ""Ocean of Fire,"" a grueling race with a steep $10,000 prize. The race gallops into every available enemy, from double-crossing jockies and ravaging raiders to the worst weather a desert can offer.
At the movie's center, Mortensen brings back the Americana of the cowboy. He's mumbling and humbled by his surroundings, out of touch and in over his head but still witty enough to work his way out of any fix. Mortensen fills out the upper half of his horse with enough humanity for the both of them, though Hidalgo steals plenty of scenes from him. After the ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy it was questionable if Mortensen would stand up to his own standards. Instead of hanging onto his popularity from his recent work, Mortensen remakes himself.
The role of the outsider cowboy falls to Mortensen and the man impressively fulfills the image. He is conflicted and lonesome, with enough scars and ruggedness to fill a Western state. Mortensen makes Hopkins' self-seclusion seem easy, preferring to defend his ever-faithful horse instead of the people around him. Mortensen ups the ante of the classic cowboy aspect of Hopkins character, creating him as a legitimate loner, seduced by neither the princess Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson) nor Lady Anne Davenport (Louise Lombard).
Thankfully Mortensen manages the role with a dead-on tip of the hat to the American West of popular reminiscence. In ""Hidalgo"" the underdog can compete with the aristocrats, whether they be man or beast. Here the persistence of a man and his horse can tackle the land and the villains spread throughout it. The movie leaves it up to the man to shrug off the difficulties threatening to crush him, and Mortensen does exactly that.
However, what the movie doesn't do is develop that struggle evenly. It bursts out of the starting gate too quickly, rushing through its first hour before being stuck at an oasis in the middle. With too much sand in the midpoint, the race and plot take an awkward turn when Hopkins and Hidalgo have to rescue Jazira in a sequence that has far too many stray bullets and shots from a Colt revolver. Even with this forgivable blunder, ""Hidalgo"" offers a thundering adventure with plenty of thrills and even some well-timed humor.
The movie is based very loosely on the memoirs of Frank Hopkins, which are based very loosely on his life. Therefore, very little in ""Hidalgo"" will hold up to any objective account. Thankfully, the movie can dismiss whatever grounding in truth it might have. Though it has its share of faults, the film holds its oats as a pleasing portrait of a cowboy, courage and the connection between a man and his horse.
