Is it too harsh to say, "Seabiscuit is not such a great movie."
I watched Seabiscuit a couple of days ago. Those of you who don't know anything about Seabiscuit, here's a brief summary. Seabiscuit was probably the most popular race horse in US in late 1930s. What made Seabiscuit so special was that Seabiscuit was an underdog. He was not the biggest horse. His earlier record wasn't that great. Not a lot of people thought he'd become the champion one day. Also the jockey Red Pollard had similar characteristics; he was handicapped. He was half blind. It's always great to see some underdogs' performing so well, but not only that, where they (Seabiscuit and Red Pollard) came from and what they accomplished really resonated among Americans in that era, the great depression and subsequent economically depressed years.
The story itself is a great story. The movie is a good movie, too, BUT I don't know if I call it a great movie. Acting is not bad. Script is not bad. Cinematography isn't that bad, but I don't think I can call the movie spectacular.
A couple of things that, I don't think, work well in the movie. The movie briefly tells the story of Henry Ford I and Fort Motors. While Ford (and GM) really defined America in early 20th century and these two businesses played a very significant role in America, there is really no parallel line between Ford and Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard, was in automobile business and he made his fortune, but that's about the only thing that connects Seabiscuit and Henry Ford. Henry Ford did number of good things for the country in my opinion, and he was a true entrepreneur, but there is really no parallel line between the life of Seabiscuit and the life of Henry Ford. If there was any parallel line, the movie does not do a good job of describing what it was.
Seabiscuit won a major race after he was injured, and that's how the movie ends. Good ending, but I don't know if I call it a great ending. Not because the ending was directed badly, but it's simply because there was bitterness and sadness in reality. It was the last race Seabiscuit won. Hollywood movies tend to have, what they call, "Hollywood(sugar coded) ending", happy ending. Many great stories have rather bitter and sad ending, and I feel that the ending should be true to the story in many cases.
Over all, I enjoyed the movie, though I don't rate it the best 3 movies that I ever watched in my life. This is why I feel that it's a bit harsh to say, "Seabiscuit is not such a great movie." :(
The story itself is a great story. The movie is a good movie, too, BUT I don't know if I call it a great movie. Acting is not bad. Script is not bad. Cinematography isn't that bad, but I don't think I can call the movie spectacular.
A couple of things that, I don't think, work well in the movie. The movie briefly tells the story of Henry Ford I and Fort Motors. While Ford (and GM) really defined America in early 20th century and these two businesses played a very significant role in America, there is really no parallel line between Ford and Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit's owner, Charles Howard, was in automobile business and he made his fortune, but that's about the only thing that connects Seabiscuit and Henry Ford. Henry Ford did number of good things for the country in my opinion, and he was a true entrepreneur, but there is really no parallel line between the life of Seabiscuit and the life of Henry Ford. If there was any parallel line, the movie does not do a good job of describing what it was.
Seabiscuit won a major race after he was injured, and that's how the movie ends. Good ending, but I don't know if I call it a great ending. Not because the ending was directed badly, but it's simply because there was bitterness and sadness in reality. It was the last race Seabiscuit won. Hollywood movies tend to have, what they call, "Hollywood(sugar coded) ending", happy ending. Many great stories have rather bitter and sad ending, and I feel that the ending should be true to the story in many cases.
Over all, I enjoyed the movie, though I don't rate it the best 3 movies that I ever watched in my life. This is why I feel that it's a bit harsh to say, "Seabiscuit is not such a great movie." :(
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