Critics' Corner: Does "Seabiscuit" Deliver A Winning Ride?
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Today marks Universal's nationwide release of "Seabiscuit," and THE DAILY offers a round-up of reviews.

FROM PAGE TO SCREEN: As is the case with most Hollywood movies, readers of Laura Hillenbrand's book will not see an exact adaptation from writer and director Gary Ross. But Hillenbrand said Ross "saw the story just the way I did. He saw the human element. He appreciated racing for its speed, color and drama. I knew no one could do the book word for word on the screen." Hillenbrand added, "I felt responsibility ... to help ensure the movie depicted these people as they were because I feel indebted to these people ... and responsible for their image" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 7/25). In Baltimore, Michael Sragow wrote, "There's nothing complacent about Ross' adaptation. Whenever you start to think, 'It takes a village to raise a race horse,' some quirk of personality emerges from the three incomparable lead actors [Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper] to enlarge and complicate the movie's impact and meaning" (Baltimore SUN, 7/23). In DC, Gary Arnold: "It's probably easier to respect the movie if you haven't read the book" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/25). In Chicago, Roger Ebert: "'Seabiscuit' will satisfy those who have read the book, and I imagine it will satisfy those like myself, who have not" (SUN-TIMES, 7/25). In Boston, James Verniere: "Taking liberties with the book ... Ross has turned a truthful account into a somewhat less true, more upbeat, perhaps a tad too emphatically on-message, social-historical fable" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/25). In DC, Stephen Hunter, on Maguire as jockey Red Pollard, "There's no warrior in Maguire's Red, whereas Hillenbrand's Red was all warrior" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/25).

TRUE TO LIFE? In L.A., Kevin Modesti writes, "The more moviegoers know about the sport and Seabiscuit's true story, the more likely they are to be distracted by the film's minor visual flubs and historical fibs." But "the race between the broad strokes and the minutiae produced a daylight victory for the big picture" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 7/25). Also in L.A., Kenneth Turan writes the film "squeezes out a victory. ... The film's great frustration is that it has taken this superb true story and made it feel too much like a movie. A well-crafted movie, but a movie nonetheless" (L.A. TIMES, 7/25). DAILY VARIETY's Todd McCarthy: "[The movie is] fastidiously attentive to the particulars of its fabulous story, historical detail and 1930s period feel" (DAILY VARIETY, 7/15).

TRUE TO THE GAME: In DC, horse racing writer Andrew Beyer writes, "Ross occasionally sought dramatic impact at the expense of accuracy or plausibility. Nevertheless, the film ought to delight hard-core racing fans as well as general audiences. ... Visually, it is marvelous, and its racing sequences are grippingly realistic"" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/25). In Seattle, Art Thiel: "Unlike most sports movies, the action sequences seem real as a toothache, made almost disturbingly powerful by camerawork innovations that put the viewer in, above and behind the pack moving around the track. It's as close to the real jockey's experience as a filmgoer gets without being supplemented by smell-a-vision" (SEATTLE P-I, 7/25). In L.A., Bob Strauss: "The intimate, intense and poundingly in-the-moment quality of ... race sequences are like nothing that's ever been seen. ... Its action scenes are truly legendary in their own unique way" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 7/24). In Albany, Matt Graves called the movie "an exceptional offering that should make a lot of new racing fans. ... It's the best serious racing film ever made" (TIMES-UNION, 7/24). BLOODHORSE's Steve Haskin: "The movie was beautiful to look at, with striking cinematography and spectacular racing sequences" (BLOODHORSE.com, 7/21). In CA, Craig Outhier: "The horse-racing scenes are spectacular nerve-fraying affairs. ... Ross has crammed as much juicy horse-racing detail into 'Seabiscuit' as practically allows" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 7/25). In Oakland, Barry Caine: "The horse-racing scenes are more electrifying than anything in ['Terminator 3' or 'Bad Boys II']" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 7/25). In Indianapolis, Bonnie Britton writes, "Ross stages several colorful, heart-pounding races. The thundering horses, fighting for position and coming suicidally close to one another, convey a powerful life force" (INDY STAR, 7/25). But the WASHINGTON TIMES' Arnold writes, "There's a good deal of track simulation ... but the vantage points often seem cramped or slack. Only one composition really has a pictorial surge appropriate to its theme: a panorama of fans dashing across the infield to be in position when horses racing in the background reach the backstretch" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/25).

AMERICAN DREAM METAPHOR: In Tampa, Bob Ross: "To see Seabiscuit as a metaphor is both obvious and inevitable. At a time when a quarter of Americans couldn't find jobs, the underdog horse became a national hero" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 7/25). In L.A., Glenn Whipp: "['Seabiscuit'] isn't out to tell the story of a wildly popular underdog thoroughbred, ... Seabiscuit [is] a metaphor for America. Forget the horse — the real hero ... is Franklin Delano Roosevelt" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 7/18). In Detroit, Tom Long: "Quintessentially American in its belief in destiny, competition and the underdog spirit. It's the kind of movie that makes you feel better for having watched it" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/25). In N.Y., Jami Bernard: "The movie gets it right — ... recalling the Depression era when 'the Biscuit' came from behind and gave the suffering nation hope" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/24). However, the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION's Gillespie adds, "Ross can be too eager to show us the parallels between the triumphs of Seabiscuit, the common man's champ, and America slowly climbing out of the Depression. The concept is a thread throughout the book, but by giving it so much weight and screen time, he loses much of the pungency and humor [from the book]" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/25).

QUICK TAKES: In Toronto, Geoff Pevere calls the movie "rousingly inspirational" (TORONTO STAR, 7/25). In Phoenix, Bill Muller: "'Seabiscuit' easily rides to the front of the pack" (AZ REPUBLIC, 7/25). In N.Y., Lou Lumenick: "An undisputed winner" (N.Y. POST, 7/25). In Atlanta, Eleanor Ringel Gillespie: "A graceful, intelligent and heartfelt film" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/25). In Boston, Ty Burr: "In almost all the ways that count, 'Seabiscuit' comes through" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/25). In Pittsburgh, Ed Blank: "It's a real movie, not the standard summer bilge" (TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 7/25). In S.F., Mick LaSalle: "One of the best films of the season" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/25). In Chicago, Michael Wilmington: "Sleek, beautiful and packed with emotion, not too flashy but full of heart" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/24). Also in Chicago, Rick Telander: "This might be the greatest rah-rah, feel-good sports movie since 'Rocky,' or at least since 'Bend It Like Beckham'" (SUN-TIMES, 7/24). In Newark, Bob Campbell: "Resoundingly well made and emotionally satisfying. ... A grand display of energy and movement" (STAR-LEDGER, 7/25). The DETROIT NEWS' Long: "The best film so far this year by at least two lengths" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/25). In Orlando, Jay Boyar: "The cast ... is superb, and it lifts the movie beyond the script" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/25). But the WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joe Morgenstern writes, "For all its pictorial splendor and carefully calculated drama, the film misses greatness by a country mile" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/25).

TOO SENTIMENTAL? In N.Y., A.O. Scott: "The main problem ... is a surfeit of reverence. It turns the thrilling celebration of a collection of rambunctious, maverick characters into an exercise in high-minded, responsible sentimentality" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/25). In FL, Steve Persall: "[The film] veers toward the overly sentimental or downright unbelievable [but] one can't help but admire these characters and the rousing movie built around them" (ST. PETE TIMES, 7/25). In Philadelphia, Carrie Rickey calls "Seabiscuit" a "corny but effective movie. ... The [honey-colored] tone must have been intended, for Ross uses" PBS' David McCullough as his narrator and composer Randy Newman. These "have the effect of distancing the audience from the story rather than engaging us" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/25). USA TODAY's Mike Clark: "It's so reverent that you can almost envision a sign on the studio wall: 'Don't mess with the horse'" (USA TODAY, 7/25). In Salt Lake City, Sean Means notes the film has a "buffer of earnestness that keeps the story's emotions at arm's length" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 7/25).

PREDICTIONS: Box Office Prophet President David Mumpower: "It's a film we'll be seeing on [TV] for 20 years, but it's not going to be in black when it leaves theaters. ... Sports movies generally don't open well, but they have a tendency to have better legs." Mumpower predicts a "total domestic gross ... of about $50[M], which is less than the opening weekend" for six other films in '03 (CNNMONEY.com, 7/18). DAILY VARIETY's Army Archerd noted President Bush's prediction that "Seabiscuit" will be "a national hit." Bush told filmmakers that he was particularly impressed with the films "depiction of (actual) places and people in [America from 1900-1940s]" (DAILY VARIETY, 7/24).