A mixed bag - too corny but great action scenes

Rating: 4/10 (7 November 2004)

This is not a good film. The story seemed like it was on rails most of the time and was only salvaged by the action scenes.
Let's be clear; being based on a true story doesn't make it easy to build a suspenseful plot. At the same time, I knew nothing about Seabiscuit going into the film and therefore had no preconceived ideas - and I'm sure i'm not atypical. On balance therefore, this should make it easy for the Director to build a plot with turns and twists that keep the viewer engaged. What we ended up with was 'He had no chance, then he won some, then he won big, then something bad happened then finally something good happened' which is standard Hollywood fare.
The acting was so-so and even the usually excellent Chris Cooper (Bourne Identity, for example) was wooden.
But what make me dislike the film even more were the leaden references to the 'What Made America Great' worldview of the little guy making good. we've had this rammed down our throats by Hollywood for years and I thought the public would sick of it - I certainly am.
In the race for the best action movie of the year, SeaBiscuit doesn't even place..