Better than I expected... and I expected it to be good.

Rating: 9/10 (4 August 2003)

Now, when I went to go see this movie I expected to come out and say, "now that was a pretty good movie EXCEPT for Tobey Maguire..." considering he was so stupid and dorky in Spiderman, one of the most overrated, and terrible movies of all time. But to my surprise I liked him in Seabiscuit, he did an excellent job, and proved to me that he was casted as that part not to sell tickets, but because he fits it well.
Speaking of casting, Chris Cooper plays his character perfectly, and was casted accordingly, one of performances I've seen in awhile I'd say. While Jeff Brides fills the role superbly, it's hard for me to imagine him as anyone but The Dude, because I am addicted to The Big Lebowski, but that's just me. He also does an excellent job, Dude or no Dude.
Now there was one other thing this movie had going against it, the title character is a horse, not exactly the most charismatic animal, but this film gave Seabiscuit tons of character, and made me feel emotions for him.
The actual filming and special effects of Seabiscuit were excellent. The extensive use of high speed film made the details of the races come out, and never could you tell when dumby horses were used. The whole movie was filmed photorealistic, or however you say each frame was like an individual photo...
If you're thinking you might not like this movie because it's about a horse, you must realize that the movie is not about a horse, it's about America, and giving people hope. Sounds stupid, but really its awesome.
I give Seabiscuit 9 out of 10. Excellent movie.