Awesome!

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2003)

I just came home from seeing it, and it was great! All the racing scenes had my heart pounding like mad, and when Seabiscuit was going in the gates for the Santa Anita Handicap (the "comback" race, the final race of his career), I started to feel the same way I felt when Funny Cide was loading into the gate for the Belmont... even though I already knew the outcome of Seabiscuit's race.
Gary Stevens was great! Whatever critic said that he was "neutral" might as well eat his words. I loved him in here, and can't wait till he shows up in more movies... even though I will miss him racing even more... Loved his new hairdo, though! hehehe!
All the actors were perfect for their parts, even Tobey (I first panicked, thinking he wouldn't quite be right for the part). I loved the temper parts too! ("He FOULED me!!")
I haven't read the book yet, only because I can't find it, or it's been rented out to someone at the library. I'm hoping to get it for my birthday, next month. I'll definitely be getting the DVD, and maybe the VHS too, in case the DVD gets scratched up... that would be a worst nightmare, but you gotta be prepared, unfortunately...
4/5ths of my family actually came along. Everyone but my dad, only because he only likes movies from the 50s and stuff... At first I thought I'd be the only one going, but then my sister says she wants to see it... then my mom decides to come too... then she asks my brother if he wants to go, and the answer is "yes." Everyone left the theatre satisfied, considering that none of them could tell you what color Seabiscuit is (they think "brown" when I say "bay.")
I'm already thinking of going back next week! It had great humor, all the "Seabiscuit's" looked the same (every last one had the right amount of color in the right spots), War Admiral looked georgeous, Chris McCarron did a brilliant job with making sure the racing scenes were exactly like the original (and his selection of the horses couldn't have been better.)
I couldn't find a thing wrong with this movie. It may not have had everything from the book, but if it did, the movie would have to be 5 hours long, even I know that. And I have yet to read the book... The accident scene where Red was injured was thrilling, my heart was racing, and nothing looked fake. There was no nudity, only some swears that a kid could handle just fine.
The newspaper today rated Seabiscuit, along with Tomb Raider. I think the ratings are out of 5. Tomb Raider got 2 stars, and Seabiscuit got 4 stars. The highest was 4 1/2 stars... I would have given it 6 stars, if it was possible. The theatre tonight was nearly packed! Someone behind him, though, kept talking to a friend about whether or not the white haired guy was the trainer or not (he was), but they were quiet for most of the movie. When the first Santa Anita Handicap was running, everyone reacted the same way as the audio in the movie when it showed the photo finish.
All in all, I would totally recommend this movie to everyone!