Shergar

Little did I know what this movie would be like when I taped it. Next to the fact that it was a drama, the title "Shergar" was about the only thing that I knew, making me think that this would be an Asian movie. I had never heard of that name before and I certainly didn't know that it once belonged to a famous race horse that was kidnapped in 1983. I don't even know if it ever made it to the news over here and even if it did I wouldn't have noticed it, being only five years old at the time...

Shergar is a race horse that has been kidnapped by a sub-group of the IRA. They have hidden it on a farm far away from where they abducted it and now ask for a ransom of five million pounds. The government isn't willing to pay, afraid that the money will be used to buy new weapons and explosives, and decides not to give in. The kidnappers are furious and decide to shoot the horse, to cut of its head, to bury it on the farm and to send the head to an important news paper as proof of what they have done. But they haven't thought of one person. An orphan boy who works at the farm and who loves horses, decides to save Shergar by fleeing with him into the countryside where the IRA and the police hopefully will not find him...

Many people really seem to hate this movie, but I must say that I quite liked it. Was it an excellent movie then? No, definitely not. It was sometimes a bit too unbelievable and predictable, especially at the end, but overall the quality is OK. Take for instance the story of the movie. Let's forget about the fact that this was based on true events, but with a large fictional part added to it. If you see it as an entirely new story (like I did), then this is quite believable and original. I liked the idea of the IRA kidnapping a horse, a boy who takes care of it and tries to save it,... Also OK was the acting, although I can't say that it ever exceeded the average TV-movie standards, which isn't even that surprising if you know that many of the actors don't have any experience or have played in this kind of movies more often than in normal cinema productions. But like I already said, this is far from a perfect movie. Especially the ending wasn't good. I still want to forget about the fact that the boy should have turned himself in by going to the police and admitting that he tried to save the horse, instead of running for them. But what I really didn't buy was the corny ending. I really wonder if Dennis C. Lewiston couldn't come up with anything better than what he did now?

I guess the fact that I don't know anything about the actual events made it possible for me to forget about the fact that this movie, even though based on real events, is purely fictional. When I started watching this movie, I didn't know anything about Shergar and its kidnapping, let alone that I would have seen the difference between what was real and what was fictional. It's not the best movie ever, but I liked the biggest part of it. That's why I give it a 7/10.

I thought this story might be interesting, but in the end it was just too simple. Apparently based around a true story of a stolen race horse in Ireland, it centers around a young boy who loves horses, takes to Shergar, and the story of his interaction with the horse.

The old gentlemen he encounters is a Tinker. not sure what that is - must be an Irish term, perhaps for gypsy or vagabond. but he has a young daughter and of course, the boy and the girl become friends.

The story is kind of slow. Not a lot happens. The end is somewhat contrived. Many silly choices are made. Just not a very interesting story. The cinematography is very nice. The acting is nothing special, and the story unfulfilling. I cannot recommend this film unless you have nothing better to watch tonite.

I liked Shergar and would watch it again. A decent horse movie, not spectacular but good entertainment and a nice reminder of the real Shergar who deserves to be remembered. The story takes place in Ireland so there are plenty of nice scenes of the countryside and local scenes. The horse who plays Shergar is magnificent. There's a typical boy-girl friendship and wise Grandfather. It was nice to see Ian Holm in his character as a tinker. This is based on a true story about a champion racehorse named Shergar who was kidnapped and held for ransom. The film uses that basic unresolved story to underpin this romanticized telling. There are moments of tension and some violence and don't recall any swearing so it's a good movie for anybody. The shots of Shergar are worth watching this for. By all accounts, the real Shergar was as gentle and sweet any horse ever, not to mention a champion.

Rourke does his usual bit part,as a sinister,rancorous,Neanderthalian,ferocious,evil jerk,in the same mold as in "Picture Claire","Out in Fifty","Get Carter","Double Team" and the rest of the garbage he happens to be in.

He has very few lines.

Of course,all this is just junk,undervaluing Rourke,abasing him,and doesn't matter for his characterization as an actor.Still ,after seeing "A Prayer ...","Johnny Handsome","Barfly","9 1/2 Weeks","Year of the Dragon",etc.,etc.,for many years I considered Rourke an outstanding,smart,intelligent man.I think he has changed since.

He looks callous,calcined.

"He went about with gloomy looks;/Despair inhabited his breast/And made the man a perfect pest."(Belloc,"The Example").

I had absolutely no other reason to watch this dull movie except that Rourke was in.

When recounting these events that took place some years ago, (hard to believe this actually happened)i thought, well, there is a basis for an interesting story here. Many secrets were never uncovered, the horse never found, the main conspirators never captured etc.

However, this film seems to be distracted by character study, and very little attention payed to the plot. Some other questions are raised though, like why on earth would Mickey Rourke be in this film? Its good to see rourkes career has taken off again, but he must cringe at the mention of this rubbish.

If the subject matter interests you, do an internet search on the topic, you'll be more educated and dare i say more entertained. Avoid this.