The World's Fastest Indian
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: December 7, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's a low-key, subtly inspirational drama that builds its charm slowly but surely. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Rarely do movies portray the elderly with such admiration and respect. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Fast, funny, big-hearted. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
This film would be better if it wasn't so slick. Still, parts of it are enjoyably shaggy, and Hopkins is very endearing. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Both handmade and souped-up, it beautifully renders two types of camaraderie: the bonds among eccentrics and the fellowship of speed. Read full review
80
EmpireMiles Fiedler
A wonderfully uplifting and charming biopic that's sure to win over all but the most mean-spirited. And the motorbike races really rocket, too. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Does what it sets out to do: educates about a mostly unknown historical figure (without doctoring the facts too much), entertains, and uplifts. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Hopkins' larger-than-life performance as the crusty and crafty Burt rivets your attention for two solid hours in this most entertaining labor of love. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Whether he'll achieve his goal of setting the world land-speed record for motorcycles is never in doubt, of course, but getting to a film's climactic scene has rarely been more fun. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This is one of Anthony Hopkins' most endearing, least showy performances. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The World's Fastest Indian might be the world's worst title for a charming, slice-of-life biopic. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
All the hammy acting and meandering storytelling in the world can't drown the essential appeal of the story. Read full review
75
PremiereJessica Letkemann
A sweet, watchable little film. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
It's giving nothing away to say that Munro makes it to Bonneville, and breaks the record - which apparently still stands - on his two-wheel contraption. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Hopkins' performance flat-out works. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Sometimes shticky biopic overcomes its cornball conventionality to become a genial entertainment, thanks to Anthony Hopkins' exceptionally engaging performance. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMark Holcomb
The result is a film as tenacious, peculiar, and likable as Burt Munro himself. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Hopkins delivers such a warm, winning performance that it's hard not to be won over by his loopy charm and monomaniacal passion. The film is about a man whose need for speed takes on an existential and spiritual dimension, but it's precisely its rambling, meandering, unhurried affability that makes it such a low-key pleasure. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
This is a film that wears a smile button on its sleeve along with its happy heart. It believes that most people are absolutely wonderful, and it is well enough made so that a dusting of that dogged optimism is bound to rub off on you. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Based on the real-life exploits of Munro, it's a boilerplate fish-out-of-water/road trip/underdog sports movie -- but it's a heck of a ride with Hopkins leading the way. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
A warm, spacious road movie with a stirring sense of the wide-open landscapes of the American West. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Roger Donaldson's film is endearing in its own right as a celebration of a strong-willed eccentric, and memorable as a showcase for a brilliant actor in a benign mode.
70
Chicago ReaderJoshua Katzman
This compelling fact-based story is his (Roger Donaldson) best effort in years. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The cockeyed devotion with which writer-director Roger Donaldson dramatizes the story of New Zealand motorcycle legend Burt Munro and his classic 1920 bike in The World's Fastest Indian is in direct proportion to the cockeyed devotion with which Munro himself pursued his lifetime goal of setting a land-speed record at Bonneville Flats, Utah. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
All one needs to know about Burt Munro, the real-life New Zealand codger and Indian motorcycle enthusiast who in 1967 set a land speed record that still stands today, comes midway through this unabashedly sentimental wall of schmaltz. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJanice Page
The film is at its best in Utah, both because in David Gribble's exhilarating cinematography we finally get to feel the full power and intoxication of the sport. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I recommend it to anyone who needs proof that people past 60 have dreams, skills and/or sex lives. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The World's Fastest Indian may be the world's slowest movie. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Slogs pokily along and never quite picks up speed. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Even a nice chianti couldn't help you wash down this lump of tear-jerking twaddle. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
The World's Fastest Indian is not likely to be regarded as some kind of masterpiece--far from it--but Hopkins once more keeps our ears open and our eyes fixed on the screen. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephen Hunter
As the movie's tag line has it, it's based on a hell of a story. Too bad they didn't just tell it. Read full review
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