GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

zkonedog For the first 20-30 minutes, "Hondo" seems like it just might transcend the "typical Duke western" label. Some SPOILERS AHEAD: The title character (played by Wayne) wanders out of the dusty plains and into a homestead run by Angie (Geraldine Page) and son Johnny (Lee Aaker). After helping Angie with some work, Hondo quickly discovers that her husband has deserted her. Riding back to the U.S. Calvary regiment that he sometimes scouts for, Hondo gets into a barroom fistfight with a local scoundrel...a scoundrel who turns out to be Angie's "lost" husband!At this point in the film, I thought it had real potential to be a great western tale. A lot of interesting pieces were established that could have been built upon. Unfortunately, from that point onward it becomes stock cowboys vs. Indians fare. Director John Farrow tries to weave a subplot about the white men and the Indians co-existing with each other, but everything we see/feel on screen says otherwise.At the end of the film, after a group of Cavalry men have fought off a warring band of Indians, Hondo makes the following quote: "It is the end of a way of life. A good way." This after an entire movie of killing more Indians than anyone else on screen. Now, I realize that movies (and especially westerns like this one) were made for different reasons and even different audiences than today and should be partially judged as such. However, in today's Hollywood, that type of empty moralizing is inexcusable. History, then, is not kind to a film like "Hondo".Overall, "Hondo" is a decidedly average (or maybe even a bit below) western. I give it three stars because the Duke gives a good performance and the setup did hold my interest for a time. In the wide view, though, I think the only reason this movie gets as much "press" as it does is because it became quite rare before coming out on DVD. When history has its say, it doesn't really stand out in any way.

Leofwine_draca What I liked most about HONDO is the film's simplicity. It's this simple story set in a big, sprawling and rugged landscape in which the vistas are almost characters in themselves. The story is classically simple, about a woman and her boy trying to survive in a hostile landscape which is constantly under threat of Apache attack. Into this world comes the larger-than-life John Wayne, complete with his lovable dog companion, and he makes everything right again.HONDO is as simple as that and the end result is pure cinema. As a western, this is a great success, full of quality action scenes that build to a wildly impressive climax. Geraldine Page is fine as the put-upon mother and the kid actor isn't annoying for a change, but really this is Wayne's film and he knows it. He has it all here: the drawl, the swagger, and the endless and natural charisma. Ward Bond and James Arness play in support.

fung0 I recently watched Hondo for about the fifth time, and was struck again by its many wonderful qualities. And also by the one notable flaw that keeps it from being one of the best westerns of all time.The best part is the beginning. Hondo Lane is one of the most interesting characters ever played by John Wayne. Not just the stereotypical hero, but a man with a particular code of self-reliance. And with a sympathy for the Native American viewpoint that must have been well ahead of its time for 1953. Hondo's character puts him in a uniquely challenging moral dilemma later on.Geraldine Page is the perfect leading lady. Far from a classic beauty, she seems like someone you might actually have found on a remote ranch in the 1800s.Sparking all this is some really excellent dialog, and some great little emotional exchanges between Wayne and Page, or, later on, between Wayne and Page's son. I wish the film had spent another hour delving into the three main characters, but it proceeds to some very solid action segments, involving the equally likable Indian chief, Vittorio.Visually, the film is impressive. It hasn't quite got the painterly flair of The Searchers, but again, for its time, it's pretty spectacular. A few shots overtly composed for 3D are distracting, but don't spoil the overall feel of the film.The one subtle flaw in Hondo (** mild spoiler **) is that the end of the dramatic arc comes 10 or 15 minutes before the end of the film. The result is that the final action sequence - excellent in itself - has much less dramatic impact than it should have, and feels almost tacked-on. Most viewers won't notice this odd bit of pacing as such, but they will come away feeling just a shade less emotionally satisfied than they might have done. It's a shame, because the action scenes and the dramatic ones could easily have been swapped.This structural flaw stops me from rating Hondo as a full-fledged cinematic classic. Nonetheless, the film's many virtues make it one of the most likable westerns of the 1950s, and a must-see for John Wayne fans.

gavin6942 Army despatch rider Hondo Lane (John Wayne) discovers a woman (Geraldine Page) and her son (Lee Aaker) living in the midst of warring Apaches, and he becomes their protector.Some of this is your standard Western fare, with the white settlers at odds with the Apache warriors. And then you have the "half breed" Hondo, who is able to walk between both worlds with some level of success. The angle of Hondo being both a surrogate father and a murderer is a nice touch.While perhaps not his finest acting, any John Wayne fan will enjoy this film. Heck, it is not like he is really known as a great actor anyway.