Wordiezett So much average

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

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

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.

Jonathan Roberts I've watched around fifty films starring John Wayne, but 'Hondo' was the first. It's a good starting point - a basic Western that depends almost entirely on its leading man. It'd be unfair to describe 'Hondo' as simply a beginner's guide to John Wayne, though. I believe that his fans who are acquainted with his other work will also enjoy this film, as they'll be able to pick out a handful of familiar faces: Ward Bond and Paul Fix are among the cast, as is the man who led 'Gunsmoke' for twenty years, James Arness. But the standout performance doesn't come from any of these men. The female leads of John Wayne films were sometimes great (e.g. Maureen O'Hara in 'The Quiet Man') and sometimes… not so great (e.g. Ann- Margret in 'The Train Robbers'). Although the family-friendly nature of this film doesn't really give the actors room to display the full extent of their talents, Geraldine Page's performance in 'Hondo' firmly belongs in the former camp. She makes the Apache threat seem somewhat more real, and her fear for both her life and her son's is conveyed very effectively. 'Hondo' is a simple film, and I don't think it deserves to be considered alongside some of the masterpieces led by John Wayne. The cast is small, the film is less than 90 minutes long, and John Farrow is no John Ford. Still, 'Hondo' holds a simple, endearing charm - one denied to many of the greatest Westerns. It isn't brooding like 'The Searchers' and 'Red River', but it handles its innocence well - more competently than most other family-friendly Westerns.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . which probably refer to the motley crew of War Criminals who stole most of today's Red States from the Native Americans. John Wayne plays one the these general crooks featured in HONDO. His character steals Ed Lowe's horse, saddle, ranch, son, wife, and life--and Ed's a White man. HONDO also keeps himself occupied by offing Apache "Indians" left and right, and is instrumental in swiping New Mexico and Arizona from that Tribe. As Mr. Wayne tries to "Batjac" America's beloved story SHANE, Warner Bros. pulls out all the bells and whistles to detract potential film-goers from its self-proclaimed "homely" female lead, Geraldine Page (who won a "pity" Oscar nomination here, but mostly kept herself on Broadway, where the lighting wasn't as good and she was NOT enlarged on the Big Screen). In deference to the Tiny Bladder Crowd, Warner tosses in an Intermission after only 43 minutes--which is more than halfway to the conclusion of this brief flick. Today's 2D viewers will find their screens littered with spears, arrows, knives, rifles, flying bodies, and horses indiscriminately chucked at the audience for cheap 3D thrills. Dog lovers will howl as HONDO's faithful Sam is Shish-Kabobbed half an hour before the "happy ending." (Happy, that is, for the sort of White Racists who nominated "Rocky" this year, but not CREED!)

SnoopyStyle Army dispatch rider Hondo Lane (John Wayne) lost his horse to the warring Apaches. He wanders onto the homestead of Angie Lowe (Geraldine Page) and her little boy Johnny. Her husband Ed is supposedly up in the hills rounding up strays, but Ed's actually been gone for a long time. She is certain that the Apaches are still friendly to her family. The new Apache Chief Vittorio (Michael Pate) claims the boy as a brave after he courageously defends his mother. He suspects the husband is dead and pushes her to choose a new mate. Meanwhile after leaving Angie, Hondo finds Ed at the fort playing cards having abandoned his family. After several confrontations and with Hondo coming to the rescue, Ed tries to kill him forcing Hondo to kill Ed. When Hondo is captured by the Apaches, Vittorio mistakes him for Angie's husband and Angie pretends that he's her husband. Now Hondo must keep secrets from both Angie and Vittorio.It's an old fashion John Wayne western. John Wayne is the John Wayniest of John Waynes. According to the trivia, John Wayne joked "I'll be damned if I'm not the stuff men are made of!" I don't know the truth of that trivia but it sounds very true. On the other hand, I didn't care much for Angie and Hondo together. Her character swings wildly with Hondo. It doesn't put her character in good stead. Sometimes she's played as a joke. The romance doesn't work that well. As usual for the era, Michel Pate is playing brown-faced. It's a very traditional old western. The most fascinating character is actually Vittorio but he doesn't get that much screen time. There are lots of action, some stunts, and some attempted 3-D. It's old fashion popcorn fun but just not very compelling drama.