Flicka: Critic Reviews

A new yet insistently old-fashioned spin on the kid-lit classic My Friend Flicka.

Girl meets horse yet again in this entertainingly ridiculous update of Mary O'Hara's 1941 childrens novel, My Friend Flicka.

A well-made family drama pitched to young adults that's honest, tough and surprisingly engaging.

[A] lovably corny adaptation of Mary O'Hara's grade-school classic, My Friend Flicka.

Horse-mad tweens may not notice its flaws, but with a defter touch, even this familiar story might have made for a more exciting ride.

This is the kind of movie that many families are looking for, but all too rarely receive.

At its best, the movie sounds like a standard Hollywood product in an automatic heartfelt mode.

Alison Lohman is appropriately tousled as the rebellious teen, who identifies with the horse she's struggling to tame, but her performance is alternately shrill and pouty.

Flicka is a bronc you shouldn't put money on.

Sentimental but not cloying, Flicka is family-friendly entertainment that hits almost all the right notes, even though it is playing the same old song.

Breathtaking scenery and the sweet story of a girl, her dad and a special horse make Flicka a worthwhile family flick.

To call this the best horse-and-kid picture since The Black Stallion a quarter century ago is true but misleading; it's not really either an animal or a kids' film but rather a young adult drama that rings emotionally true.

Flicka is a new version of the family classic about a teenager and a wild horse that's as misconceived as it is corny and predictable.

A perfectly pleasant updating of the story, well-acted, nicely directed and beautifully photographed.

Alison Lohman, the 27-year-old actress who plays Katy, makes the whole thing worth watching.

As things progress, the magic of the story asserts itself over the audience.

A thoroughly uninspiring drama that ultimately buckles under Michael Mayer's weighty direction.

The dull dialogue and predictable action corrals the actors.

Classic book gallops to the big screen.

...an entirely needless piece of work.

Perhaps the children will enjoy this, but I was just choked by the corniness...

If it's going to be a paint-by-numbers plot then there should be an emotional core to hang it on.

With Flicka, young ladies who weren't in the market for Brokeback Mountain get their own chance to drool over the wide open spaces and awe-inspiring mountains of Wyoming, if they can avert their gaze from the gorgeous horses, that is.

A girl and a horse: that's love. What more can we want?