It's been 20 years since I watched this movie. Twenty years of bad plots and toilet humor. This movie stands the test of time and gets better and better, a true coming-of-age movie in the classic sense of a boy growing up to make a man's decision. The final scene, the horse race in Moroccow, reflects Alex's future. He has pursued The Black with a single-minded purpose. He now has the ability of keeping The Black, but only if he wins the race. He must win not only for himself, but for the tribe of Abu Ben Ishak. But to win the race, he will harm is friend, Raj, who he crossed the desert with in his trek to find The Black. In the end, Alex finds himself making a grown-up choice for himself, The Black, and his adopted tribe.Kello Reno displayed a genuineness sadly lacking in young actors now. Vincent Spano's role as Raj is done with a subtle dignity for Arab culture, and the movie reflects it. And of course, Cass Ole and El Mokhtar are magnificent as The Black. Last but not least, the score written by Georges Delerue is wonderful.

Is The Black Stallion Returns as good as the original? Not quite. The original is a masterpiece, that said this is a wonderful sequel and one of the better ones I've seen recently. The story while having a different focus than the original has some implausible and sluggish moments but many other parts are believable and touching. The script is well written, the direction is competent and the acting from Kelly Reno and Vincent Spano(and the horse) is pretty much superb. However, the best assets of The Black Stallion Returns are the sumptuous visuals and beautiful score. All in all, a wonderful sequel and movie. 9/10 Bethany Cox

A great family film, about a boy from the U.S.A. and a horse from Arabia. The boy meets and befriends Arabs and Muslims and rides the horse in a grueling Arab marathon horse race.What is most important about this film is that it is that rare gem: a Hollywood film that shows Arabs and Muslims realistically: as human beings, instead of depicting them as terrorists or fanatics, which is what Hollywood usually does (see the documentary "Reel Bad Arabs" for more about that topic). After all, the reality is that most Muslims are not terrorists or fanatics.This film helps people to appreciate ethnic diversity, instead of hating what is different... therefore, unlike many media portrayals of Arabs and Muslims, the film helps to increase peace and harmony in the world.

This movie started off really well, being very interesting, but once Alec (Kelly Reno) arrives in the desert, the story begins to bog down and it doesn't pick up until the horse race. Thus, this could have been much, much better cutting 20 minutes off.Overall, it's a nice family with almost no profanity or anything else that might anyone. That climactic horse race was a disappointment, credibility-wise. They made it ridiculously dramatic with the jockey being slapped off his saddle by the villain, men in trucks shooting at the horses, etc. Nonetheless, even if the ending was nice, even if predictable. Do "good guys (and horses)" ever lose in the climactic race?Reno's character was a headstrong-but-likable kid and the film is fine. It's just an average adventure story, hence the "fair" rating.