C+
Its not that "Secretariat" isn't crowd-pleasing. It is. But that doesn't make it a great movie. If you take away the horse racing action, everything else feels hollow like a glossy statue of nothing. Diane Lane offers one of the finest performances of her career... but that still just isn't enough.

Based on the Novel "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion" By William Nack, The film chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) agrees to take over her ailing father's Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horse-racing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery-with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)-manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.

And maybe that's the problem. ITS-A-HORSE! There's a whole human element of emotion that simply doesn't exist. I found myself enjoy and rooting, but at the same time I knew excatly how it was going to end. Now a truly great movie, would keep me on the edge of my seat even if I knew how the true story would come to a close... but sadly, this one doesn't.

The bottom linel: It's a very decent and tradational movie... it's just not worth 12 bucks.

Is it worth your money? NO