The original was a favorite for me as a child. I think that is why i waited 20 years to see this, a sequel that I was sure would disappoint. I was wrong to wait so long to see a film that, in many ways, surpasses the original.

This amazing epic finds Alec Ramsey, the boy from the first film, traveling to the brutal and glorious Sahara desert , in search of his beautiful Arabian Stallion, who has been taken away by his original owners. Along the way Alec finds a good friend in Prince Raj, who takes the boy with him on an unforgettable quest that will lead them to the stallion, and also to a race like no other. With much attention given to small details, as well as set design and costumes, we learn the fascinating history of this very special horse. Every five years there is a great horse race in the Sahara desert, with different tribes racing their finest horses to win honour and respect from the others. A man from the Uruk tribe goes to dishonorable means to sabotage the race, while the Berber tribe, led by Prince Raj is more honorable in their methods. This film culminates in what has to be the most glorious and exciting race ever filmed, with young Alec and his best friend racing against each other, the boy for possession of his horse, and the Prince, for the honour of his people.

The film score, the cinematography, those gorgeous desert scenes all add up to an absolute classic adventure film. Perhaps this was not a commercial success because this sequel focuses more on the boy's plight, with the horse only making an appearance later into the film. Or more likely, perhaps the whole production was just too "foreign" for Western audiences back in 1983. Whatever the reason, fans of old fashioned adventure tales should give this a look. The actor who plays the teen Alec Ramsey obviously had an uncommon love for horses, and it shows in his genuine performance. Vincent Spano is great and totally believable, both in looks and performance as Raj, and the rest of the cast is fine as well. Filmed in Morrocco, and partially in Algeria lends this special film an epic look. Of course with something like this it is important to see it in it's original wide screen ratio. One of my favorite films now, it was worth that 20 year wait...

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.

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