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# Venerable Hopkins cycles back into cineplex
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/venerable-hopkins-cycles-back-into-cineplex/
- Published: 2005-12-09T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:16:54.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Anthony Hopkins grunts and fusses his way into the heart as legendary speed demon Burt Munro in this delightfully whimsical biopic from Roger Donaldson (“Thirteen Days”). The late Munro is a little-known historical figure outside of his native New Zealand, yet still holds the land-speed record he set at Utah’s Bonneville Speedway in 1967 aboard his Indian Scout motorcycle.

Unlike the man, the movie is in no hurry to get anywhere and the leisurely pace suits Munro’s spiritual journey just fine. There are many similarities to David Lynch’s excellent “The Straight Story,” and Hopkins may well have earned himself another Oscar nomination.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 9, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/120905.pdf?ref=smdp.com)