Entertainment Weekly
"Reunited with the director some 20 years after the two worked together on THE BOUNTY. Hopkins savors every bit of business as his Burt charms everyone in his path." -- Grade: B- 12/16/2005 p.63-64New York Times
"This is a film that wears a smile button on its sleeve along with its happy heart. It believes that most people are absolutely wonderful, and it is well enough made so that a dusting of that dogged optimism is bound to rub off on you." 12/13/2005 p.E5 Movieline's Hollywood Life
"Anthony Hopkins gives a super, understated performance; he never begs for sympathy as he disappears inside the crusty character." 01/01/2006 p.101 Sight and Sound
"[Q]uite irresistible, largely thanks to the most cherishable performance that Anthony Hopkins has given in years." 03/01/2006 p.83 Widescreen Review
"[The DVD] exhibits a generally soft easy-on-the-eyes quality that is complementary to the period of the story." 07/01/2006 p.72 Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "[B]oth a hugely entertaining sports adventure and a touching biopic that will have you cheering at the screen." 08/01/2006 p.109 ReelViews 8 of 10
Although some aspects of the movie work better than others, the production as a whole leaves the viewer enveloped in a warm afterglow. And the steady, reassuring presence of Anthony Hopkins, who has disappeared beneath the skin of his character, holds things together during the weaker moments...If you take a step back and look at The World's Fastest Indian, it's about a man's spiritual journey...Burt's unassuming personality wins people over with ease - both on-screen characters and audience members. The smile on my face at the end of the movie allowed me to forgive its uneven tone and sloppiness with dates. The World's Fastest Indian does what it sets out to do: educates about a mostly unknown historical figure (without doctoring the facts too much), entertains, and uplifts. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
"The World's Fastest Indian" is a movie about an old coot and his motorcycle, yes, but it is also about a kind of heroism that has gone out of style. Burt Munro is a codger in his 60s who lives in Invercargill, New Zealand, takes nitro pills for his heart condition, and has spent years tinkering with a 1920 Indian motorcycle. His neighbors wish he would take a break once in a while to mow the grass...Burt Munro was a real man, and the film is based on fact. Roger Donaldson, the movie's writer and director, grew up in New Zealand, where Munro was a folk hero. He wrote the first draft of this script in 1979, after a 1971 documentary, and then life took him to Hollywood and to big-budget thrillers like "No Way Out," and now at last he has returned to tell the story of a hero of his youth. - Roger Ebert
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