MOVIE - THE ALAMO - Review Rating $$$$$ (OUT OF 10)
STARRING - Billy Bob Thornton (Davy Crockett), Jason Patric (Jim Bowie), Patrick Wilson (William Travis), Emilio Echevarria (Santa Anna), Dennis Quaid (Sam Houston), Jordi Molla (Juan Seguin), Wes Studi (Chief Bowl) & Leon Rippy (Sgt. William Ward).
DIRECTOR/CO-WRITER - John Lee Hancock (The Rookie)
Whether or not history comes alive depends as much, if not more, on the quality of the storytelling as it does on the actual event being recounted. This version of the story of the Alamo turns a pivotal historic event into a drab and dreary movie going experience.
The movie gets off to a bad start, that it never recovers from, by committing the fatal sin of not coherently establishing the significance of the events that are about to unfold. If you're not overly familiar with the story you'll be hard pressed to understand the importance of The Alamo. The story is told so badly, in fact, that this remains true even after you've watched the entire movie.
One of the reasons The Alamo doesn't succeed is that it places more emphasis on the historical figures than the historical events themselves. This is not unusual, in of itself, because historians often focus on history's great personalities. However, a historical hero and/or villain can only be properly understood if their actions are put into context. The effect, of this failure to communicate the context, is to turn the heroism of those who defended The Alamo into senseless male bravado.
Not helping matters is the fact that The Alamo's focuses on personalities is driven by the desire to deconstruct the myths and legends of the famous characters who got caught up in this historic event. This attempt at moral equivalency falls flat because The Alamo wants to have its cake and eat it too. The Alamo wants you to cheer its heroes on while simultaneously telling you they are not worth cheering for.
Making matters even worse is that when The Alamo ventures into the minefield of moral equivalency it ignores the golden rule, effectively demonstrated in The Missing, that revisionism requires balance. The Alamo, in an attempt to inspire patriotism while dishing the patriots, is content to portray the Mexicans as dastardly, cartoonish villains. The movie is virtually devoid of any consideration of the negative consequences of the conquering of the wild west.
The only reason I didn't give The Alamo a lower rating is that I'm mindful of the importance of understanding history. It's better, in my opinion, to watch a flawed historical movie than not to watch and learn at all. That's about as backhanded a compliment as I can manage.
The movie version of the historic battle for The Alamo is, contrary to the rallying cry of those who sought to avenge this defeat, quite forgettable.
Running time - 137 minutes
Roger Ebert's Review
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
The Alamo Official Web Site
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