The Alamo Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
April 14th, 2004

"The Alamo" - Easier to Forget than to Remember
Certain film titles create an expectation level that demands the offering to be uplifting and triumphant. Movies like "The Patriot" and "Pearl Harbor" immediately comes to mind. You expect large-scale battles, a level of personal attachment to the characters and their personal cause, and a story in which everyone fights for something extraordinary. Now here comes "The Alamo." And like those other titles, you would think that this one would stir you in the same way. But how this film approaches its subject belies its battle-inspired title. And thus you come away feeling okay but not totally fulfilled.
Actually, "The Alamo" seems, at the outset, destined to come across as a bit of hokey schlock. The inclusion of legendary characters, Jim Bowie (Jason Patric) and Davey Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), give it a sort of folksong feel. And, for reasons that are not immediately apparent, the atmosphere never seems as dire as it plays out to be. Even when Crockett assesses the situation by stating, "we're going to need more men," it is more amusing than foreboding.
What mostly diminishes its impact is its story arc. For the first 4/5 of the film, it never reaches any great heights. This is not the fault of the storytellers. Rather, this is a consequence given the timeline of the film. The soldiers within the Alamo steadfastly hold their ground as Mexican forces amass around their position. The Mexican army, which is led by the temperamental Santa Anna (Emilio Echevarria), teases and toys with the small number of defenders over a 13-day period before engaging their all-out assault. In one scene, the commander of the fort, Lt. Col. William Barrett Travis (Patrick Wilson), gives one of those morale-building speeches to encourage everyone to stay the course. We feel a certain sense of doom as we can see that everyone in the Alamo could fit into a medium-sized church.

For them, it is two weeks of anxiety as they come to grips with their desolate situation. It allows an opportunity for the main characters to rise above their legendary status and to give us a peek into their human side. We admire Crockett's down-to-earth demeanor, sympathize with Bowie's ailing health, and appreciate Travis's dedication. During these two weeks, we also get a peek into Santa Anna's musings about his duty to his nation and General Sam Houston's (Dennis Quaid) approach to winning the campaign.

As a battle film, the combat sequences are well constructed. The aerial views of the unfolding battle are convincing and provide for gripping visuals as thousands attempt to rush the Alamo in never-ending waves of military might. You have to awe at the Mexican's resolve as well as their opulent uniforms, which will give you a sense of how game pieces for the board game Stratego were derived.

Watching a film like "The Alamo" may allow us to enrich our cultural understanding of events surrounding this historically significant event. But its cause, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of combatants, isn't played up as something very significant. It seemed more of a selfish battle of hubris carried forth by Santa Anna and Houston (and neither character is developed enough). Our belief system never develops. As a result, "The Alamo" fights hard to win over the audience. But like that mission-turned-fort, it's eventually overrun by outside forces.

Grade: C+

S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3

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