Remember The Alamo At Oscar Time

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2004)

After all the rumors that this film was in trouble, writer/directer John Lee Hancock delivers a superlative epic film with outstanding performances that should be remembered at Oscar time.
Balancing historical facts with Hollywood entertainment is no easy task, but Hancock does it here with ease. Visually the film is breathtaking and done with a minimum of special effects.
Working from a script that is reminiscence of Horton Foote, the film excels with three-dimensional charaters that are flawed human beings that show courage of mythical proportions. The performances are right on the mark, from Billy Bob Thornton's Crockett, Dennis Quaid's Houston, Patrick Wilson's Travis, to Emilio Echevarria's Santa Anna. The only one-note character seems to Jason Patric's Bowie. Julia Roberts' ex-boyfriend is not one of the great actors of our time, but in all fairness, this character seems to be written with little for him to do. It's the one major disappointment of the film. But the real stand-out here is Billy Bob Thornton, who gives one of his best performances to date.
There seems to be a lot of people that were disappointed by this film. If you are expecting a John Wayne movie, rent "The Sons of Katie Elder" and stay at home. If you are such a history buff that if Travis doesn't draw a line in the dirt will bother you, then watch Ken Burns "Civil War" for the 1000th time. And if you are expecting a huge war film full of gore and guts, just rent "Saving Private Ryan" and save some money.
But if you want to see an intelligently conceived and excluded film with outstanding performances of this or any year, this maybe the film for you. All that I can tell you is, that I saw "The Alamo" at a packed bargain matinee, and at the film's end, the audience gave it a standing ovation. I can't remember a movie that received that response in a long, long time.