Standard Disney Dramatic Fare

Rating: 5/10 (17 April 2004)

The Alamo tells the oft-repeated story of the last stand of Texas soldiers, including some famous historical figures, in the face of overwhelming odds. This historical event has been the basis for jingoistic nationalism so many times in American history it's gone beyond cliche.
Fortunately, Disney didn't go down the big flag-waving path with this film. They have attempted to weave a tale around the characters involved, characters with their own personal trials and flaws. We see Jim Bowie laid up with cholera and pneumonia. We see David (not Davy) Crockett trying to come to terms with his own fame. We see William Travis attempting to turn from pompous dandy to leader of a doomed garrison. We even see the minor characters in this tale: the Mexican soldiers who fought under the Texas flag; the slaves of Bowie and Travis; the young Mexican soldier who doesn't want to die; Santa Anna's officers who see his fallibility and ultimate cowardice.
These were all noble efforts on the part of Disney. Problem is, they didn't quite pull it off. It's still too much of a Wonderful World of Disney production, with largely uninteresting dialogue and generally weak character development. The acting is pretty good, the production values are not stellar but decent, it's just the script that falls flat. Just when they start to get interesting with one of the characters, they cut away and never go back to what made it interesting.
So I had mixed impressions. I'm glad they didn't go all Toby Keith on us, but they missed the mark on what they did do. 5 out of 10.