A dismal and boring account of a historical event

Rating: 3/10 (28 December 2004)

I consider myself quite open minded when it comes to film genres, as I will, basically, watch anything regardless of what type of film it is. Of course, I have my preferences; but I believe that a good film will shine through whatever genre it hails from. However, if I was to choose a genre as my 'least favourite', historical period drama would probably take the honours. That, coupled with the fact that I consider American history to be one of the most boring subjects ever means that, basically, I am in the wrong movie with The Alamo. However, since I have spent two hours of my life watching this film, I feel I have the right to comment, and that is something I intend to do:
Basically, this film suffers because it's BORING. If you're going to tackle a dull subject, the least you can do is tackle it in a way that is going to be interesting for the audience. Intrigue can be accomplished via a number of methods; character development is one of them, a strong story is another; but this film manages to capitalise on neither. Main characters die and major events happens and, quite frankly, I couldn't care less. This is not good for a film that is supposed to be portraying an important historical event. The Alamo also gives off a very 'cheap' impression, and that coupled with the fact that it received an almost completely incognito release makes the audience feel that they have stumbled upon a made for TV film. The fact that the battles are poorly, and very much under, done doesn't exactly bode well for the film either. This film is also a personal landmark for Dennis Quaid, as it is his second terrible film of 2004 (the other being, obviously, The Day After Tomorrow). At least Billy bob Thornton approaches his role with gusto, but his over-American performance hardly saves it.
Basically, you could do something better with this part of your life. If the subject of The Alamo interests you, then I recommend finding a book on the subject or maybe even checking out one of the earlier films, as they're bound to be better than this dismal affair.