Pitched Battle

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2004)

The myth, sense of adventure and inherent good vs. evil battle we know today as `The Alamo' has always demanded better treatment by Hollywood. And this film comes as close to depicting the way the siege probably played out far more fairly than we have seen. In that sense this revisit to `The Alamo' is a very welcome addition to the list of movies on the subject.

The casting alone demands some attention. Billy Bob Thornton gives a nice portrayal of the figure we now think Davy Crockett probably was; a man thrust into a pretty sticky situation but due to his own responsibility as a leader plays it out as best he can. Bowie (Jason Patric) adds an element of pathos far superior to any ever portrayed, while Travis (Patrick Wilson) and Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) are far more human  and in Houston's case more brilliant  than we might have considered.
For some reason battle films require sentimental touches, and this version of `The Alamo' is no exception. Nonetheless there would have to be, in a siege of eight days, some time for reflection by participants on both sides. And to the credit of the writers enough humor is injected into the script to balance somewhat this aspect  how to film men waiting - of the 1836 engagement.
Essentially critically dismissed or ignored, `The Alamo' will prove to be one of the very good but highly underrated movies of the year. `The Alamo' delivers in a few minutes a more remarkable feel for what the actual few minutes of pitched battle probably looked and sounded like than we have ever seen. There is a shot from afar, in the early morning light, which dramatically captures the moment the assailants took the mission. And the sensory quality of that few minutes of hellish pandemonium is equal to any seen in a war film, contemporary or not.
As one does when entering this shrine in San Antonio, our hat is off to the fine effort put forth here. Humanizing what was most assuredly an inhumane series of events - the fight for a free Texas - has never been done so well.
Rating: Three Stars