Remember The Revisited Alamo

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2005)

The first time I saw this film I felt a little deflated. It seemed to me that they had turned an undeniably heroic stand into a sort of unexciting event. I've seen the movie twice since on tape, and have liked it a lot better, finding it thoughtful, intelligent, well-acted and probably closer to the truth of the matter than any other films on the subject. In other words, it grew on me. A decision was obviously made to tell a revisionist, thinking person's story, not a flag-waving one. I suspect that many thinking persons will enjoy this 'Alamo', whereas those seeking a more traditional action film with the usual heroics will be disappointed. This is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is honorable and tries to tell an honest story. The depictions of Bowie and Crockett are fascinating and intentionally anti-myth. My favorite scene in the movie is Billy Bob Thornton as David Crockett with his violin on the Alamo wall. My greatest complaint about the film is that they could have livened up and dramatized the actual battle more without compromising anything, just heightening the picture. The final assault is curiously flat and uninvolving -- sort of matter-of-factly told. All-in-all, a fair effort and decent telling ... but it seems to me it should have been higher adventure. I think the definitive version is still yet to be made.