Far Better Than It Was Given Credit For

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2019)

"The Alamo" (2004) is not perfect but it's far better than it was given credit for. It is also aesthetically and historically superior to the 1960, John Wayne version of the legend so beloved by hardcore conservatives. In particular, the sequence when the Mexican Army storms the Alamo is the most historically accurate depiction of this confrontation ever put on film.
The film's great flaw is the 12-minute Battle of San Jacinto sequence tacked on at the end. It's just too much and it breaks up the dramatic flow of the movie. It's as if "Braveheart", instead of ending with the martyrdom of William Wallace, had fifteen minutes added on telling the story of Robert Bruce's victory at Bannockburn. The makers of "Braveheart" correctly gave the real-life sequel to Wallace's death about a minute's worth of narration at the very end. John Lee Hancock should have taken the hint.
A minor flaw was the scene where Travis addresses his troops when it becomes obvious that they're not going to be rescued or reinforced before Santa Anna's assault. His self-deprecating and deeply personal speech does not ring true for the character or the period. Nobody talked that way back then, least of all a wannabe hero like William Barrett Travis.
Nitpicking aside, the real problem "The Alamo" (2004) had was that it collided headfirst with the masses' addiction to mythology. Hardcore conservatives rejected it because it humanized the legendary heroes of the Alamo (especially Davy Crockett) while leftists rejected it because it didn't demonize this set of dead white males. And in between these warring political tribes, the great mass of sheeple rejected the movie because it didn't give them enough bang for their buck. If those idiots were going to put down $12 for a flick, they expected to get a lot more sex, violence, special effects and celebrity than "The Alamo" had to offer.
Billy Bob Thornton should have received an Academy Award nomination for his brilliant portrayal of Davy Crockett. Thornton's Crockett is a political and pop culture superstar who feels paralyzed by his own legend and suffocated by his fans to the point he barely knows who he is anymore.
Emilio Echevarría was miscast as Santa Anna (a much younger man in 1836 than Echevarria) but the lines written for his character are quite good and he delivers them with verve. His Santa Anna is an egomaniac whose fascistic and tyrannical tendencies are (partly) compensated for by his genuine love for his country.
The other main characters were basically good but there wasn't enough time to develop them deeply. I've seen most of the movies and miniseries about the Texan Revolution and they all do this, ie choose one or two of the main charactors from the Alamo Mythos and show events from their perspective.
Overall, I rate "The Alamo" a nine on the IMDb scale. Anybody who's interested in Texas, or American folklore, or this period of history will find it well worth their time.