Far better than I'd feared

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2004)

After all the negative press, I went to this film with very low expectations -- but I came away a fan. The panoramic sweep of this film is powerful and subtle, and its ensemble cast is as smooth as the whiskey Sam Houston downs in a single gulp in an early scene.
Billy Bob Thornton steals the show as Crockett, adding both comic moments and a richly somber humility. The period details are very accurate, and the dialogue, unlike that in many period films, actually emulates the locution and rhythm of the nineteenth century quite aptly. It may not be the greatest epic war movie I've seen lately -- but it's good enough to hold its own, and I'm certain I'll want to see it again.