The Alamo | ||||
John Lee Hancock Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Patrick Wilson, Emilio Echevarría, Jordi Mollà, Laura Clifton, Leon Rippy, Kevin Page 2004 |
A newfangled slant on an old-timey epic of the West, "The Alamo" covers much of the same history as the more swashbuckling, über-patriotic 1960 film of the same name, which was directed by John Wayne and featured him as Davy Crockett. The revision with Billy Bob Thornton making a folksy, lasting impression in the Crockett role, while Jason Patric plays an ailing Jim Bowie isn't as concerned with perpetuating myths as it is with debunking them. It tries to be scrupulous and real-to-the-point-of-raw in its portrayal of pivotal battles in the revolution for Texas independence, especially the 1836 bloodbath at the Alamo mission in San Antonio. The defeat of Texan forces at the Alamo, overwhelmed by the Mexican Army under the command of Gen. Santa Ana (Emilio Echevarría), is the centerpiece of the movie. Intermittent scenes of exposition are meant to clarify the politics of the day, and rarely do. The more obscure historical figures depicted come off as ciphers. Brief, fragmented vignettes with secondary characters to add texture are forgotten in the sweep of the conflict. But director John Lee Hancock regains his footing with spectacular sequences set during the siege of the Alamo. He also elicits some memorable bits from Dennis Quaid's Gen. Sam Houston of the Texas Army, Patric's Bowie, and Thornton's Crockett. | |||
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