"The Alamo" - Easier to Forget than to Remember
Certain film titles create an expectation level
that demands the offering to be uplifting and
triumphant. Movies like "The Patriot" and "Pearl
Harbor" immediately comes to mind. You expect
large-scale battles, a level of personal
attachment to the characters and their personal
cause, and a story in which everyone fights for
something extraordinary. Now here comes "The
Alamo." And like those other titles, you would
think that this one would stir you in the same
way. But how this film approaches its subject
belies its battle-inspired title. And thus you
come away feeling okay but not totally fulfilled.
Actually, "The Alamo" seems, at the outset,
destined to come across as a bit of hokey
schlock. The inclusion of legendary characters,
Jim Bowie (Jason Patric) and Davey Crockett
(Billy Bob Thornton), give it a sort of folksong
feel. And, for reasons that are not immediately
apparent, the atmosphere never seems as dire as
it plays out to be. Even when Crockett assesses
the situation by stating, "we're going to need
more men," it is more amusing than foreboding.
What mostly diminishes its impact is its story
arc. For the first 4/5 of the film, it never
reaches any great heights. This is not the fault
of the storytellers. Rather, this is a
consequence given the timeline of the film. The
soldiers within the Alamo steadfastly hold their
ground as Mexican forces amass around their
position. The Mexican army, which is led by the
temperamental Santa Anna (Emilio Echevarria),
teases and toys with the small number of
defenders over a 13-day period before engaging
their all-out assault. In one scene, the
commander of the fort, Lt. Col. William Barrett
Travis (Patrick Wilson), gives one of those
morale-building speeches to encourage everyone to
stay the course. We feel a certain sense of doom
as we can see that everyone in the Alamo could
fit into a medium-sized church.
For them, it is two weeks of anxiety as they come
to grips with their desolate situation. It
allows an opportunity for the main characters to
rise above their legendary status and to give us
a peek into their human side. We admire
Crockett's down-to-earth demeanor, sympathize
with Bowie's ailing health, and appreciate
Travis's dedication. During these two weeks, we
also get a peek into Santa Anna's musings about
his duty to his nation and General Sam Houston's
(Dennis Quaid) approach to winning the campaign.
As a battle film, the combat sequences are well
constructed. The aerial views of the unfolding
battle are convincing and provide for gripping
visuals as thousands attempt to rush the Alamo in
never-ending waves of military might. You have
to awe at the Mexican's resolve as well as their
opulent uniforms, which will give you a sense of
how game pieces for the board game Stratego were
derived.
Watching a film like "The Alamo" may allow us to
enrich our cultural understanding of events
surrounding this historically significant event.
But its cause, which resulted in the deaths of
hundreds of combatants, isn't played up as
something very significant. It seemed more of a
selfish battle of hubris carried forth by Santa
Anna and Houston (and neither character is
developed enough). Our belief system never
develops. As a result, "The Alamo" fights hard
to win over the audience. But like that
mission-turned-fort, it's eventually overrun by
outside forces.
Grade: C+
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
========== X-RAMR-ID: 37583 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1271737 X-RT-TitleID: 1131222 X-RT-AuthorID: 1370 X-RT-RatingText: C+
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