Reviewed by: Joe

Directed by: John Sayles, John Lee Hancock

Produced by: Mark Johnson, Ron Howard

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Emilio Echevarria, Jordi Molla, & Kevin Page

Released: April 9th, 2004

Action/Adventure and Drama 2 hrs. 17 min. The roads cross at San Antonio de Bexar at a small, ruined mission called The Alamo--a place where myth meets history and legend meets reality. In the spring of 1836 nearly 200 Texans--men of all races who believed in the future of Texas--held the fort for thirteen days under siege by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, ruler of Mexico and commander of its forces. Led by three men--the young, brash Colonel William Travis; the violent, passionate James Bowie; and the larger-than-life living legend Davy Crockett--the Texans and their deeds at the Alamo would pass into history as General Sam Houston's rallying cry for Texas independence. As well, their actions would become legend for their symbolic significance.

Remember The Alamo for what it was – the courageous last stand of a group of individuals who saw Texas as a fresh new start away from the dishonorable lives they once lived and free from the oppressive rule of a totalitarian regime. As it was said once before, The Alamo is not for the average movie-goer who every-so-often finds an interest in a historical based drama. This one requires a much keener interest in the subject matter as well as a general knowledge of the events that led up to the event as well as ones that followed in its wake. Though the filmmakers try their best to keep the focus of the film in its historical context, occasionally they veer off course and slip into its mythological aspects, most notably the final scenes of Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, which, as aspirating as they may be, took away from the film’s nearly flawless portrayal.

Another minor complaint would be that the filmmakers did not focus too much on the events after the fall of The Alamo and the defeat of Santa Anna but with running time standing at slightly over two hours, one can see why they may have wanted to wrap it up at the point they did. The Alamo no doubt will have its critical, as well as public, hecklers but their criticism is reserved to the less knowledgeable area of their field that focuses only on what is on the surface and doesn’t require supplemental insight into historical events.