The film Text copyright Filmverdict 2006-2007. Any film stills are copyright of their respective owners. Used without permission, sorry!
Historical dramas are hazardous concepts. If you change too much, you lose the interest of the history buffs who know the real sequence of events inside out. If you leave things as they ocurred, you run the risk of bogging everything down with small details and boring everyone else because cinematic translations do not always run smoothly. The latter point contributes to the downfall of this film but the signs are not as tragic as the box-office of the film suggests - nearly a $26 million return on a $107 million production budget. The inexperienced John Lee Hancock shot over 100 hours of footage on the largest constructed set in North America and consequently tried to produce a film of 137 minutes in the editing room, which is asking for trouble with such an epic movie of an intimate subject. The odd editing we are greeted with lacks cohesion and subplots seemingly start without venturing anywhere. His flair extends to the welcome idea of a "cannonball camera" which delivers a nice shot of the whole Texan landscape at one point, but overall the director's skills never reflect the inevitable destiny which awaits the brave defenders, as their killers, quite literally, are on the doorstep of The Alamo.
Nevertheless, even though the historical accuracy is seen as quite valid, The Alamo is more of a character study. Like Titanic (1997) the result is a foregone conclusion for audiences, but in a similar way to how James Cameron operates, Hancock puts forward characterisation before spectacle, with the impressive Alamo replica failing to infiltrate the psychology of the battle to a noticeable extent - it's merely part of the backdrop. Even though the dialogue is very inconsistent in quality, Billy Bob Thornton's Davy Crockett convinces. Thornton tries to downplay the legend of Davy Crockett, but like the real American hero, he was unable to escape the legacy. This is epitomized in a scene where Crockett says, "If it was just me, simple old David from Tennessee, I might drop over that wall some night, take my chances. But that Davy Crockett fella... they're all watchin' him". Thornton, along with Jason Patric's James Bowie and Patrick Wilson's William B. Travis all do their best for men certainly aware that they will be killed at The Alamo when reinforces are not sent, but the script doesn't provide them with enough ammunition (excuse the pun) to shine. Dennis Quaid's Sam Houston is the weakest link however, portraying "The First Texan" as more feeble and cowardly than history states. Those more educated in the history of Texas may state that his choice not to send troops to the aid of those at The Alamo was more sensible than doing so, and I do take their point as he went on to defeat Santa Anna (played by Emilio Echevarria) in 18 minutes which is conveyed at the film's conclusion. However, something seems missing from Quaid's performance as a Texan hero and he only seems to be present in the film to give Hancock the chance to include the successful Battle of San Jacinto for a happy Hollywood ending. Echevarria's Santa Anna is well portrayed considering how he obeys every sort of propaganda stereotype imaginable, and the choice to see his Mexicans as "chickens" and sacrifice them before the supposedly impressive twelve-pound canon can arrive illustrates a Latin temper of a very serious, yet somewhat realistic degree.
The extras
The "Making Of" documentary is 18 minutes of engaging enough stuff but the "Alamo: A Tour of the Set" featurette is just an excuse for those involved to state how impressive and gigantic the set was. The four deleted scenes with the option of a director commentary are nice but Hancock was correct in stating that if they were included in the finished film, the tension would have dwindled considerably. No commentary is included on the disc.
The summary
The Alamo never demands enough emotive investment as Hancock tries to cram the narrative to the point where the whole film suffers. A relatively precise lesson in dire need of coherent editing.
