Reviews
Peter McGinn

Peter McGinn

April 5, 2020
8.0
Welcome to the murky middle ground where legend and history meet. I enjoyed this movie as an earnest attempt to tell this iconic legend in a slightly different way. Its variance from the legend may make cinema purists uncomfortable, but I have read a lot about the Alamo over the past 40 years and don't feel threatened by it. History, after all, is written by the winners. I think the last scene with Davy Crockett is based on a book by a Mexican soldier, but I am not 100% sure. Some historians suggest the battle was begun while everyone slept and was over in minutes. The first best selling biography of David Crockett (his descendants say he never went by Davy, that that was a Walt Disney concept) may have made up some of the legend now accepted as nearly factual. I like the line Billy Bob Thornton as David Crockett gives about the burden of being Crockett, the legendary Crockett, that is, rather than the private Crockett he is not allowed to be. It is just as well that the battle turned out to be such a rallying cry for Sam Houston's army, because it doesn't feel like it accomplished much else. Well, except for providing material for an entertaining movie, that is.
r96sk

r96sk

August 14, 2020
5.0
Didn't enjoy this. 'The Alamo', to me at least, is an incredibly slow-paced and rather boring 137 minutes. Not even the free-for-all action sequences bring any true entertainment, due to the chaotic filming nature of them; I get there's supposed to be pandemonium, but the camera work is a mess. Another negative to note is the score, which is one of the poorest I've heard. It's so soppy and full of itself at times it makes it almost unwatchable, though in fairness isn't helped by the direction. I get they were attempting to show the lives of the people involved, but two-second dialogues and dramatic music doesn't attach you to characters. The cast don't do anything majorly wrong, but I couldn't find a connection with any of them. Billy Bob Thornton is probably the best in this, as he portrays Davy Crockett. Dennis Quaid doesn't get enough to work with as Sam Houston, while none of the others standout - not even Emilio Echevarría as Santa Anna. This should be edge-of-your-seat stuff, it isn't - at least for me.
CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

September 4, 2023
6.0
Unfortunately, you have to compare this with the John Wayne version from 1960, and it doesn't really hold up very favourably. Patrick Wilson is Colonel Travis trying to command a garrison of Texan freedom fighters holed up in an old Catholic Mission against the overwhelming forces of Mexican General Santa Anna. His task is made the harder by the fact that he is a bit inept, and has some very strong characters to try to lead - not least Davy Crockett (Tommy Lee Jones) and Jim Bowie (Jason Patric). Unlike the earlier version, this story takes us beyond the well told story of the siege, and as such better completes the story of the birth of Texas as an independent state. Better, but as to the acting - well that is all pretty mediocre, sterile even. The dialogue is wordy and lacking in much humour and these undoubted characters are underplayed by all concerned. The production is of an high standard - it looks good, but all told it comes across as a television movie frequently peppered with large scale re-enactments that would not be out of place supporting a country fair.

Recommendation Movies

6.3
Drama
View
6.3
Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals2003
5.8
Family
View
5.8
Alaska
Alaska1996
6.4
Drama
View
6.4
Box 507
Box 5072002
5.7
Horror
View
5.7
Anatomy 2
Anatomy 22003
5.7
Drama
View
5.7
The Game of Their Lives
The Game of Their Lives2005
8
Documentary
View
8
Christoph Waltz - The Charm of Evil
Christoph Waltz - The Charm of Evil2021
5.9
Comedy
View
5.9
Bad News Bears
Bad News Bears2005
6.3
Western
View
6.3
Geronimo: An American Legend
Geronimo: An American Legend1993
7.4
Comedy
View
7.4
Ball of Fire
Ball of Fire1941
7
Drama
View
7
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit2003
6.8
War
View
6.8
Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain1969
5.9
Adventure
View
5.9
Red Scorpion
Red Scorpion1988
6
Comedy
View
6
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1
National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 11993
6.1
Family
View
6.1
Asterix and the Vikings
Asterix and the Vikings2006
6.3
War
View
6.3
Windtalkers
Windtalkers2002
6.8
Drama
View
6.8
Ali
Ali2001
6.3
Action
View
6.3
Behind Enemy Lines
Behind Enemy Lines2001
6.1
Horror
View
6.1
The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror2005
5.9
Action
View
5.9
Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days2004
5.9
War
View
5.9
Alexander
Alexander2004
© 2024 MoovieTime. All rights reserved.Made with Nuxt