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Movie Review - The Alamo
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
John Lee Hancock |
| Starring: |
Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric, and Patrick Wilson |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (sustained intense battle sequences) |
| Length: |
137 minutes |
| Genre: |
Historical Drama |
| Website: |
The Alamo |
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PLOT
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A small group of ordinary men (well, and some military men who are trained for this sort of thing) defend
a city against the entire Mexican Army. Yeah, they lose.
Johnny's note: HOLY CRAP! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST RUINED
THE END OF THE MOVIE! Oh well, a predictable historical epic ensues.
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MS. CALI'S TAKE
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Disclaimer: I saw this movie back in October or November, when it was originally slated for a Christmas
2003 release. The release was pushed back until April 9, because the director or producer or whoever
wanted to do some more editing on it. While I will say that some editing was needed when I saw the movie
(mostly adding in some of the sound effects and finishing touches), it disturbs me that they thought it
needed so much editing they couldn't release it until April. That said, I am basing this review on the
movie I saw in October. Once I see the final version, if I have changed my mind about anything, I will
write a new review.
Johnny's note: Hello, Johnny here. *All of Johnny's
female fans start hootin' and hollerin'* Thank you, thank you. I want to add that I
just saw a screening of "The Alamo" (on April 6), and the version I saw was a little over 2 hours long.
I have no idea what may have been cut, but I heard that 1/3 of the movie was edited out.
Remember the Alamo! It's a saying that has gone down in history. Most of us have heard it, even if we
don't quite know what it means. For some, the story is as familiar as that one our grandpa used to tell
us, over and over again (you know the one). For others it was a brief blurb in American History during
our school days. For still others, it may not even be that much. No matter, after this movie, we will
all remember the Alamo (bad pun, I know. Sue me ... you can have whatever Johnny pays me for these reviews.
It is my goal to use that phrase as many times in this review as possible, so you'll just have to get
over it right now).
Johnny's note: If you decide you want to sue Ms. Cali for
her excited use of the "Remember the Alamo" phrase, then just let me know and we'll avoid all litigation
and I'll send you her big, fat paycheck. Or, you can just open up an empty envelope you already have at
home and save me the stamp. Same difference.
The Alamo is definitely one of those big blockbuster movies that is usually released around Christmas
or in the summer. It's not quite Lord of the Rings, but not the type of movie we usually get in April.
It's rather long for one thing. Not that that is a bad thing. One of the biggest tests a movie has to
go through for me is whether or not I am bored with it before the end. Even the best movies seem too
long for me (you know, they should end most movies about 30-45 minutes before they actually do). In
this case however, there was no boredom for me. Being a history buff, I naturally was prepared to like
the movie, but I was not prepared to like it as much as I did.
Johnny's note: I must say that while I was never really
bored, I did feel that the movie was a little slow-paced at times, and I was eager for the battle
scenes to begin. But being very familiar with the history behind the story, I was able to follow
along without falling asleep like I do at some movies *COUGHhellboyHACK*
Let's talk about the acting for a minute. Billy Bob Thornton (Davy Crockett) delivers what I think is
his finest performance so far. I am going to make a big prediction here and say that he will win the
Oscar for Best Actor next year for this movie.
Johnny's note: Wow, that is a pretty big prediction. You
working for Billy Bob now? Billy Bob did a good job, but I'd advise you not to put any money on your
prediction!
The rest of the cast is right up to par with him. Jason Patric (Jim Bowie) and Dennis Quaid (General
Sam Houston) both give excellent performances. The only complaint I had as far as the acting is concerned
is that I did not think that Dennis Quaid was feeling his character quite as much as everyone else. To
me, Billy Bob WAS Davy Crockett, but Dennis Quaid was Dennis Quaid playing Sam Houston. He was still
very good though. One of my favorites in the movie was newcomer Patrick Wilson as Lt. Col. Travis,
leader of the military stationed in San Antonio (he was nominated for an Emmy for his role in the HBO
special "Angels in America," so apparently somebody else is seeing what I saw in his acting).
I'm not going to get into the story too much here, since most of us basically know what happens (and
if you don't, you'll find out when you see the movie). But one of the things the director was striving
for was to portray the story as accurately as possible, and I think he did a pretty good job. Of
course, a story is always told from a particular point of view, so accuracy is a subjective thing.
But for the story they wanted to tell, they did a decent job. They recreated the Alamo as it was in
1836, only changing a few things necessary for filming. The story is as accurate as it can be,
although there are some holes in what we know that they had to make up. None of the changes are
major however, and none detract from the movie at all.
As far as the special effects, well there aren't really all that many of them. Everything leads up to
a big battle scene (I don't think I'm giving too much away by saying that), which is pretty phenomenal,
even without millions of Orcs and Elephants. There's some great cinematography too. One of my favorite
parts was a shot of the men standing on the wall of the Alamo, the sun setting in the background,
making them almost shadows. Many parts of this movie are beautiful like that, but the movie also does
a good job of portraying the horrors of war. It was never too bloody or graphic for me, but the
emotions it evokes do just as good a job as all the blood and gore in the world could.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Would Johnny's mama like it? I don't think there's really anything in this movie that would make her not
like it. It's been a while, so I don't remember how much bad language there was. I'm sure there was some,
but the overall effect of the story tends to downplay that quite a bit. Would I bring the kids to it?
Probably not - it might be a bit too heavy for them.
Johnny's note: There's nothing too offensive here. A couple
of "s" words and a handful of mild profanities. My dad and 9-year-old brother also attended the screening.
My brother said he liked the movie. I'm a little surprised he didn't get bored. I don't think most kids
would enjoy it.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer they were showing in theaters before Christmas pretty much covered it. What you saw was
basically it. However, I don't think the trailer they've been showing on TV recently really captures
the emotional aspect of this film. Be prepared for that ... otherwise, the movie is pretty much about what
the trailer shows.
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JOHNNY'S TWO CENTS
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"The Alamo" is a good, not great, movie. It didn't have quite the emotional impact on me that I hoped it
would. Stephanie is from Texas, and she felt the same way. There just seems to be something about the
pacing that doesn't flow as smoothly as I would've liked. I never truly got the feeling that the Alamo
defenders had been inside the walls for 13 days, and the movie could've done a better job of showing
the reasons why these men were willing to die behind the walls of an old, abandoned church.
Not surprisingly, there are some historical inaccuracies. For one, I really doubt Davy Crockett played the
fiddle along with the Mexican Army's band while standing atop the Alamo. It's a funny scene though. Also,
all historical accounts state that Crockett died while fighting. "The Alamo" portrays him as being captured
and then killed. Don't worry, the movie doesn't get so politically correct as to have him beg for
his life or anything. I was scared of that, but thankfully, he died bravely.
The biggest omission in the movie is William Barrett Travis drawing a line in the sand with his sword
and asking those who are willing to die to cross over the line. All but one man crossed the line.
A sick Jim Bowie, legend says, even had his cot carried across the line. The only man not to cross
the line was Louis Rose, a French man who'd served in Napoleon's army. Wow, a French man was the one
man not willing to fight? Surprise, surprise! Anyway, Rose escaped with his life and told the story.
In the movie, Travis does say that anybody who doesn't want to fight can leave, but the scene is not
as powerful as it could've been had they gone with the "line in the sand" story. Why was this left
out? I don't know, but it is most unfortunate.
Overall, I enjoyed "The Alamo," especially when the fighting started. I'm just disappointed that it didn't
leave me feeling as charged up and patriotic as something like Mel Gibson's "The Patriot." If you have
no interest or knowledge in the history of the Alamo, then I fear that this movie will not give you a
satisfactory reason as to why so many men were willing to die, and you might find yourself asking why *you*
should be willing to invest your interest in the movie.
I give it a 3 out of 5. But I'll let Ms. Cali finish with her gist...
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THE GIST
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I said when I originally saw "The Alamo" that it was the best movie I'd seen that entire year, and I'm
going to stick with that. The story is well told, the acting is superb, and the quality of the movie is
much higher than most of the movies that are made these days. I give it two thumbs up. So the next time
you are trying to decide what movie you want to see, remember The Alamo!
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