“The Alamo”

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric,…

“The Alamo”

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Emilio Echevarria

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

A scout rides up to a ruined fort, finding hundreds of bodies strewn throughout. He races back to the Texan army, bursting into the encampment with cries of “They’re dead, they’re all dead!”

Directed by John Lee Hancock, “The Alamo” remembers the efforts of fewer than 200 men fighting against thousands for Texan independence. General Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) sends a small unit to the Alamo, confident that General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana (Emilio Echevarria) couldn’t possibly move his troops 300 miles in the dead of winter. But the Mexican dictator manages the impossible and surprises the undermanned fort in the spring of 1863.

Lt. Col. William Travis (Patrick Wilson) and James Bowie (Jason Patric) lead the 13-day defense of the Alamo along with living legend Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton). When Santa Ana finally unleashes the full might of his army, the defenders fight to the last man.

Before the siege begins, the tension among the Texans nearly breaks into fisticuffs. Travis and Bowie have different ideas about how to command the volunteers and the regulars, creating factions in the already small forces. But when the cannonballs start to fly, Travis and Bowie have to stop bickering and work to unite the men.

The reconstructed Alamo looks spectacular, as do the lengthy tracking shots through its expanse. During the nights of siege, Santa Ana’s band plays a tune before artillery fire leaves the Alamo riddled with gaping holes. A highlight of the battle scenes is a shot from the perspective of a fired cannonball. The camera sails in a great arc before the ball fills the fort, and the screen, with debris.

Santa Ana fancies himself the “Napoleon of the West,” and he acts it. He pushes forward without regard for the lives of his men or civilians, desperate to conquer General Houston’s forces. When he’s not being ridiculously cruel, he’s enjoying every luxury dictatorship can afford.

A nasty leader is one thing, but we see very little from his men to contrast the heartless attitude. With the exception of a few concerned frowns within the ranks, Santa Ana’s men are never humanized. “The Alamo” primarily presents the Mexican troops as hordes of soldiers marching in perfect order around the fort.

On the Texan side, Hancock gives us developed individuals in whom we can invest some interest. Davy Crockett — actually, he “prefers David” — has a sense of humor up to the bitter end. When Santa Ana struts about the field like “a peacock,” Crockett shoots the bars right off his immaculate uniform.

While men on either side are enthralled by Crockett’s presence, the legend actually isn’t all that incredible. In an interesting dismantling of American myth, the “real” Davy Crockett discloses a tale you won’t find in kids’ books. When he wasn’t riding bolts of lightning or jumping rivers, he was engaging in a brutal slaughter of Native American women and children. After all the gory details are on the table, figures of heroism and adventure suddenly seem a tad less ideal.

After the Alamo is destroyed, Santa Ana pushes onward to destroy the remaining Texan troops. Although General Houston wanted to aid the men besieged at the Alamo, he was more concerned with rallying enough forces to ensure Santa Ana’s defeat. He delayed a dispatch of reinforcements again and again, but recovers his heroism when he moves in for the final battle. While his victory ends the war at last, his inspirational shout of “Remember the Alamo!” still feels a bit ironic.

By establishing who’s who and what the stakes are before jumping into battle, Hancock makes it easy to follow the events of the siege and aftermath. If considered as an account of the Battle of the Alamo from the Texan perspective, “The Alamo” successfully captures the bravery of the men that fell for their cause.