Sort of funny how this movie is somewhat of a semi-classic but most people can still agree on it that it's being far from a perfect movie.
There were countless problems I had with this movie and most of them could be blamed on John Wayne. No I am not talking about his acting but fact is that he directed this movie as well and the movie is filled with some storytelling flaws, that prevent this movie from ever becoming an involving one.
Fact about its story also remains that there was no good reason for it to be as long as it was. The movie is literally a 2 hour and 15 minutes buildup to an only 15 minutes short battle, that is over before you know it. Besides, the final 15 minutes makes its very long buildup feel very pointless as well. It spends a lot of time on character development, without ever really telling you anything the characters, or make them likable enough to care for any of them. It's also perhaps due to it that none of the characters feel 'real' enough. No one seems to be afraid to die and in fact all behave incredibly heroic and seem to be proud and happy to give their lives. This is of course a problem with a lot of Wayne productions.
The lack of a sense of true treat and despair makes this movie a somewhat shallow one but yet I can't really say that it's being a horrible movie as well. Despite the movie being way longer than it should had been, it never becomes a slow or boring one. The movie also does definitely still has its moments but overall it remains a lacking production of a true historical event, that deserved a far better treatment. Quite amazing that after so many years there still isn't a truly great Alamo movie yet. Oh well, at least this movie still remains better than the most recent 2004 version.
The acting is being a bit a mixed bag in this one. The only consistently good performance comes from Laurence Harvey, while John Wayne himself is really lacking at parts. The same really goes for some of the movie its supporting actors, who really were horrendous. But this is something a lot of '50's and '60's movies were suffering from, so perhaps it isn't really fair to hold any of that against this movie.
It's really far from a great movie but it remains definitely a watchable one.
7/10
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