I absolutely hate the original Alamo movie, it bores the hell out of me, on that shortlist of classics I hate with The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape. I used to think it was because of John Wayne, whose movies in general I dislike, but then I saw True Grit and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. As for this remake, I really didn’t expect a lot from it. To me, even though it’s a famous event and place and story, the idea of The Alamo never seemed very intriguing to me. But I was pretty blown away by the movie. For me, it definitely beats out the original, for the simple fact that I can see myself watching it many times again.

Billy Bob Thornton excels as Davy Crockett, and there are some killer showstopping scenes, as when, early on, Colonel Travis shows his heroism by picking up an unexploded missile and orders the men to fire it right back; or later, when Crockett realises what’s missing from the Mexican’s pre-attack music and begins to play violin alongside, resulting in a night without violence (“It’s amazing what a little harmony can do.”) This goes down for me with Man on Fire and A Different Loyalty on the list of 2004 Movies That Won’t Win Oscars But Should.

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