The movie is told in a very good way and is not a cartoon of these men. Hey face it these guys fought and killed people in bars (Bowie), left their wives (Travis), and were politicians who were also legends (Crockett). They were what they were but this movie portrays every one of them as heros.
The only part that someone might not like is that Crockett is portrayed as an ex-congressman who is ready to retire to Texas with his militia aquired 640 acres of his choosing, given by the Texas gov't. He winds up at the Alamo and the situation becomes something he was hoping not to have to deal with. He never allows the men to see it and he fights to the death. He goes out in style, as does Bowie.
A little word of advice, pay attention to the actor who plays Crockett in the PLAY at the begining. He is practicing his lines and he says something that the real Crockett refers to later. I missed it the first time but caught it when I went back to see it again.
Apparently, half the people not seeing it are avoiding it because it is "too patriotic", and some misguided freepers are avoiding it because it's "not patriotic enough"!
I've read a lot of posts on various message boards by people condemning this movie, while they heap praise on John Wayne's hokey version from 1960. That was easily the least accurate Alamo movie ever (though it had moments of great spectacle).
The only problem I had with the movie is that it is apparently truncated from a 3 hr running time to a little over 2 hrs. It never struck me as cut, but apparently, a fuller version would have fleshed out a few characters and details a little better.
Yes, Bowie and Travis each have a slave in the movie, but little is made of the fact that they are slaveholders. It's just depicted as something that happened in those days. The idea of Crockett attempting to start over in Texas after his recent failed congressional campaign seemed perfectly plausible to me, and from what I have read, is basically what happened. the Mexicans are not made out to be heroes, and Santa Anna comes off as cruel and arrogant. A few of his officers are depicted as noble, and resistant to Santa Anna's cruelty, but apparently a few of his officers were gallant and brave and merely cursed with serving under and odious dictator (it reminded me of how it would have been for officers under Stalin). The now-revealed Crockett death was powerful, and the audience I saw it with reacted favorablly to it (though Crockett is bound and on his knees, he is defiant and heroic).
You guys can boycott it if you want for whatever reason (Quaid being too short has to be the lamest one I've heard yet). I think Eisner is an arsehole, too, but I'm not boycotting a movie because of him.