Review by Matt Cummings
For something whose name suggests they should hold the monopoly on truth, The History Channel seems enamored with constantly telling its own embellished version of America's story. From the terribly-inaccurate Sons of Liberty to The Hatfields and McCoys, History doesn't quite get that our story doesn't need a dramatic touch to be excellent. Such is the case with Texas Rising, the 10-hour, 5-parter mega story that mires us in dirt, filth, and soap-opera dialogue while doing very little to tell us the real story of Texas' genesis. Starting off with the longest dialogue crawl in recent memory (it goes on like Dark Helmet's ship in Spaceballs),
Texas Rising sets us immediately into the center of The Alamo, the fort which Mexico General Santa Anna (Olivier Martinez)had destroyed in 1836. Word gets back to the commander of the resistance Sam Houston (Bill Paxton), who is hesitant to take on Santa Anna's overwhelming forces, much to the chagrin of Juan Seguin (Raul Mendez) and others.
But that not Houston's only problem: his former mistress Emily D. West (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) returns to him as a victim of The Alamo, ready to spy for him. As word reaches Washington and President Andrew Jackson (Kris Kristofferson) - who must decide whether to intervene on Texas' behalf - others like the crazed, vengeful Alamo survivor Lorca (Ray Liotta) and the Houston loyalist “Deaf” Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) must wage their special brands of war before Santa Anna's men turn the tide of the war. With such an impressive lineup, one might think this one is set to rake in the Emmys. From our advance copy of the first two episodes, it's unlikely.
There is so much embellishment here that it's hard to tell if any of Houston's foot soldiers ever existed. Emily's interactions with Houston are entirely made up, with History attempting to relate her to the mythical, so-called “Yellow Rose of Texas." However this woman of color is imagined by History as an active player in the revolt, and while it's acceptable there's far more interesting stories going on. Addai-Robinson does turn in a nice performance, her glowing eyes and sultry style colliding with Houston's more rugged background. Paxton, who's grown into quite a good actor, plays the short-supplied Houston with as much vigor as Paxton can muster. For him, men are to be commanded and led, not educated or inspired. Even the imagined Lorca is just plain out there, his over-the-top performance achieving nothing to explain his plight, other than to slaughter Mexicans for their assault on The Alamo. What saves this from becoming a soap opera is Morgan, who plays the deaf solider with an equal amount of grace and power.
He really steals every scene he's in, shining brightest when he's at home with his wife Lupe. Their rather pleasant scenes together are in stark contrast to the near-madman performance of Martinez as Santa Anna, whom we know was a hard-nosed leader but not the border-psychotic portrayed here. But at its heart, Rising desires to imagine blanks that have already been filled in with far more interesting historical truths than what we're ultimately given. What consistently bugs me about these kinds of programs is their heavy reliance on trying to make the topic even more interesting by embellishing them or adding drama where none previously existed. What a mistake: history is filled with so many interesting stories that no creative team could imagine; telling these by simply allowing their actors to read their lines from old documents or journals would be far more interesting and satisfying than what Texas Rising appears to be delivering. Some might counter that this sort of storytelling increases fan interest in the subject; that's true, until they research it and realize just how more interesting the 'source material' is. That's a waste.
Texas Rising was originally announced as a eight-hour miniseries. If an early look tells us anything about what's ahead, this one's shortcomings and embellishments could be its downfall. As episode 2 concludes, Houston implores his men to, "follow me a little longer down this twisted, bloody road." I can't imagine the boredom faced so far will keep many viewers focused on the same objective.
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