Expected more

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This is an historical epic that fans of accuracy have been a tad miffed about. It starts with the aftermath of The Alamo and General Sam Houston deciding to do tactical withdrawals. We get to meet the main players and they are all based on real historical persons - well mostly – as far as I was able to ascertain. We have Brandon Fraser playing a 'half breed' called Billy Anderson of the Texas Rangers and Ray Liotta putting in a very strong performance as Lorca – who goes Mexican killing mental after El Degüello was played by Santa Anna prior to the over running of the Alamo – meaning that no quarter would be given and indeed none was.Then we have the political machinations of the 'gung ho' brigade who wanted to avenge their countryman and take on the Mexicans as soon as possible – versus the caution and strategy of Houston. We also have the Comanche's and their position in all of this – ostensibly from the war path loving young bucks. The makers also throw in a fair bit of love interest and plenty of action too. The guns are proper muzzle loaders too so they have tried to be authentic but some commentators have complained of the 'colour' of the speech as being a bit grand for some of these back woods type people. The plot follows all the way up to the final battle and beyond and leads nicely to the second season which is going to be about the Comanche wars. Now I really enjoyed this but I was not seeing it as being a history lesson. It falls short in places but fine performances all round manage to keep it from being any where near a car crash. The one thing that is truly awful is the location filming; this was done in Mexico and so wildly misrepresents the topography where the conflict actually took place. So if you want a good period romp with a fair smattering of frontier action, then fill your boots, if you want a history lesson then you may want to avoid, and one last mention Kris Kristofferson plays Andrew Jackson albeit fleetingly and the music is quite good too.

This is great and entertaining stuff. I do understand those who complain about historical inaccuracies, but for others who live far away from Texas (such as me) or those who aren't in love with history books this is great TV series with historical background.This stuff shouldn't be rated as some historical documentary. Texas Rising and the other History channel hit "Vikings" deserve genre of their own as they both are great. Even if the scenario has been added with fictional stories and adventures, titles as these are great at recreating the authentic atmosphere of the past. It is great at showing the struggles and problems for people living in Texas in 19th century.On other hand I really enjoyed acting in this TV series as it has some well known actors.Highly recommended even if you aren't bookworm of history.

I actually read one that somehow compared this series to "The Lord of the Rings"... Lol, what dorks! It says right at the outset in plain English that the story is loosely based on historical events i.e. not a documentary; so do any of these ticked off reviewers know what a drama is... I mean besides the one they are personally having over the the production of this movie?!All the egregious inaccuracies aside that somehow defame the great state of Texas in so many ways that I'm not even seeing (but I guess you had to be there... like some of these reviewers think they were), the series was alright; a little slow at points but worth a watch. I didn't like Bill Paxton cast as Sam Houston probably because he looked nothing like the "Actual" Sam Houston who existed hundreds of years ago... also there was a bush in the town of Victoria that shouldn't have been there; seriously just enjoy the movie and don't over-think things... you'll be happier in life.

First, I do want to make it clear that I found the acting performances, on whole, to be quite good. Sam Houston has been portrayed better in prior versions of the Texas Revolution but Bill Paxton does a very credible job when he is sticking to actual historical events and not sliding sideways into the screenwriter fantasies which unfortunately abound in this production. The Ranger characters are uniformly well done. Some might question the range of their individual characters from towering heroes such as the portrayal of Deaf Smith to the less savory characters, but then the early Rangers were sometimes recruited with little or no consideration of their overall "moral nature." Historically, of course, the Rangers did not actually exist as a body until after the Revolution. Austin did have an unofficial group of men who acted as peacekeepers prior to the revolution, but the body as portrayed in the series did not exist.There are fictionalized or marginalized characters inserted for political correctness. I shall not dwell on them. I will note that Juan Sequin is NOT one of them; his portrayal as a patriotic and heroic figure is not included as some type of sop to Hispanics. Juan Sequin was a genuine man of valor and historic stature. His story could be the basis for an exceptional biographical production in itself. He was a Mexican patriot fighting against a man he considered a tyrant even while many of the men he fought alongside looked down upon him because of his Hispanic heritage. I am sure he agonized over this because actual history bears it out. I am not speaking of our current "reconstructed" history which has more to do with modern sensibilities than fact.Including the Comanche and their actions is historically correct but truly grants little to the production. They should be much more active but seem to be shown as "monsters lingering in the background" more than as who and what they represented. They should have been built up or left out; what is shown does no justice to their history, their fight for their culture or the menace they represented to the entire Southwest.Santa Ana is portrayed...well, not that badly. He may be shown as a bit younger than he actually was at the time; he was in his early forties at the time of the Revolution. A figure that is usually portrayed as akin to a monster, the man could be personally charming, and undoubtedly possessed personal courage and charisma to a high degree. He did perpetrate atrocities, but he didn't start in Texas. He had put down multiple rebellious Mexican states before he ever came to Texas and did so with great brutality. The Alamo was not the first time he had prisoners executed out of hand. I do not doubt he saw the Anglos as invading pests, but their greatest sin in his eyes was that they opposed him. He was a figure driven by a towering ego, but then towering egos were hardly in short supply in North America at the time. Andrew Jackson springs to mind.So I accept, generally, the quality of the acting. And generally, the actual flow and time sequence of the Revolution is portrayed fairly accurately. The greatest disconnect is the insistence of the producers in showing Texas as a huge desert-like mountain range. THE American WEST myth grabs hold of this production and shakes it by the throat. The only surprise is it wasn't filmed entirely in Monument Valley, and I suspect it would have been if not for money and availability problems. There ARE mountains in Texas, but they are far to the west of where the actual events took place. There is the Hill country north and west of San Antonio which is fairly arid and does have some rocky terrain. However, the scenes with encampments atop towering plateaus overlooking huge canyons and such just collide with the realities of history. San Jacinto is fairly accurately portrayed; it IS pretty much a swamp. But overall the production is set in terrain which is more akin to Tatooine than central and east Texas. As a native son, it grates. It is like showing Washington at Valley Forge sprawled on a beach catching a few rays and kicking back in the sun.Acting is a plus but the visuals simply drag the entire production down.