The Spanish-American war is a relatively little known episode. Though of little military importance, it was politically significant and in several ways marked a turning point in American history. Great topic for a movie, yet in this case the end result falls dismally short of what it could have been.<br /><br />Though only made for television, Milius was clearly trying to create an epic. Despite a promising start the movie is essentially much too long and downright tedious. The film-making is extremely conventional to put it mildly. Worse yet, the entire movie is based on the same old stereotypes typical of patriotic Hollywood war movies copied time and again, in this case all put together in an inflated, unrealistic and grotesque jumble.<br /><br />We have seen it all over and over again, from an ex-outlaw evolving into a good soldier, Sam Elliot as the tough cowboy turned sergeant, evil, cowardly German advisors importing the latest in arms technology. Action is often severely overdone in the manner of Victorian propaganda, with troops reciting Shakespeare in the midst of battle. The absolute high point of this absurdity is the figure of Roosevelt, slinging his revolver faster than Wyatt Earp while heroically leading the charge. There are also darker and not quite so subtle themes where Milius' militant patriotism really brings uncomfortable undertones - most notably two scenes of killing prisoners, which is shown as almost glorified or at least self-explanatory.<br /><br />All in all, severely overdone, overblown and tedious to watch unless you enjoy militant propaganda.