This three-hour, made-for-cable TV in America story of Cuban battles in the Spanish-American War was good enough to sit through once but not edited well enough to see it again.
I say "edited" because, after the short stage-coach robbery scene in the first minute or two, nothing much happens for almost an hour. Then, for the rest of the film - 90 to 120 minutes - it's almost non-stop action. After awhile, with only a few very short lulls, you get tired of it. All the shooting and cannons, etc., become too repetitive and get boring.
Also, for those who assume, as I did, that this film is a biography of sorts of Theodore Roosvelt, before he became President of the United States, might be a bit disappointed. You do see him, and he's a major figure in this long story, but there is no real central character in here. The film gives a fair amount of screen time to a handful of people, not just Teddy. There is no real star in this story.
Tom Berenger must have done a pretty good job because I wouldn't have known it was him had I not read about this before seeing it. Whether it was his pronounced choppers, or odd way of speaking, it didn't sound or look like the actor. However, it was good to get some glimpse of what our former President was like as you don't often see "Teddy" portrayed on film.
This also gave us a good insight on the Spanish-American war, another historic event not often seen on film. I wonder how many people even know that "San Juan Hill," which helped make Roosevelt famous, is located in Cuba?
For a TV-film, the action scenes were well-done and it appeared no expenses were spared in making this movie. A little more action in the first hour, and a little less in the next two, would have made this film more interesting.
