Viva Max is a mildly diverting but inconsequential piece of fluff whose main idea the retaking of the Alamo by the Mexicans 130 years after they famously failed to oust Davy Crockett and his mates just doesn't have strong enough legs to carry it much beyond a 20-minute skit. Peter Ustinov an undoubted talent, but not one that was probably not best-suited to film just about avoids slipping into broad caricature. His character is inspired by wounded personal pride rather than national fervour, which effectively shuts off a possibly richer vein of humour, but Ustinov does at least manage to make him kind of believable within the context of the film. There is even an element of pathos toward the climax in the relationship between him and his loyal sergeant (John Astin probably the best thing about this). Jonathan Winters, Harry Morgan and Keenan Wynn clearly don't have Ustinov's keen eye for emphasising the few interesting aspects in their broadly drawn characters and therefore resort to broad farce which weakens things considerably. This one's unlikely to appeal to any casual viewer born after 1970.
Review of Viva Max
