Director: Christopher Cain
Starring: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips
Year: 1988
Nothing was quite as cool in the 80s as Young Guns, a film with a thousand celebrities and a million ideas, thrown together to see what would stick, and I’ll tell ya, not much did. It’s more an impressive get-together than an actually awesome movie, as the plot’s all over the place and the history is suspect and you’re just holding on for the ride. Whoever once thought that Emilio Estevez was a great actor and could helm a hundred movies was some sort of genius, because they’re laughing out the other side of their face now, and we’re left with a ton of crappy footage.
In the late 1800s in New Mexico, lawlessness wasn’t just relegated to bandits, it came in the form of evil men who tried to take everything for their own, and would kill you as soon as look at you. John Tunstall was not that kind of man, he was educated, ran a store, had a ranch, and took in young men who he saw as something better than their harsh lives had made them. When he was killed, his boys vowed to avenge his death, even if that meant going up against the powerful Mr. Murphy and his large gang. But fight them they did, and legends did they become, especially one young gun named William Bonney, soon to be known as Billy the Kid.
As far as a cool origin story goes, Young Guns isn’t so bad, especially after you watch the second (which is much better) and learn to appreciate Billy for what he is; a legend, a goof, a brave soul, a callous heart. But that’s not until you see #2, meanwhile this movie is pretty terrible, all except for the building up of a mythical man. The acting is (obviously mostly) bad, given the talent on display (excepting the veterans): Estevez, Sutherland, Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Terance Stamp, Jack Palance, Terry O’Quinn, Brian Keith. The music is silly, the feel is rocky, the story meanders, it’s a big overblown Western overload, with language that sounds bizarre and deaths by the hundreds. All in all, a weird little genre piece that mostly seems out of place and very commercial, with little talent and less skill. Stay for Part II though, because that’s when the frolic turns to fun and the story improves enough to really enjoy.
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆