I love Westerns, even if they fall a little short of my expectations. Such is the case with American Outlaws. I was expecting a serious Western drama, but instead got a lighthearted,sometimes amusing take on the Jesse James legend.
There's nothing new in the retelling of the legend, but it's younger generation slant is something different. The outlaws in this film are barely out of their teens.
The cast is headed by newcomer Colin Farrell, an Irish lad.The minute I saw this young man exercising his acting chops as a rebellious Vietnam recruit in Joel Schumacher's TIGERLAND,I knew he was going to be big.Although his role in American Outlaws doesn't demand any kind of a stretch, he has some more impoortant roles down the road. Look for him to appear with Kevin Spacey in ORDINARY DECENT CRIMINAL, then he co-stars with Bruce Willis in HART'S WAR. After that he plays opposite Tom Cruise in a Speilberg film, then another film is planned with Al Pacino.So you can see, this guy is really turning heads in Hollywood.On camera he sounds American, but off camera he speaks with a native Irish brogue. Farrell's co-star in American Outlaws is Scott Caan, who is looking more and more like his dad every day.
As I said, there's nothing new here on the Jesse James legend. The railroad people are the bad guys,trying to snap up valuable farmland,whose farmers are mostly Confederate veterans.But the film also trys to focus on the conflict between Jesse(Farrell) and Cole Younger (Caan),over who should lead the gang, but I never found this conflict all that convincing.Still, there are amusing moments, especially one where Cole Younger complains that they are being referred to as the James-Younger gang. One of the outlaws says," Do we want them to call us the Younger James gang ?" The film also co-stars Timothy Dalton as Alan Pinkerton. Director,Les Mayfield, got this part of history correct. He has Dalton portray Pinkerton as a Scotsman, which inseed he was. Acting wise, Dalton also seemed to have the meatiest role.
The film is shot in monochromatic colors, and some of the darker scenes are almost a sepiatone.There's plenty of action in this 95 minute flick, and you can tell the actors are having a hell of a time.Especially Farrell , who spent a lot of time learning how to ride and shoot like a veteran.
For sound, you can choose between a DTS or DD 5.1 track. I chose DTS but later checked some scenes in the DD 5.1 mode and really couldn't hear a difference.And although it doesn't say 5.1EX anywhere on the box, it does say the soundtracks were remastered for home theater, and there's plenty of action in the surrounds, including the back channel.
This film won't win any awards, but it's a rip snortin' Western that goes well with a bowl of popcorn and a coke... or something stronger, if you like.
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There's nothing new in the retelling of the legend, but it's younger generation slant is something different. The outlaws in this film are barely out of their teens.
The cast is headed by newcomer Colin Farrell, an Irish lad.The minute I saw this young man exercising his acting chops as a rebellious Vietnam recruit in Joel Schumacher's TIGERLAND,I knew he was going to be big.Although his role in American Outlaws doesn't demand any kind of a stretch, he has some more impoortant roles down the road. Look for him to appear with Kevin Spacey in ORDINARY DECENT CRIMINAL, then he co-stars with Bruce Willis in HART'S WAR. After that he plays opposite Tom Cruise in a Speilberg film, then another film is planned with Al Pacino.So you can see, this guy is really turning heads in Hollywood.On camera he sounds American, but off camera he speaks with a native Irish brogue. Farrell's co-star in American Outlaws is Scott Caan, who is looking more and more like his dad every day.
As I said, there's nothing new here on the Jesse James legend. The railroad people are the bad guys,trying to snap up valuable farmland,whose farmers are mostly Confederate veterans.But the film also trys to focus on the conflict between Jesse(Farrell) and Cole Younger (Caan),over who should lead the gang, but I never found this conflict all that convincing.Still, there are amusing moments, especially one where Cole Younger complains that they are being referred to as the James-Younger gang. One of the outlaws says," Do we want them to call us the Younger James gang ?" The film also co-stars Timothy Dalton as Alan Pinkerton. Director,Les Mayfield, got this part of history correct. He has Dalton portray Pinkerton as a Scotsman, which inseed he was. Acting wise, Dalton also seemed to have the meatiest role.
The film is shot in monochromatic colors, and some of the darker scenes are almost a sepiatone.There's plenty of action in this 95 minute flick, and you can tell the actors are having a hell of a time.Especially Farrell , who spent a lot of time learning how to ride and shoot like a veteran.
For sound, you can choose between a DTS or DD 5.1 track. I chose DTS but later checked some scenes in the DD 5.1 mode and really couldn't hear a difference.And although it doesn't say 5.1EX anywhere on the box, it does say the soundtracks were remastered for home theater, and there's plenty of action in the surrounds, including the back channel.
This film won't win any awards, but it's a rip snortin' Western that goes well with a bowl of popcorn and a coke... or something stronger, if you like.
My Homepage!
