American Outlaws (2001)

Fictional Garbage
While early film offerings, such as "Jesse James," supported the myth, and even some solid recent films, including "The Long Riders," "The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James" and "The Great Northfield Raid," bent facts to condense the story, "American Outlaws" has to qualify as the biggest piece of trash ever made from the standpoint of passing itself off as a serious Western. Mostly, this garbage allowed its cast of pretty faces the opportunity to play "cowboys" like a group of grade-school youngsters. Being a fan of American history, the West in general and the James-Younger Gang in particular, I remember going to see this film when it came out, and the only reason I didn't walk out was to make sure it was trash from start to finish. If you are looking for a Jesse James collection, try those early films and -- by all means -- purchase "The Assination of Jesse James" when available.

A silly western
The Western genre often has unrealistic action sequences, but the producers of American Outlaws watched too many Jackie Chan movies. [[ASIN:B00008IHAW Young Guns (Special Edition)]] pulled off some outrageous stuff with a deft script, but American Outlaws leaves you laughing where you ought to be tense. Who would ever be afraid of Jesse James as played by Colin Farrell? That said, the movie works as a platform to launch new stars. It's engaging enough and has enough moments to keep a viewer's interest and has eye candy for both sexes.

The commentary shows that even movie professionals get star-struck. The people in charge should have spent less time admiring their cast and more time focused on their craft.

[[ASIN:1587369222 The Shopkeeper]]

A silly western
The Western genre often has unrealistic action sequences, but the producers of American Outlaws watched too many Jackie Chan movies. [[ASIN:B00008IHAW Young Guns (Special Edition)]] pulled off some outrageous stuff with a deft script, but American Outlaws leaves you laughing where you ought to be tense. Who would ever be afraid of Jesse James as played by Colin Farrell? That said, the movie works as a platform to launch new stars. It's engaging enough and has enough moments to keep a viewer's interest and has eye candy for both sexes.

The commentary shows that even movie professionals get star-struck. The people in charge should have spent less time admiring their cast and more time focused on their craft.

[[ASIN:1587369222 The Shopkeeper]]