Who's In It?

Colin Farrell is Jesse James, Scott Caan as Cole Younger, Ali Larter as Zee, Timothy Dalton is Allan Pinkerton.  

Who Made It?

Les Mayfield

Where's The Web site?
American Outlaws

What's It About?

It's time to head back to the west again.  Westerns, as a genre, have been explored on a number of occasions throughout the years, so now it's time for the 2001 incarnation, American Outlaws. 

In American Outlaws it's back to the old west and Liberty, Missouri.  Jesse James (Farrell) and his brother Frank (Macht) were fighting during the Civil War on behalf of the South.  After the surrender to the Union, Jesse and Frank go back home to help out on the farm again with their mom (Bates).  Only the war has changed things, and now there is a ruthless railroad executive that is building the "gateway" to the west, and is very interested in the properties of a number of the residents of Liberty.  The deal that is offered to the residents is anything but fair, and the James Younger Gang is formed to take on Allan Pinkerton (Dalton) and the rest of the railroad muscle.  Who will win?  You'll have to see the new set of outlaws that are the bad boys of the west.  These are the new people to stick up for the little guys, these are the American Outlaws.

Common Guy's Thoughts

Another film that visits the exploits of one Frank and Jesse James can't be all bad can it?  Of course not!  American Outlaws gives us another spin on the legend that is Jesse James.  It is great to get back to the old west in movies, as this setting allows for a good deal of fun and an even better deal of action..

The plot here is very simplistic.  Boys go to war, come back, defend mom's home, become modern day Robin Hood's.  When you see this type of a film, the plot is almost secondary as this is a film that is about western action and lots of it.  (Oh yeah there is a love story side plot thrown in as well.)

The creators of American Outlaws made a very wise move by going with a highly unrecognizable cast, as actors with bigger names might have carried their own images into the roles of Frank and Jesse James and the gang.  This is meant to have the actors work on their own to establish their characters instead of having the viewer come to the film with any preconceived notions of the actors.  Farrell brings Jesse James to life as a character that leads by example, but follows his brother Frank's lead when necessary.  Scott Caan is a great addition as Cole Younger, the other half of the James/Younger gang.  The whole gang does a good job of showing us how egos and personal preferences can get in the way of some simple robberies. They show us how even in the old west, celebrities were revered no matter why they became popular. 

So after everything I've said, you ask "Paul did you like the film?"  Yes, but only marginally.  I thought there were too many dead parts within the film  and that keeps the film from being truly great.  I loved the casting, and I liked some of the action sequences.  Overall you wouldn't be wasting your time with this film, but don't rush to see it either.  There is one thing that is true about Jesse James though, he's an outlaw, one of the American Outlaws.

Grade

C+

Parents Guide

Rated PG-13 for western violence.  Western violence can include a lot of gunplay, as this film does.  Thus the gunplay usually results in a number of dead bodies, and there are no shortage of those here.  But overall American Outlaws isn't that bad outside of the violent gunplay that exists in a number of scenes.
 

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