Young Guns
Historians have long debated the true nature of the legendary Western figure that was Billy The Kid, about whether he was a Robin Hood-type outlaw that fought for what he thought was right, or whether he was a psychotic killer that used the injustices of his time to satisfy and fulfill his own bloodlust. This 1988 Western Classic attempts to look at the character both ways, and in doing so becomes the best, most accurate depiction of William H. Bonneyâs story ever, with Emilio Estevez taking his chunk of cinematic history as the best portrayal of The Kid as well. Taking place in the early period of his run as a New Mexico outlaw during what history has recorded as The Lincoln County Cattle War, ostensibly a dispute between competing businesses in the cattle trade that escalated into an all out bloody massacre with killings taking place this way and that. It was how The Kid first made a name for himself, when after his boss and mentor John Tunstall is killed and his Regulators are duly deputized to bring his killers to justice, The Kid led them on an all-out killing spree, slaughtering these men in order to instill fear and take the fight to the enemy. Estevez brilliantly balances both the insane and righteous side of the character, at once both charismatic, hilarious, and even at times, chilling, maintaining a single-minded determination to keep on fighting and killing no matter how much the odds get stacked against them. To this end the script fleshes out his relationships with the other five men, as even though in real life there were no less than eleven Regulators at any given time, having six members in the movie allows the chemistry and camaraderie to flow in a brilliantly evocative way, successfully highlighting the prevailing themes of loyalty and the bonds of brotherhood in a unified cause, and all the main cast gets their spotlight at any given time: Kiefer Sutherland as Doc embodies the voice of reason of the group as well as being a sensitive poet who develops an infatuation on a cute Chinese girl who serves as the âhouse entertainmentâ for the rival faction; Lou Diamond Phillips as Chavez the Mexican-Indian brings a deep sense of pride to his role, whether it be when he leads the others on a peyote spiritual trip or speaks about the injustices to his people; Charlie Sheen as the subdued, sober (Charlie Sheen? Really??) elder member of the group brings perhaps the most amount of maturity to the film; Casey Siemaszko as Charlie takes the award for the most insecure of the group, projecting his anxieties onto the others as he senses impending doom; and Dermot Mulroney as Dirty Steve is arguably the coolest one of them all, projecting a donât give a shit attitude while merrily following along with Billy on all the bloodshed. In other roles, we get Terence Stamp bringing a ton of dignity to the short-lived role of Tunstall, Terry OâQuinn as the increasingly exasperated lawyer and ally of The Regulators, Brian Keith as a jolly old bounty hunter who singlehandedly takes on the entire group alone, and of course Jack Palance playing a role he had done a hundred times before but still no one could do it like him as the villain, Lawrence Murphy, head of the rival cattle faction and the number one target on The Kidâs hitlist. All this plus The Dukeâs son, Patrick Wayne in a very small part as Pat Garrett but nonetheless a looming spector of death to come (though the nature of his role here would contradict his role in Young Guns 2). The shootouts, action scenes, and music score all have a kinetic, vibrant feel to them, leading up to the emotional last stand (based on real life), with The Regulators and OâQuinn barricaded inside their house against a slew of Murphy Men and even the U.S. Army as a number of characters meet their fates and still others ride off into Immortality. Overall, an awesome Western that might be better heralded for its writing and acting than for its shootoutsâŚ
10/10