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There have been only a handful of films to try to put the immortal story of Billy the Kid onto film. Among them was Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid with Val Kilmer and Young Guns I.

This is the sequel, of course, to the latter film, and it just might be the finest Billy the Kid film out there. True, some of the dialogue is shoddy ("I guess you don't know the true meaning of the word PALS!"), but that's not the point. The point is, this is the only film of all of them to really capture the spirit of Billy the Kid. There has always been a thin line in between characters such as the Kid, between legend and fact. Of course, this film reflects mostly on the legends, and it takes the attitude that in the midst of all the legend and stories that were told about Billy and his gang of cohorts, there was a very real, very human leader who allowed all the legends about him to get to his head. As a result, he must suffer the consequences.

The cast is at the top of its game, especially Esteves as the Kid, Sutherland as Doc and Diamond Phillips as Chavez. Slater and Ruck also lend their support as Arkansas Dave and Buckshot George, respectively. This motley group make up the "Young Guns," and their quest to get to the Mexican border and escape from former gang member Pat Garret. The film follows the standard Billy the Kid story, with only slight moderations, but this is the only film in which the spirit of Billy the Kid is alive and you truly feel like this character is what he thinks he is: some kind of god. This was exactly what the story needed, and it works for the same reason films like "Braveheart" worked: they don't try to do an accurate, historical retelling, but rather, they pay tribute to the legends centered around the character.

The soundtrack is also nice. Even if one hated this film, they have to admit that the Oscar-nominated song "Blaze of Glory" by Bon Jovi is a winner, and it captures the spirit of the whole film and the message that it was trying to make: that legends are forever.

Without a doubt, this is the best Billy the Kid film, and therefore it is one of the western genre's greatest achievement.

"Yoo hoo....I'll make you famous."

Well, I have to say I loved this movie when it first came out. It has a beautiful desert set, a wonderful array of actor driven characters, and the kind of gun fighting you could only imagine from a movie about Billy the Kid. But now that I've watched it more recently, it's highly amusing. To watch current stars like CSI's William Peterson and The Lord of the Rings' Viggo Mortensen at the dawn of their careers is something that can't be missed. Along with them are a flock of excellent 80's actors who will have you loving them all over again. Emelio Eztevez provides what is probably the best performance in his career along with the likes of Christian Slater, Kiefer Sutherland, and Lou Diamond Phillips. I recommend this as one of the best good time westerns that recent years have to offer, though the first movie of the series is a bit better. 7/10

For a movie it thought would be shallow and made for popular culture, Young Guns II really surprised me. ALL the actors were GREAT in this movie. I especially loved Lou Diamond Phillips and Kiefer Sutherland (of course). Emilio Estevez was wonderful and for once I didn't hate Christian Slater. Also, as a fan of Ferris Bueller, you have to love Alan Ruck, even though he doesn't have a huge part in Young Guns II. I saw the first movie, and it was okay, but I seem to get into and feel for the characters much more in the sequel--they have more depth and there's not as many, so you can focus more on the important relationships. Not to mention a core musical identity of my era named Jon Bon Jovi, who did the theme song (which had some awesome lyrics). Alan Sylvestri did the rest of the score, and I always love his music, too. I ended up buying Young Guns II because it's hard to get through it without tearing up. The tragedy of Billy the Kid is told well in the movie, and if the screenplay had just been a little less choppy, I would have given the movie a 9. I'll have to go for an 8 on this one, but see it anyway, the actors are definitely the highlights of Young Guns II.

As a kid I was a huge fan of Bon Jovi and the song "Blaze of Glory" was the only reason I watched this movie. They wanted to include "Wanted Dead or Alive" on the soundtrack for this movie, but Jon thought it had inappropriate lyrics and decided to write a new song especially for "Young Guns II", a new song that became one of his greatest hits. He even has a cameo appearance in the movie, so I definitely had to see it. And I'm glad I did. This stunning Western adventure drama tells the story about Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. It has an excellent cast, good characterization, story with depth, lots of entertaining action and awesome music, crowned with the legendary "Blaze of Glory".

8/10

YOUNG GUNS 2 was a stunning achievement, a sequel that managed to surpass its brilliant predecessor, 1988's YOUNG GUNS. YOUNG GUNS 2 follows the story of Billy the Kid, already an outlaw and now riding with the cow thief Pat Garrett. Garrett is offered the position of Sheriff by the Governor, who finds himself constantly cowed in his efforts to catch Billy the Kid. In the Governor's mind, you must hire a thief to catch one, hence Garrett is the perfect choice. Pat Garrett, who has long planned to go respectable, siezes the opportunity and turns on his friend and partner. What follows is a great western adventure, rich with themes of sin and redemption and the tragedy of brother against brother. That alone makes a great flick. But then YOUNG GUNS 2 offers the question... what if Pat Garrett was conflicted about his choice? What if he still had feelings for the Kid? What if he let him go? This is good stuff, folks. The leads do the material justice, with Estevez jumping back into the role of Billy like an old and comfortable suit that still fits perfectly. William Petersen gives a nuanced performance as Pat Garrett, a man driven by both loyalty and selfishness. Of course no review of this film should fail to herald the talents of Lou Diamond Phillips. Phillips is an actor who constantly seems to raise the bar for himself, and YOUNG GUNS 2 is no exception. His Chavez is MORE spiritual, MORE effortlessly wise... dare I say MORE Indian than he was even in the first installment. Hopefully, Phillips will be with us for a very long time. Kiefer Sutherland, Christian Slater, Balthazar Getty, and Alan Ruck round out the talented cast. So finally, do yourself a favor with this one, YOUNG GUNS 2 is an amazing film experience.