American Outlaws

There is just something about seeing a western that has real characters in it. What is it about outlaws that peaks our interest? What was it about Jesse James that made people love him so much? Was he really as benevolent as he was made to be in this film? Was he really as crazy and theological as he was in the Rob Lowe/Bill Paxton film Frank and Jesse? I'm not really sure, I would probably have to guess he was somewhere in between. In American Outlaws Jesse is played rather blandly by Colin Ferrel. I can honestly say that I wasn't overly interested in Jesse James in this film the way I was in Frank and Jesse. Rob Lowe had a much more complete interpretation of outlaw Jesse James. But what may be lacking in the leads is more than made up for in some of the supporting characters, and for that I would say that American Outlaws is almost worth seeing. Not quite, but if you have nothing better to do with $10.00, go see this film.

Gabriel Macht plays Jesse's older brother Frank and Timothy Dalton, of James Bond fame plays Alan Pinkerton, the man responsible for hunting down the James gang. Macht plays Frank James as the older and much wiser brother. He calmly solves disputes, writes and plans many of the heists and robberies and helps Jesse court the love of his life. Yet he is not there to take the spotlight away from his brother or from Cole Younger. Frank is basically a peacemaker. I enjoyed Macht's performance and when he was on screen the picture was a lot more interesting. He adds some needed credibility to a somewhat lame film. When you have great actresses like Kathy Bates looking disasterous in their small roles, you know you are in trouble. I don't know if you can attribute all of this to the director, Les Mayfield, but it has to start somewhere. The actors weren't really allowed to shine and maybe a few more takes should have been filmed before deciding on which one to use.

Two other actors stood out as well and one of them was Timothy Dalton. He seemed a little out of place in this film. He just looked as though he was one step ahead of everyone else and just seemed to know something that we didn't. He could make you think that just by a smirk, or a tone of voice or a tip of his black fedora. He is evil, conniving and yet he has some admiration for the James/Younger gang. He can empathize with their situation but his job is to hunt them down and kill them. I would like to see Dalton in more roles like this, he was fun to watch in this film. Also intriguing to watch is Will McCormack as Bob Younger. He is unfamiliar to me but anyone who watches The Sopranos religiously will recognize him from a few episodes. I thought he was believable in his smaller role as one of the Younger brothers. At first he comes off as being a little slow, but his character builds towards the end and eventually he turns out to be one of the stronger characters.

It's a shame that American Outlaws couldn't build a better script around these three characters because they seemed better than the script they were given.

American Outlaws isn't a bad film, it's not really a great one either but it is worth a look. If anything, it will make you want to go home and pop in your copy of Tombstone and remember what it is like to have compelling Western characters.

6 out of 10--could be better, could be worse.

Smart, energetic, funny, exciting and underrated; these are just a few adjectives that describe "American Outlaws;" a western that will take everyone by surprise. Colin Farrell is a breath of fresh air and Gabriel Macht is a pure delight as they take the reigns in one of the funniest westerns I have seen.

Farrell and Macht are joined by Scott Caan, Timothy Dalton, Kathy Bates and Ali Larter whose comedic, intelligence and intense talent to create a film that is rich in character driven performances.

Most of the credit must be given to the writers of "American Outlaws" because they took the western genre and created one of the most unique westerns in recent years through the addition of humor. With action-packed sequences, strong performances and smart writing; the writers made the audience look at westerns in a whole new way; clever and stylish.

Though I feel originality is important in any film I see, it is not always necessary for a film to succeed. "American Outlaws" contains many cliché ridden scenes, but the true genius of this film is the presentation of the film.

Inspired by actual events, "American Outlaws" takes the audience on a comedic journey through the lives of the James-Younger gang and their battle with Allan Pinkerton and the railroad.

The success of "American Outlaws" partially stems from the great ensemble performance provided by Farrell, Macht, Larter, Caan, Bates and Dalton. It was apparent from the start that the "American Outlaws" cast gave maximum effort was going to take me on a satisfying comedy thrill ride through the Old West. It was clear that the cast of "American Outlaws" had fun together making the film, so when this occurs everyone is guaranteed the film will bring satisfaction.

Charisma, intensity and courage; these are the elements brought to the screen by the latest breakout star. I must admit it took me awhile to get over the shock of watching a charismatic, youthful looking actor steal the spotlight from his talented co-stars, but that is exactly what occurred with Farrell in "American Outlaws." "American Outlaws" allows Farrell the opportunity to step out of the shadows into the limelight to take his place among the best young actors in Hollywood.

It didn't take long to realize the discovery of the next big movie star would be found in "American Outlaws" with proof coming from Farrell's energetic and fun performance as Jesse James. I was smiling when I saw Farrell on screen because it meant the writers had created a character filled with imagination and ideas that made the movie a joy to watch.

Aside from Farrell, another bright spot in "American Outlaws" shined with the emergence and second breakthrough performance turned in by his co-star, Gabriel Macht. With enormous screen presence and impact turned in by Macht, this is an actor who will soon hear his name called as a winner of the coveted academy award.

Rounding out "American Outlaws" is the addition of Timothy Dalton and Kathy Bates. Commendations must given to Dalton for making the character of Allan Pinkerton a delight to watch. It didn't take me long to recognize that he was the right man for the job. With his look, demeanor and presence, Dalton confirmed my suspicions.

A short appearance can sometimes be the most memorable as with the case of the actress who portrayed Ma James. Bates has always been a favorite of mine because she brings credibility to each film she stars in. With "American Outlaws," Bates role is short, sweet and to the point.

The bottom line is "American Outlaws" is an underrated film that will bring everyone pure satisfaction and serve as great entertainment.

Released in 2001, "American Outlaws" is yet another rendition of Jesse James, Cole Younger and their Gang. This one focuses on the end of the Civil War and the first few years of the gang's activities,which lasted a whole decade in reality, from 1866-76, ending with the foiled Northfield, Minnesota, bank robbery on September 7, 1876. Jesse & Frank escaped while the others were captured or died. While Frank tried to settle down to a normal life in Virginia Jesse restarted the gang in 1879, but was shot by Robert Ford, one of his trusted gang members on April 3, 1882.

"American Outlaws" is highlighted by a great cast with palpable chemistry, including Colin Farrell as Jesse, Scott Caan (aka 'Danno') as Cole, the beautiful Ali Larter as Zee, Jesse's girlfriend/wife, and Timothy Dalton as the lead Pinkerton. Gabriel Macht, Will McCormack, Nathaniel Arcand and Gregory Smith are also on hand as notable members of the gang. The film plays it fairly serious accented by a fun, joie de vivre spirit, sorta like Indiana Jones in the wild West. You can tell the cast had a blast during filming. This is the exact opposite of the grim "The Long Riders" from 1980, which is arguably the best and most accurate film about the James-Younger Gang.

As far as historical accuracy goes with "American Outlaws," well, there was a group of outlaws in Missouri called the James-Younger Gang and they did rob banks, trains, and stagecoaches in Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, West Virginia and Minnesota (whereas Jesse's later group continued the gangs' criminal legacy in Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana and Mississippi), other than this the historicity is pretty butchered for the sake of rousing Western entertainment. See "The Long Riders" for a more austere and accurate version of the tale.

BOTTOM LINE: Even though "American Outlaws" loses points for inaccuracies and implausibilities, it scores high in overall entertainment value. It's a turn-off-your-brain-and-have-a-blast kind of Western. The movie performed poorly at the box office in 2001 and Roger Ebert gave it a scathing review. Ebert compared it to 1972's "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid," which he praised. This was strange because that film wasn't exactly realistic either; in fact, it's a veritable parody or black comedy. These movies shouldn't be compared in the first place since "American Outlaws" details the gang's first year in action and "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid" the gang's final bank robbery, a whole decade later. Furthermore, the two films are expressly opposite in tone: "American Outlaws" makes the wild West larger-than-life and ALMOST fun while the other film de-glamorizes it, making it profane, ugly and idiotic. In any event, "American Outlaws" is seriously rollicking Western lore worthy of one's video library.

The film was shot in Central-East Texas (great locations, by the way) and runs a short-but-sweet 94 minutes.

GRADE: B

Many of today's younger viewers probably won't know too much about the James Boys, and The Youngers. So they can enjoy this for what it is, "a funny, bullet dodging romp, through the wild west. ". However the older generation should probably steer clear of this one. The Goodies are Baddies, and the Baddies are Goodies. Some of the one liners could have been written by the writers of Joey or Friends, with additional material by Mel Brooks, who might have called it "Men in Strides" I notice that the stunt men and special effects (which seem mandatory in today's films,) got all the awards. Figures about right. Jesse's escape from the train is strictly Van Damme. So, if you've never heard of Bob Ford, watch this, you'll probably enjoy it. However, if you are old enough to remember Bob, and Tyrone Power, I have a feeling that you won't.

You know, it makes me laugh when I read other people's negative reviews on this movie. Yeah, this movie is riddled with historical inaccuracies and all the outlaws are so darn young and good looking, but hey, that's not the point. I don't think this movie was meant to be a serious study about Frank and Jesse James. This movie was made strictly to entertain and to make people laugh.

One already knows from the first five minutes into the movie that this is a comedy/action movie. I enjoyed it for what it was, mindless entertainment! Yeah, Colin Farrell is HOT! As a matter of fact, the rest of the outlaws are all very young and cute. Even if the females audience do not care much for the plot or for the cartoon violence, I'm sure they would get some visceral thrill out of seeing all these good looking young guys together on the screen. The male audience will enjoy the humor and the fight scenes and big explosions and Ali Larter, the pretty blonde actress that plays Zee. Ali Larter reminds me of the models in the old 1970s' shampoo commercials, all shiny blonde hair and big smiles.

This movie was fun to watch from beginning to end. I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a fun action comedy.

By the way, now that the DVD is out, I hope everyone catches the deleted scenes from the movie. They are very good. It's a shame these scenes were not included into the movie, they would've showed a little more depth to the characters of Frank and Jesse James.