यंग गंज़ II

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.

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

This sequel, set a little while after the events of the first film, opens much later, in the 1950s, with a young lawyer meeting an old man in the New Mexico desert. He claims that he is Billy the Kid and he has a tale to tell. As his story opens Billy is now riding with Pat Garrett and "Arkansas" Dave Rudabaugh. The governor offers Billy a pardon in exchange for testimony but this deal is reneged on and other surviving members of his old gang, Jose Chavez y Chavez and Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock, are arrested... Billy soon escapes then breaks his friends out of captivity. Soon Billy has his old friend Pat Garrett hunting him down. Times are changing in New Mexico and Billy has less places to hide so he suggests heading south to 'Old' Mexico.

I really enjoyed this sequel, possibly more than I enjoyed the original. The story is a lot of fun as it delivers action and a degree of humour. The action includes shootouts, a knife fights and some impressive horse riding. The characters are a good mix; as well as Billy, Chavez and Doc there are new gang members; "Arkansas" Dave, played by Christian Slater; Hendry William French, played by Alan Ruck and young Tom O'Folliard, played by Balthazar Getty. These characters are an interesting mix and nicely compliment to old characters. Outside the gang William Petersen does a solid job as Pat Garrett. While it is very much a 'male film' there is a very enjoyable turn from Jenny Wright as brothel keeper Jane Greathouse, a friend of Billy's. Much of the film is fairly amusing but it does have its moments of tragedy; some real tear-jerkers. The film is shot in a way that brilliantly captures the rugged beauty of the New Mexico desert which is accompanied by a great score from Alan Silvestri. Overall I'd say this was a really enjoyable western that is well worth watching.

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

No doubt anyone would question Christian Slater coming into the gang, but he works so well as a bad ass. Gee, I wonder why? :) He and Emilio play as the new rebels of the town, while Billy's old gang is moving on with their lives, but are soon arrested for walking with him, he wants the old gang back together to once again reck havec on the scene. The chemistry worked well again as the first one did, with some promising new cast like Christina Slater, Jon Bon Jovi, and an unknown Viggo Mortenson. I think if you enjoyed the first Young Guns, you are more than bound for another off your seat action western! Yee haw! OK, sorry, I can be a little over-dramatic at times. :-P

7/10