Avaliações de usuários

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.

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.

I thought this movie would be awful, but I was surprised. This film is not great, and done on a low budget, but has some entertainment value. They have the James gang portrayed as good guys in this film, not a realistic version. Timothy Dalton plays a good role as Pinkerton. In the end this film is a little like Raiders of the Lost Ark.

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

It's not the Long Riders and it's not Who shot Jesse James. It's loosely factual and sometimes comical. Make up your own mind. It's entertaining and isn't that what movies are supposed to be?

This film was held up for release more than once and now it's apparent why. Dreck!!! This dressed up "B" oater is a sobering reminder of how really well done films used to be. Even the bad ones were better than this. While it aspires to something profound and "hip", the overwrought and corny dialogue, the bombardment of cliches, and the horrid soundtrack and use of current music (Moby in 1865? Puh-lease!!!) make it anything but. The script smacks of something that might have been written for Audie Murphy or Jeffrey Hunter in 1964 and soundly rejected. By comparison "Young Guns" looks like "The Wild Bunch" (Yikes!!!). The filmmakers were apparently trying the "outlaw as rock star" motif but Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" set a high water mark that handily drowns these guys. But, like "Billy" in the earlier work, everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, loves Jesse. It's sometimes hard to tell who wants to sleep with him more; his brother Frank, partner Cole Younger, or Zee Mimms, the purty gal he aims tuh marry. But fear not, bible thumpers, ain't no sinnin' goin' on here. Just good old-fashion killin'. The only people sleeping together would be the audience. The bad guys love him, too. They must, because whether it be at point blank range with a pistol, or with a Gatling gun during a Civil War battle , they just can seem to want to hurt this guy. Either that, or they're close to being the worst shots in film history. And woe be to those that do shoot at him 'cause all Jesses's got to do is smile. See him smile and it's a guarantee that these hombres ain't long for this world, by cracky. Remember the smile, folks, it's integral to our hero's save-the-day and "this one's fer Ma" antics. Les is a usually competent director and a nice guy to boot (old classmate o' mine). I hope he can recover from the savaging that the paid critics will give him. If you want to see the James gang saga told in a good movie save your money, stay at home, and checkout "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid" or "The Long Riders".

The legend of Jesse James is one of those stories that people just never seem to get tired of. Every few years, we see a new cinematic version of the life of James, a former Confederate raider who became a folk hero after he turned to banditry following the war. The latest iteration of the story is "American Outlaws", a red-blooded B-style shoot-'em-up that offers little in the way of historical accuracy and even less in the way of storytelling elegance, but does serve up plenty of action and lots of fun.

Jesse (hot Irish newcomer Colin Farrell) makes a name for himself on the battlefields of the Civil War as an unpredictable live wire willing to do anything to get the Yankees. After the war, he and his levelheaded sure-shot brother Frank (Gabriel Macht) return to their home in Liberty, Missouri, only to find the railroad coming through town. The big rail money, backed up by hard-skulled detective Allen Pinkerton (a glowering Timothy Dalton), wants to buy the James farm, but the boys aren't selling. They didn't shed their blood on the battlefields just to give their home over to a railroad. Soon, however, it's back to war when a bomb destroys their farmhouse and the only way to get revenge is to strap on your guns and ride. As they rob railroad payrolls and bedevil the authorities, Jesse, Frank, and their gang get something besides revenge: they become authentic American legends.

It's a story every schoolboy knows. Hell, Bobby Brady was a Jesse James aficionado. Still, it's been a while since we've had a telling of the story, and this one does a fairly good job of keeping us entertained. Les Mayfield is not the obvious choice to direct a western (his most notable previous film was "Encino Man" with Pauly Shore), but he actually does a decent job. He handles the action sequences with flair, particularly a crackerjack bank shootout and Jesse's escape from the rail baron's train. The film's period accoutrements are all present and accounted for, the costumes and guns appropriately impressive, the cinematography by Russell Boyd all vibrant browns and golds.

There are also some nice performances from the mostly young cast. Colin Farrell makes Jesse a likable, oddly sweet kid whose charm is just as deadly as his gun. Scott Caan matches him as the hotheaded Cole Younger (more on him later), and Gabriel Macht is a sensible and solid Frank, his performance the best thing in the film. Ali Larter is nice eye candy as Jesse's lady love, but the story really gives her nothing to do, and while Dalton growls impressively behind a grungy-looking beard, he doesn't really get the chance to do anything evil.

This is where "American Outlaws" starts shooting itself in the foot. There is no real sense of a concrete enemy for the boys to battle, a true and implacable adversary. Harris Yulin blusters and barks as the railroad baron, but he never truly emerges as a figure of loathing. As a result, the film's finale is unfocused and confusing. Pinkerton's final action in particular makes no sense to me at all. Is he just giving a cocky young kid the benefit of the doubt? Is he doing it because Jesse's wife is hot? I don't get it.

"American Outlaws" is a frustrating film in some ways because everything you like is balanced by something that rubs you the wrong way. A great Civil War battle opening is marred by the sparseness of the Union ranks (Mayfield should have called for more extras that day). An appropriately Coplandesque score by Trevor Rabin is almost wholly sabotaged by the inclusion of a Moby song (MOBY!) at both the beginning and the end of the film. It almost makes you want to grab a six-gun yourself and blaze away at the troublemakers, leaving behind only those who are contributing admirably to the enterprise.

Still, I've come to expect the good with the bad this summer, and "American Outlaws" joins "Tomb Raider" and "The Mummy Returns" as a piece of escapism that is better than the critics' comments indicate, but not as good as it probably should be. Still, with these flouncy dull MTV teen comedies STILL dominating the marketplace, it's nice to see someone delivering a good old fashioned genre piece. In these parlous cinematic times, even a problematic western is better than no western at all.

I close with a bit of real history: after they stopped riding with the James boys, Cole Younger and his outlaws kept going, and one time even attempted to rob a farmhouse in their area. The woman of the house got the drop on them, though; she slammed a window on a gang member's hand, costing him two of his fingers. She survived to live a healthy long life, and have children and grandchildren of her own. One of those grandchildren was my grandmother. Someone should put THAT in a movie. It would make me happy.

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.

This movie made me angry. Not just because it is a routine Western, filled with cliches, but because it is hard to imagine that in 2001, the writers of this embarrassment wouldn't give any regard to history. I realize it's just a movie, and there's a long tradition of glamorizing the murderers and psychopaths of the American west, but there has been enough research lately about Jesse James that makes this film's treatment of him as Robin Hood an outrage. Let's be clear: Jesse James was in essence a terrorist. He rode with Bloody Bill Anderson and William Quantrill, who were Confederate raiders who performed unspeakable atrocities in the name of slavery. James was no Robin Hood. He was in it for the money. The gang is represented in this movie as good-hearted guys just doin' what's right and carin' bout their mamas. Horse-hockey! Read the new biography by T.J. Stiles to get the true story. A realistic movie about James would be fascinating, but is beyond the talent of the crew involved in this boil on the butt of cinema. And besides, didn't Young Guns make this unnecessary?

I like Western movies. I wished Hollywood made more Western movies. So, when Hollywood does decide to quell the hunger of a Western flick fan by making one...how can one resist?

I have to say I enjoyed "American Outlaws". It isn't hard-core Western but a fun, likeable summer movie. I liked the cast of this film. Colin Farrell was fun to watch as Jesse James but I absolutely loved Gabriel Macht as his older brother Frank. Bill McCormack was funny as Bob Younger and even Scott Caan, whom you aren't sure if you should like or not gave a good performance as Cole Younger.

I liked the twist this movie offers painting the James/Younger gang as the good guys and the Pinkerton's as the bad guys. It was different and that's what made it fun.

Sure this film isn't historically accurate but who cares?? Some have complained that the shooting scenes weren't realistic enough...who cares?? Do we really need so much violence to feel satisfied? Do we need to see how a bullet ravages the human body to feel that a Western is worth while? The point is made well enough without all the blood and gore. Don't let these pointless anecdotes deter you from watching this movie. You might be surprised! I certainly was.

"American Outlaws" is a fun, family movie. We should thank Warner Bros. for making a film/Western that our kids can watch without all the other junk (bad language, nudity, sexual innuendos etc.) that inundates most movies today! If you like Westerns and even if you don't, check this one out!

Was this a joke? I am serious, was this a joke? Where are the Mystery Science Theater Boys when you need them? This is a Western about Jesse James. Of course, you might not have realized, Jesse wears Gucci clothing, has his teeth capped, a designer haircut and always hangs out in rooms that must be lit by 1,500 kerosene lamps. Of course, his gang consists of a number of male models that are just "ahhh shucks" funny. They really are some good ol' boys, that look real good. The dialog is quite refreshing as well. I never knew that they used the words "suck" and "cool" so often in the late 1800's. You see, this movie is educational. Silly me, I used to think James was a ruthless outlaw and racist. 0 out of ****

After what seemed to be a dearth of good Western films in the past 10 years, "AMERICAN OUTLAWS" may just be the film to give the genre exactly what it needs - an injection of flair transfused with an updated story line that will appeal to this generation while keeping its Western roots intact.

The last decent Western film was 1993's TOMBSTONE. Both a critical and financial disappointment, too many duds followed in its steps. Kevin Costner's lavish and way over-long WYATT EARP, Sharon Stone's turkey THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, 1997's hit-and-miss THE NEWTON BOYS, 1999's big budget extravaganza WILD WILD WEST and last year's goof ball comedy SHANGHAI NOON, are just some of the examples that come to mind. None of these films stayed true to the Western genre, in fact, they seem only to have been made in the hope of generating big box office dollars by pitting big named actors against a Western backdrop.

And then there's AMERICAN OUTLAWS. A new Western film with little known actors and a smaller budget than most films. I must admit, the idea of Colin Farrell playing a young Jesse James was rather interesting. After seeing him in last year's indie-smash TIGERLAND (which I thought was one of 2000's best films), I have become an avid fan and I will now see anything with him in it. Also being a big fan of Western films, this movie was a MUST for me.

After a town discovers that a railroad baron has taken the Deeds to their homesteads without their knowledge, a group of young men decide to band together and take him on to set things right. Our unlikely heroes consist of the "Younger" brothers, headed by Cole (played by Scott Caan of VARSITY BLUES fame) and the "James" brothers, led by Jesse himself and his younger brother Frank. Both Cole and Jesse butt heads over leadership of the gang which will ultimately lead to bitter rivalry. Ali Larter (of FINAL DESTINATION) plays Jesse James' girlfriend, Zee.

When their adventure starts, they will ultimately become wanted outlaws after they start robbing banks. Timothy Dalton plays Allan Pinkerton, a man vowed to bringing them to justice. There is also a surprise cameo by Kathy Bates as the mother of the James brothers. This film will certainly deliver enough thrills and action to keep you interested the whole way through.

Colin Farrell yet again pins down his role by displaying his wide range of talents and again, mastering the US accent perfectly. He somehow carries the flair and likeability of Brad Pitt without being 'too' pretty, while also having the ability to take on the difficult role of making us like a character who is actually a wrong-doer.

I was most surprised by Ali Larter. Most recently she has a small role in LEGALLY BLONDE, but it is her role in FINAL DESTINATION that first caught my attention. In that particular film, she played a meek and quiet girl with long brown hair who had serious issues to deal with. Here, she is a stunning gutsy blonde babe who has gumption and flair, which goes to show that she is more than two-dimensional when it comes to portraying different characters. I admired her in both of these movies and I predict that this is only the beginning of better things that will eventually come to her.

Fortunately, this film is not overly violent as such classics like THE WILD BUNCH or THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN which took pride in examining bloodshed and portraying the West as a dirty bloody landscape that leaves no soul left unharmed. Another bright point is the fact that this film contains next to no foul language at all (which these days is quite a relief!). So this movie really isn't just a "guy's flick" because of all the shooting action, and it isn't just a "chick's flick" because it stars two attractive up-and-coming actors, Farrell and Caan. This is a movie that I think will appeal to everyone.

I was quite amazed at how much I enjoyed this movie. It is certainly a fresh alternative to all those teen-flicks and gross-out comedies that seem to be crowding our local mega-plexes as of late.

I highly recommend this to everyone.

8/10

A very short review on this very weak version of the Jesse James legend. See the original 1938 Jesse James for a much more accurate portrayal. There is nothing to reccommend in this travesty. The comic moments are downright stupid & inane, more fitting a Bowery Boys film. Wes Farrell (who resembles Tyrone Power---the 1938 Jesse.) tries but does not succeed, Only Timothy Dalton as the Pinkerton detective does well. This is one of the weakest films about Jesse James an American Folk hero/villian.

rating ** 52 points out of 100 IMDb 3

I knew not to expect much from AMERICAN OUTLAWS. The glory days of westerns are long gone, and the new ones can't all be SILVERADOs and WYATT EARPs. But I was expecting to at least have a fun time, even if it was another film that portrayed real-life bad guys as the "heroes" of the movie.

Even on just a level of pure entertainment, AMERICAN OUTLAWS didn't score that well. I'm not sure why, but this film was just bland most of the time, and the actors (despite some talented ones in the parts) just seemed to walk through the performances, as if they were simply trying to just get the whole thing over with. Even the versatile Timothy Dalton seemed to be at a lost as to what to do.

And the characters themselves were terrible. By the end of the film, we still knew nothing about any of them. I like to have at least some understanding of the characters in a film. Whether they're the good guys or the bad guys, at least give me something about them to understand, sympathize with, or relate to. Sure, Frank and Jessie wanted revenge for a personal tragedy, but the depiction of that tragedy is handled so lazily we often forget about it for the rest of the film. The other characters tagging along with the brothers do so to make a stand against the railroad tycoon (Harris Yulin), but again, we don't get anything from them personally to make us root for their success.

A couple of the action scenes are nicely-executed, if sometimes over the top. The Hyperion job is the standout sequence of the entire film, as the James-Younger gang must fight their way out of a trap while attempting to rob a bank. And Trevor Rabin's exciting score (which I had already bought a few months ago and really enjoyed) helped make some of the boring parts seem more important.

Perhaps if the script had treated the material seriously and if the director had stayed awake during the shoot, it might have at least passed as a good time-waster for a dull Saturday night.

This was a very cute story that while done on a tight budget kept my attention focused on what transpired. The acting was incredible when kept in mind that it was such a young main cast with the exception of the older well-knowns that came in to take on some of the other opposing heavy roles. I really like Ronny Cox and was glad to see him as a good guy in this even though he can portray a villain like none-other when called for. I also like Harris Yulin a lot so it was always a pleasure to see him as well. Colin Farrell seemed to actually live this role which is why he was perfect for it. I'd have to say that his acting talent has sagged to a lower level in his recent choices though. Maybe he became lazier or doesn't feel the need to try as hard anymore...who knows!? The action scenes were believable even if they were by no means near an epic-sized proportion. Ali Larter is pretty hot and is a decent actress! I'm really surprised she isn't in a lot more films because she definitely has my vote! She's realistic and is able to keep forming varying reactions to the different situations she encounters. Overall a much better movie than I thought and am glad I finally got a chance to enjoy it.

Final Trail:

Movies: Not worth the high ticket prices.

DVD Purchase: No, only for the reason that I'd only watch it a couple more times in this life.

Rental: Makes for a great adventure night!

This is a slight and plain biopic about Jesse James who ranks with Billy the Kid as the most famous of Western outlaws . Legend and folklore have cast him as a Robin Hood , a good boy forced by circumstances to follow a criminal life . The picture provides a simple portrait of Jesse and his band , as they move from Civil War to there territory becoming into demi-legends . Jesse (Colin Farrell) and Frank (Gabriel Match) joined the Confederate guerrillas of Quantrill and learned to kill in ruthless company . Jesse and Frank along with cousins Cole (Scott Caan) , Bob (Will McCormack) and Jim Younger return from War to find mommy (Kathy Bates) and family threatened by railroad . Then a Midwest town to be aware that mean railroad barons (Terry O'Quinn , Harris Yulin) have captured the deeds to their homesteads without their knowledge , as a group of young ranchers unite forces to take back what is rightfully theirs . As Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) detectives were hired by the railroad company to hunt down Jesse and Frank . So James Brothers commence to robbin' banks and trains to help out the poor folks who been done wrong . In the course of their revenge , they will become the object of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Old West . Along the way , Jesse courts attractive young , filly Zee (Ali Later) . As their fame grows, so will the legend of their leader, a young outlaw by the name of Jesse James.

A sophomoric wild bunch look-alike that ends up resembling a Western version of Bowery Boys . Features various passable acting by a popular group of today's known stars . This is an average look about the known story of the West's greatest bandit along with Frank , Cole Younger and brothers . Contemporary-style Western with acceptable performances and professional direction by Les Mayfield who creates some good action scenes . Jesse is middlingly played , though sometimes overacting , by Colin Farrel, he plays as a likable, sympathetic, attractive young and favourite with girls . This passable Western packs lots of action , shootouts, and explosive violence . Taut excitement throughout , beautifully photographed by Russell Boyd and with spectacular bloodletting but realized with some flaws . atmospheric and evocative musical score by Trevor Ravin . The story is similarly to ¨The young guns I and II¨ with loads of noisy action and violence . The film gets spectacular shoot em'up , thrills , exciting horse pursuits ; it's entertaining , although nothing new but displays an ordinary pace and with no originality . People have been writing the obituary for a few years now , but ¨American outlaws¨ cannot be the bullet in the genre's back .

The picture was based on actual events , these are the following : At the war's end in 1865 , Jesse rode in to surrender and was shot and seriously wounded by a Union soldier . It is believed that Jesse took part in his first robbery in 1866 when a dozen men held up the bank in Liberty , Missouri . A bank cashier was killed in the raid and a reward was offered for each of the James brothers . In 1873 Jesse and his band derailed and robbed a train on the Rock Island line . Jesse married his cousin Zerelda , who bore him two children . Pinkerton detectives were contracted to chase Jesse and Frank , the agents surrounded the home , believing they to be there , tossed a bomb and the explosion killed Jesse's young half-brother . This outrage brought much sympathy for the brothers . On 1876 Jesse and Frank in company the three Younger Brothers , attempted a bank robbery at Northfield , Minnnesota , and walked in disaster . The alerted citizens opened fire on the raiders , of the eight bandits involved , three were killed and three Younger brothers were captured . On 3 April 1882 Bob Ford , a new member of the gang , treacherously shot Jesse dead in back of the head in his home at St Joseph , Missouri .

Why did Colin Farrell make this movie? At his level of talent, he can't need the work so badly.

Pitiful story that tries to romanticize a gang of violent criminals, putting 21st century people and attitudes in period costumes. It does not work.

The "action" is so unbelievable from the first two minutes, it sets the tone for the entire film. A group of Confederates are ambushed by a vastly superior Union force, and the Jameses and Youngers manage to singlehandedly save the day, using John Cage style action tricks. Except that 200 incompetent guys with rifles would have turned them into hamburger.

Skip it unless someone pays you to watch.

American Outlaws (2001)

American Outlaws is not historically accurate really at all except for a few small things, but that doesn't bother me at all, it is still a very fun movie.

The film has a good blend of action, drama and comedy which makes it easy to watch. Its not as good as the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, as far as newer westerns go, but I still think it was well put together. Good western gun fights, and a good western storyline, blended with some funny one liners.

The acting was decent as well. American Outlaws was the first film I saw Colin Farrell in and instantly became a fan, though now this is far from his best work. He does a good accent that would make you never guess he was Irish. The rest of the cast is a little hit and miss in my opinion. No one did terrible but even Kathy Bates didn't do that great. Timothy Dolton probably gave the best performance of the supporting cast. However, other supporting cast members like Scott Caan and Ali Larter didn't really give much of a performance at all

I think the film is pretty fairly rated by most, because it's not great. The acting is OK, the story isn't that original, and it's not accurate, but it is fun and I still enjoy it. So overall, I can't guarantee anyone will like it. If you like westerns or you like Colin Farrell, I think you should at least give this film a try. Just remember it isn't a history lesson.

7/10

Don't bother watching this lightweight, predictable, boring waste of time. Like "King Solomon's Mines" was tepid rip-off of "Indiana Jones", this movie is a rip-off of "Young Guns". This movie belongs in the filing cabinet with "The Apple Dumpling Gang", which would be more enjoyable to watch. It falls flat in it's attempt at bringing humor to the tale of the James-Younger gang. I cannot imagine the ruthless killers taking time to stand around in the middle of robbing a bank and discussing who is the better shot or who should receive more credit for their criminal activities. OK to watch if you have absolutely nothing better to do for a couple of hours, otherwise, skip it.

I suspect that western outlaws Jesse James and Billy the Kid will fascinate us and be subjects for an endless number of films. In this case the action of the film stops well short of his dramatic and sudden end. For that you view The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford.

Probably the film closest to the actual facts is the one that starred Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter as Jesse and Frank James. American Outlaws however gives Cole Younger and his brothers their due. The Youngers were cousins of the James. Younger like Frank James lived past their outlaw days in the old west and died in bed.

Colin Farrell in the way he plays Jesse is very suggestive of Tyrone Power in his reckless swashbuckling manner where he takes up the outlaw trade after losing his mother to railroad greed in grabbing up farms for a right of way. They messed with the wrong brothers because these guys learned about waging war under William Quantrill and his raiders. Some of southern persuasion say the James and Younger brothers were just the last rebels to surrender. Gabriel Macht plays a more loquacious and educated version than the most famous Frank James of all Henry Fonda.

Scott Caan is Cole Younger and this is a man concerned with billing. No one is going to take any credit away from the Youngers in the exploits of the gang. Kathy Bates is the tragic James mother and Ali Larter is Jesse's wife Zerelda who in this version might have understudied Belle Starr.

Timothy Dalton is Allan Pinkerton charged by the railroad with bringing in the outlaws any way he can. Unlike in a lot of versions Pinkerton is shown as ruthless, but he has a healthy respect for the skill these outlaws employ. Harris Yulin plays the railroad president who is the author of all the miseries sustained by the James/Younger gang.

I'm actually surprised that another Jesse James film came out so soon after Rob Lowe essayed the part and did it well in his Jesse James film. Both are well done films in the spirit of the legend of Jesse James and his exploits.

American Outlaws ain't history, but it's a crackling good western.

Horrible insult to the tradition of westerns, 'American Outlaws' is worthwhile only as another stepping stone in the career of Colin Farrell. He's horrible as much as anyone in the cast, but he'll be in much better movies as a rule, soon...For now, he can be forgiven this.

James brothers are portrayed as nitwits who grimace when their 'WANTED' poster does not look like them..then later, when the poster has been improved (but the movie has not), they smile.

One of their group is old enough to order a milk shake so naturally he's the first to go. He must have won the pool.

Kathy Bates and Timothy Dalton - one question..did you owe back taxes?

Gabriel Macht is the only actor who has an clue what's going on, and he's also the only one who looks like he's from that period. All the rest have designer haircuts and Scott Caan even got a tint job. None of the dialogue is suited to the era, either; they all might as well be meeting at a rave.

See 'The Long Riders', 'Tombstone', anything else.. 1/10. John Ford is weeping somewhere.

It's a wonderful and skillful retelling of a legend that imaginatively shows another possible side of history. This movie creates an youthful, energetic yet thoughtful contemporary action-adventure without those epic-sized scenes.

While other movies aim to be serious portrayals of the outlaws' lives and historical events, this picture just wants to have fun with bits & pieces of accuracy. It is not a docudrama nor should it be and It's funto root for the bad guys.

The boys are buff good-looking Robin Hood-esque with a great sense of humor and some witty one-liners. Don't dismiss Ali Larter either as the strong believable Zee Mims and love interest of Jesse.

Great soundtrack also, what more could you want from a light fun movie night out.

From the commercials for this film, it didn't look like much... a pretty entertaining Western, and that's about it. Well... my predictions were true. An entertaining film, not much else. But dang... is it entertaining! Gun fights, chases, etc. So much spaghetti Western action in one movie. The plot is well-written and keeps your interest. Making the gang be the good guys was an interesting twist, anti-heroes are always fun to watch. The acting is very good all-round, no performances seemed weak or unsatisfying. Farrell, Smith and Bates are particularly fun to watch. The characters are well-written, human and credible. The dialog has its moments, but is often contrived. It's mostly nicely delivered, at the very least. Few lines are quotable and fewer scenes are memorable, but it's still a fun and entertaining film while it lasted. I found the cinematography to be quite good, and the overall stylish feel to the film was effective and a welcome addition. The action is all very nicely set up, and well shot and quite intense, not to mention involving. It was hard to look away for a second during the action scenes. The humor is pretty good, though at times somewhat forced. By no means a great film, but a sufficiently entertaining one. I recommend this to any fan of any of the actors involved as well as fans of Westerns, spaghetti Westerns in particular. If you're into that kind of film, don't miss this one. 7/10

...you think Jesse James was a loser and should be portrayed that way on the big screen to set the record straight. ...you like knowing what's going to happen in the next scene because the screenplay was targeted for someone with the I.Q. of a mop. ...you like to be reassured that just in case the action of the movie isn't easy enough to follow along with, you can count on characters spelling out what is going to happen in the next BIG EXCITING SCENE. ...the only other movie playing is Pearl Harbor.