Other Titles • American Outlaws (2001) • Jesse James (2000)
Synopses for American Outlaws (2001)
1.
If you're looking for a showcase for emerging Hollywood talent, American Outlaws is just the ticket. Its handsome young stars, playing Jesse and Frank James and gang, crack wise as if they were in a contemporary high school locker room. Combining authentic costumes and sets with stunt work befitting a Jackie Chan comedy, accompanied by an "Old West" soundtrack that's anything but old and only marginally Western, the film yields a few enjoyable highlights. Seasoned genre buffs, however, will cringe at the movie's clash of visual qualities, as well as the dialogue, which, while not as heinous as that in Maverick, is on par with Young Guns in terms of non-period flavor. It's not exactly a testament to the enduring potential of the authentic Western that was realized by Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, made barely a decade before.
With all the light-hearted action and character interplay, it's hard to tell if director Les Mayfield (Flubber) is taking the material seriously, but this much is certain: the Jesse James here (played with effortless appeal by Tigerland newcomer Colin Farrell) and his brother Frank (Gabriel Macht) have almost no connection to historical fact. Nor do their fellow farm-raised gang members, the Younger brothers Cole (Scott Caan), Bob (Will McCormack), and Jim (Gregory Smith). (And Jesse's fiancée, played by Ali Larter, looks like she dropped in from a Gap commercial.) The gang's post-Civil War battle against a ruthless railroad baron (Harris Yulin) and his Pinkerton henchman (Timothy Dalton) seems arbitrary, irrational (since farmers typically welcomed railroads, not fought them), and riddled with clichés, turning the movie's bloodless shootouts into another opportunity for pretty-boy preening. --Jeff Shannon
(15 votes)
2.
Director Les Mayfield (BLUE STREAK) attempts to revamp the Western genre with yet another telling of the Jesse James story. This time around, James (Colin Farrell), older brother Frank (Gabriel Macht), and companion Cole Younger (Scott Caan) have returned from the frontlines of the Civil War. Their peaceful Missouri existence is crudely shattered by the arrival of Thaddeus Rains (Harris Yulin), a railroad tycoon who demands that they give up their land for the railroad's benefit. When the boys refuse to cooperate, Rains turns Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) on them, resulting in a family tragedy that sparks a rebellion. It isn't long before Jessie, Frank, and Cole are off and running, robbing banks throughout the state in order to cut off the railroad's funding, and using their stolen money to feed the poor. In the meantime, Jessie remains intimate with his one true love, Zee Mimms (Ali Larter), hoping for an end to the madness that surrounds him. Mayfield's film balances comedy and action in equal measure, making for a lighthearted affair, even as the bodies continue to pile. Hollywood newcomer Farrell slips into the role--and accent--of the misunderstood legend with ease, delivering another highly engaging performance.
(15 votes)
3.
The farmers left Liberty, Missouri as boys. Four years later, steeled from fighting on the losing side of the Civil War, the soldiers return home as hardened men hoping to reclaim their former lives — farming their land and caring for their families.
But the homecoming is short-lived: Jesse and Frank James (COLIN FARRELL and GABRIEL MACH'I'), brothers Cole and Bob Younger (SCOTT CAAN and WILL McCORMACK) and their trusted comrade Comanche Tom (NATHANIEL ARCAND) return to find Liberty occupied by Federal troops. Meanwhile., the Rock Island Railroad, led by the powerful Thaddeus Rains (HARRIS YULIN), is forcing farmers to sell their homes at immorally low prices as the R.I.R. builds westward. Making matters worse, the infamous Allan Pinkerton (TIMOTHY DALTON) and his Pinkerton Detective Agency provide limitless manpower to force the railroad company's agenda on unsuspecting citizens.
United by a common bond to defend their homes from the imperialistic East Coast establishment, this small group of former soldiers, together with Jim Younger (GREGORY SMITH), Clell Miller (TY O'NEAL), and Loni Packwood (JOE STEVENS), form the James-Younger Gang. Their vendetta against the railroad company takes the renegades on a journey throughout the Old West, as they attack their adversary where it hurts most — in the wallet — to prevent the railroad from barreling through outlaw country. Initially underestimated by their opponents, the James-Younger gang prove themselves to be "the perfect outlaw band" by ravaging the railroad's supply lines, sabotaging track and robbing the banks where the company's payroll is stored.
By sharing some of the loot with their neighbors, the outlaws become respected heroes in the hearts of the people. But the gang's retaliation spree inevitably pulls Jesse away from his true love, hometown beauty Zee Mimms (ALI LARTER), and his growing notoriety flames internal conflicts within the gang — conflicts that could prove as great a threat to their survival as their nemesis Allan Pinkerton.
(15 votes)
4.
The legend of Jesse James gets a fresh spin in this action comedy featuring hot, young actors Colin Farrell (Tigerland), Scott Caan (Gone in 60 Seconds, Enemy of the State, Boiler Room) and Ali Larter (Legally Blonde, Varsity Blues, House on Haunted Hill).
When the citizens of a Midwest town learn that a corrupt railroad baron has captured the deeds to their homesteads, a group of young ranchers join forces to take back what is rightfully theirs and ultimately become the object of the biggest manhunt in the history of the Old West. As their fame grows, so does the legend of their leader, the young outlaw Jesse James.
(15 votes)
5.
At least the 20th screen version of the criminal career of Jesse James, American Outlaws, is also perhaps the least historically accurate, which wouldn't matter as much if it were more spirited and distinctive. Taking its cues from the Young Guns films rather than, say, the more realistic The Long Riders or Ride with the Devil, the movie presents pretty boy stars as larger-than-life, good-hearted outlaws and races through a lot of storyline without making much of an impression.
Colin Farrell, liable to be a huge star in the next five years, is a handsome, devil-may-care Jesse, taking the reins between his teeth and firing with both hands, but he has little material to work with, while Timothy Dalton does a very strange Scotch accent as Allen Pinkerton, the security expert hired by the evil railroad to bring in the James-Younger gang. It has the full complement of brawls, robberies, escapes, battles, train wrecks, explosions and barroom roistering--including the riding-a-horse-through-a-window bit featured in all earlier Jesse James movies--but feels like a cramped TV movie rather than an epic biopic. Attempting to be a crowd-pleaser, it goes for a happy ending rather than the tragic shot-in-the-back finish, but that just means that its high spirits feel forced and unconvincing.
On the DVD:American Outlaws has a nice range of extras for such a minor film, including two deleted scenes, five behind the scenes "featurettes" (one not-very-hidden "hidden feature") and a commentary track by director Les Mayfield, writer John Rogers and editor Michael Tronick that may be a bit too pleased with itself, but offers a lively and entertaining account of the making of the film. --Kim Newman
(15 votes)
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