2001 film by Les Mayfield
American Outlaws
is a 2001 American
Western
action film
directed by
Les Mayfield
and starring
Colin Farrell
,
Scott Caan
, and
Ali Larter
.
Plot
[
edit
]
Confederate
guerillas
attempt to raid a
Union Army
camp late in the
American Civil War
. The guerillas are ambushed, but thanks to the sharp-shooting of
Frank James
and the distractions of his brother
Jesse
they survive. The James, along with their cousins, the Younger brothers, congratulate themselves but learn that the Confederacy has surrendered and the war is now over. The group decides to return to
Missouri
to their families and farms.
When they arrive, their town is occupied by the Union Army. Jesse childhood friend and cousin Zee has grown into an attractive young woman, and there is a man hanging in the town square. Farmers are being pressured to sell their farms to the railroad company, who are expanding across the United States. If they don't sell their land to Thaddeus Rains, and his secret-service organizer,
Allan Pinkerton
, the farmers are burned out of their homes, or killed.
Frank finds the railroad doesn't even need their land. The James and the Younger brothers don't want to sell, and Cole Younger loses his temper when several railroad men approach him about selling and kills two of them. The army authorities decide to hang him, but his brothers Bob and Jim, along with Jesse, Frank, and Zee, decide to rescue him. During the rescue, Jesse is shot in the shoulder, and hides out at Zee's.
A few weeks later, when Jesse has recovered, the railroad sets fire to the James' home, killing Jesse's mother. The James and Younger brothers ride out for revenge against the railroad men but instead focus on the bank's payroll, reasoning that if they steal the money and attack supply trains, the army will notice. Dubbing themselves the
James?Younger Gang
, they set out robbing banks, with Pinkerton and Rains struggling to stop them. The James gang turns themselves into folk heroes in the process.
The gang struggles over leadership, with Cole feeling that Jesse is getting an overblown ego from the publicity of the gang's activities. Jesse backs down, after an argument, and lets Cole plan and execute a robbery; Cole's chosen target proves to be a trap set by Pinkerton and Rains. Jim is shot and killed, and Jesse and his brother leave the gang, with Jesse later marrying Zee.
The gang does not do well without the James brothers. People do not respect the Younger brothers as much as they did the James-Younger Gang. When Jesse and Zee attempt to start a new life, Pinkerton finds and arrests Jesse. During the train ride to the jail, Jesse is chained in a rear car, but tricks a deputy into showing his gun, which he takes from him and uses to escape to the top of the train car.
Zee and the remainder of the Gang shoot a cannon at the train, stopping it and rescuing Jesse. Confronted with Rains and Pinkerton, Jesse shoots neither of them but rather Rains' prized watch. Pinkerton tells Jesse that he should go to
Tennessee
, as 'the railroad has no interest in Tennessee'.
Cast
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
In April 1995, it was reported
Morgan Creek Entertainment
was developing at western similar to
Young Guns
to be potentially directed by
Dean Semler
.
[3]
In July 1998, it was revealed the name of the project was
Jesse James
with
Roderick Taylor
writing the script and the search for a director was ongoing.
[4]
In April 2000, it was announced
Colin Farrell
had been cast to play Jesse James with further re-writes being performed by
John Rogers
.
[5]
The following month,
Scott Caan
and
Ali Larter
joined the cast.
[6]
Home media
[
edit
]
The film was released on VHS and DVD on December 4, 2001.
[7]
Reception
[
edit
]
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
January 2015
)
|
American Outlaws
opened to dismal box office and mostly negative reviews. Many critics cited a poor sense of time and place as a major cause of the film's problems.
[
citation needed
]
Others just dismissed the film as another
Young Guns
ripoff.
[
citation needed
]
On
Rotten Tomatoes
, the film has a 13% approval rating based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "With corny dialogue, revisionist history, anachronistic music, and a generically attractive cast,
American Outlaws
is a sanitized, teenybopper version of Jesse James".
[8]
On
Metacritic
, it has a score of 25% based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
[9]
Roger Ebert
of the
Chicago Sun-Times
wrote: "For years there have been reports of the death of the Western. Now comes American Outlaws, proof that even the B Western is dead."
[10]
Robert Koehler of
Variety
said the film "sadly symbolizes the decline of the Western. The 36th bigscreen version of the exploits of the James-Younger Gang is one of the least convincing."
[11]
Kevin Thomas of the
Los Angeles Times
gave it a positive review and called it "a handsome and skillful retelling of a legend that imaginatively draws on conventions of both the western and the gangster movie to create an energetic yet thoughtful contemporary action-adventure."
[12]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"American Outlaws (2001) - Financial Information"
.
- ^
"American Outlaws (2001) - Box Office Mojo"
.
Box Office Mojo
.
Archived
from the original on January 3, 2011
. Retrieved
August 14,
2010
.
- ^
"Morgan Creek slate crests"
. Variety.
Archived
from the original on September 8, 2023
. Retrieved
May 31,
2024
.
- ^
"Creek rising again"
. Variety.
Archived
from the original on May 31, 2024
. Retrieved
May 31,
2024
.
- ^
"Farrell tall in saddle for 'James'
"
. Variety.
Archived
from the original on May 31, 2024
. Retrieved
May 31,
2024
.
- ^
"Caan, Larter don 'Jesse' oater roles"
. Variety.
Archived
from the original on February 10, 2016
. Retrieved
May 31,
2024
.
- ^
Wolf, Jessica (September 27, 2001).
"Warner Offers Retailers Free DVD Players"
.
hive4media.com
.
Archived
from the original on November 1, 2001
. Retrieved
September 24,
2019
.
- ^
"American Outlaws (2001)"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
.
Fandango
.
Archived
from the original on July 27, 2020
. Retrieved
January 2,
2022
.
- ^
"American Outlaws Reviews"
.
Metacritic
.
CBS Interactive
.
Archived
from the original on July 18, 2020
. Retrieved
March 27,
2020
.
- ^
Ebert, Roger (2001).
"American Outlaws"
.
Chicago Sun-Times
. RogerEbert.com.
- ^
Koehler, Robert (August 16, 2001).
"American Outlaws"
.
Variety
.
- ^
Kevin Thomas (film critic)
(August 17, 2001).
"
'American Outlaws' Is Robust Retelling of Familiar Legend"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Archived from
the original
on August 21, 2001.
External links
[
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]
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