On Y List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
Young Guns (1988)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
10/03, 7/15
7/15:
Young Guns is one of the most ridiculous Western pictures made.
After seeing Emilio Estevez make a jackass out of himself and the stupid peyote dream scene, it's impossible to take anything
else seriously. The improbable outcome of the final shootout, which is reminiscent of
The Wild Bunch, has left me incredulous, making it the final nail in the coffin.
Why is the Gatling gun never used the entire time until the very end? And how is it possible for Chavez to get away despite
the house that's been heavily besieged? After the gang escapes the shootout, the army doesn't bother going after the individual
criminals.
The movie should be aptly retitled as Young Models because everybody, save for Dermot Mulroney and Casey Siemaszko,
looks too good for the period with their beautifully styled hair, evenly tanned skin, and iron-pressed clothes.
Charlie Sheen was wise by allowing his character to die early in the film to save face because his career actually
lasted longer than everybody else. I'm okay with Lou Diamond Phillips hamming it up, as evidenced by the monologue about how
his character's fictional tribe was massacred, because he knows he's that cool.
Christopher Cain, who has history of directing awful movies, does a terrific job of creating a psychotic killer out of Billy
the Kid, virtually ruining any chance of rooting for him because his actions are stupid and go against common sense.
Plus, Doc's interest in "China Girl" is never convincing which sticks out like a sore thumb. By the way, the
actor who plays Pat Garrett, who's famous for killing the real Billy the Kid, is John Wayne's son Patrick.
All in all, everybody tries to look cool and do too much in Young Models, making it a terrible addition to the Western
genre.