YOUNG GUNS 1988
41%
Directed by Christopher Cain
Written by John Fusco
Starring Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, Terry O’Quinn
Synopsis
After his cattle rancher and mentor is killed by a rival’s enforcers, a young William H. Bonney—a.k.a. Billy the Kid—and his band of hotheaded gunslingers set out for justice, only to end up on the wrong side of the law themselves.
Why We Love It
By the time the late 1980s rolled around, Westerns were no longer a hot commodity in Hollywood. They were still being made, sure, but most of the titles were small films that generated little to no fanfare; it wasn’t until Silverado and Clint Eastwood’s hugely successful Pale Rider came out in 1985 that studios began to take interest again. Young Guns was no prestige picture, by any means, and it didn’t have much on its mind other than telling a good, old-fashioned tale of revenge, but it did wrangle some of Hollywood’s hottest young stars, put guns in their hands, and let them loose to swagger all over the western frontier.
For fans of the Brat Pack era, this was a chance to see Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, and a few other impossibly handsome dudes bounce off each other in one of the most testosterone-fueled settings put to celluloid, and all of them were at the top of their game. Estevez had just come off of The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, and Stakeout, among others; Sheen had Platoon, Wall Street, and a memorable bit part in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Sutherland had just appeared in Stand By Me and The Lost Boys; and Lou Diamond Phillips had impressed in both La Bamba and Stand and Deliver. This was a who’s who of up-and-comers, and their sense of camaraderie was palpable even as they jostled each other for the spotlight.
The combination proved irresistible and audiences ate it up, but critics found the whole enterprise shallow, limply crafted, and more than a little pleased with itself. It also didn’t help that the film hung expectations on a familiar piece of folklore only to buck historical accuracy in favor of delivering a cheeky action flick starring cocksure twenty-somethings. But a lot of the film’s shortcomings are forgivable purely for the fact that its leads are so fun to watch, and they do make you care about their characters more than you might the old, grizzled cowboys of other Westerns. There’s a rather effective message of loyalty and brotherhood throughout the proceedings that adds weight behind every barbed one-liner, every exchange of gunfire, and over time, the Regulators begin to look like the most die-hard “pals” you could ask for (just ask Warren G). If nothing else, Young Guns helped a new generation discover what the genre could offer on the big screen, all because people were attracted to the idea of six rising stars teaming up to play Wild West outlaws.