[5]
Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, and Lou Diamond Phillips lead an ensemble cast in this film based loosely on the life of William H. Bonney, aka ‘Billy the Kid’. Billy (Estevez) is an aimless street kid in 1870s New Mexico when he’s adopted by a kind rancher (Terence Stamp) who takes in aimless young men to work on his cattle ranch. Just as Billy is settling into his new family, a rival cattle rancher (Jack Palance) sends his goons to kill Stamp. Billy and the rest of Stamp’s wards team up to avenge the murder. They’re deputized to round up the killers, but instead of bringing the accused to justice, Billy guns them down, turning the law against him and his ‘brothers’.
Young Guns features a strong performance from Estevez, who somehow manages to make Billy likable even though he’s a blood-crazy psychopath. Terence Stamp and Jack Palance elevate the film with their more limited roles. The entire young ensemble of gunslingers give it their best, including Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney and Casey Siemaszco. While the shootouts are well staged, the film suffers from a lack of character development, passing up obvious opportunities to help the audience relate with the characters. Stamp’s death is treated surprisingly nonchalantly, and instead of exploring the bonds between any of the male protagonists, writer John Fusco (Thunderheart) and director Christopher Cain (That Was Then… This Is Now) focus more time and attention on a love story between Kiefer Sutherland and a Chinese girl (Alice Carter) that’s dead on arrival. The film also suffers from some very cheesy slow-motion photography and a lazy, wretched score by Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli.
With Terry O’Quinn and Patrick Wayne.