Is that a gun in your pocket?

Young Guns (1988)   

In the year 1878, landowner John Turnstall is at logger heads with rival landowner Lawrence Murphy as they vie for business in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Under his supervision, a band of tearaways, including poetic "Doc" Scurlock, level-headed Richard Brewer, knife man Chavez and new kid, gun wielding William H. Bonney, AKA Billy the Kid, help look after his business and land as "regulators".

After returning to their ranch after a night of celebration with all the other towns folk, Turnstall is ambushed and murdered by a band of Murphy's men. Determined to bring Murphy and his men to justice, the band of regulators get themselves deputized as men of the law and set about on a mission to serve warrants on all the killers. But as hot headed Bonney decides that murder is the only justice he wants, their mission turns into a vicious and bloody rampage which sees them becoming outlaws instead of men of the law. With both the law and Murphy and his men after them, the band of regulators can only do one thing, and that is to rely on some old fashioned western gun slinging and justice.

Released back in 1988, Young Guns is more of a vehicle to capitalize on the then appeal of the Hollywood brat pack, than a true western. Yes it may be set in the west and feature cowboys, but unlike classic westerns, this is more about action and escapism than being factually correct or really gritty in the John Wayne and Clint Eastwood sense. Just take a look at the lead players of Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, they can be in a really dusty location and in the middle of a shoot out, but look like they have just come out of make up, with not a hair out of place. Don't get me wrong, as I really like Young Guns and it appeals to my child like fantasies of being the gun totting cowboy who beats the baddies against all odds, but compared to a true western, it is right down on my list.

The story itself takes the old tale of Billy the Kid, the legendary outlaw who was supposedly one of the best guns men of his time, as its basis. But that is really is far as the factuality of the film goes and then it departs into its own world of entertaining gun fights and semi comical scenes. Putting this to the back of your mind, and taking the story as purely a gang of men looking to take vengeance for the murder of their boss, and father figure, is highly entertaining and helps to make this film appeal to those who don't really care for the appearances of the brat pack members. Although this storyline has been done to death, it still has enough about it to make the film entertaining, and although you can guess where the film will end up, it doesn't really matter as the escapism of being in the old west carries you until the climax of the film.

The real appeal of Young Guns lays in its stars, most notably in the brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. Estevez plays the young William H. Bonney, and although he is far too good looking to be a convincing outlaw, his performance as the wild and hot headed Bonney is indeed very good and fills the screen as he blasts his way through the movie. On the other end of the scale is Charlie Sheen as the level headed Richard Brewer, who realises the consequences of their actions and tries to maintain some sort of modicum amongst the band of regulators. Again Sheen is far too good looking to be a cowboy, but his performance is solid and works brilliantly against the opposing character of his brother. Making up the ensemble you have Kiefer Sutherland as "Doc" Scurlock, who is the thinker and the poet of the bunch. Although this is not Sutherland's crowning performance he holds his own as he matches Estevez and Sheen's performances.

Also making prominent appearances in Young Guns are Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, Lou Diamond Phillips and Dermot Mulroney all of which put in solid performances. Although all the performances are very good and captivating, they are just a bit unrealistic as gun totting outlaws, but this may be due to the producers wanting to make the stars good looks as appealing as possible rather than realistic.

Directed by Christopher Cain, you know straight away from the opening credits, when you get moody looking full face shots of the stars that this is not going to be a typical western. The film really does play as a vehicle to capitalize on their appeal, back in the late 80s, and would have worked just as well if they had been cast in a more modern set film. But in making this film more about the stars and the entertainment rather than the period, Cain has made a movie which will appeal to a much wider audience, especially those who find the old spaghetti westerns a bit boring. Some of the slightly humorous scenes also add to its appeal as it breaks the ice amongst all the shootouts making the film much more watch able. On top of this you have a very modern sound track with a very rock orientated sound track which makes a nice change to that which is typical of old westerns.

So after nearly 20 years, has Young Guns lost any of its appeal that was very prominent in the late 80s? In all honesty no, it is amazing that the film is still as enjoyable today as it was back then. Yes the stars, with the exception of Kiefer Sutherland, may no longer be as popular as they were, but it is still highly entertaining for both new audiences as well as old. It may not be a typical western, and there may be several flaws in the plot but as an enjoyable bit of escapism it is still one of my favourites. Of course with it being labelled as a western it will not appeal to many people, but if you take it as an action movie which features several stars from the Hollywood Brat Pack it is truly very enjoyable.