Young Guns
Young Guns
A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
Jacob O’Neal reviewed
1 July 2025•
In the late 80’s westerns were out of favor. Not long before, we saw Pale Rider and few others not exactly light up the box office. So Young Guns was not expected to do all that well, other than the bankable stars in Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips. Each had some box office clout after stuff like Breakfast Club, Major League, The Lost Boys and La Bamba. But would that be enough? Somehow Christian Cain, father of Dean Cain, found a way with his reverential yet modern take on westerns.
The story was simple - tell the story of the early days of Billy the Kid and the Regulators, rising in infamy the whole way. The movie was well constructed, if not a little paint by numbers, but the acting and directing made up for it. Between greats like Terrence Stamp and Terry O’Quinn to younger talent like Dermot Mulroney, the movie moves quickly, has some fun moments of levity and some great gun fights. What more could you want from a pulpy popcorn western? They weren’t trying to make Unforgiven after all.
Jacob O’Neal reviewed
1 July 2025•
In the late 80’s westerns were out of favor. Not long before, we saw Pale Rider and few others not exactly light up the box office. So Young Guns was not expected to do all that well, other than the bankable stars in Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips. Each had some box office clout after stuff like Breakfast Club, Major League, The Lost Boys and La Bamba. But would that be enough? Somehow Christian Cain, father of Dean Cain, found a way with his reverential yet modern take on westerns.
The story was simple - tell the story of the early days of Billy the Kid and the Regulators, rising in infamy the whole way. The movie was well constructed, if not a little paint by numbers, but the acting and directing made up for it. Between greats like Terrence Stamp and Terry O’Quinn to younger talent like Dermot Mulroney, the movie moves quickly, has some fun moments of levity and some great gun fights. What more could you want from a pulpy popcorn western? They weren’t trying to make Unforgiven after all.
