Young Guns
Directed by Christopher Cain
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.
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Young Guns Ratings & Reviews
- Mister ArnMay 19, 2025Emilio Estevez plays Billy the Kid as a crazy adrenaline junkie using Tunstall death as a reason for action. He is only good for driving the action, not that magic that makes a good western. The film attempts to build some of that magic with the others, such as when Doc Scurlock saves the girl who is sold into slavery. However, it's Billy who makes everything happen, and he is a tornado that destroys everything in his path. Good westerns are about the people with action to sharpen the focus.
- Jacob O’NealJuly 1, 2025In 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.
Young Guns Trivia
Young Guns was released on August 12, 1988.
Young Guns was directed by Christopher Cain.
Young Guns has a runtime of 1h 47m.
Young Guns was produced by Christopher Cain, Joe Roth.
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.
The key characters in Young Guns are William H. Bonney (Emilio Estevez), Doc Scurlock (Kiefer Sutherland), Chavez y Chavez (Lou Diamond Phillips).
Young Guns is rated R.
Young Guns is a Western, Action, Adventure film.
Young Guns has an audience rating of 6.8 out of 10.
Young Guns had a budget of $13M.
Young Guns has made $44.7M at the box office.