>
Young Guns rounds up a posse of attractive young leads, but this cheerfully shallow Brat Pack Western ultimately has too much hat and not enough cattle. Read critic reviews
What to know
You might also like
See More
A Low Down Dirty Shame
Money Talks
The Quick and the Dead
Red Dawn
Highlander II: The Quickening
Where to watch Young Guns
Rent Young Guns on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, or buy it on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video.
Rate And Review
-
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
-
Fandango
-
AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
-
Cinemark Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Regal Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Theater box office or somewhere else
Young Guns Photos
Movie Info
The year is 1878, Lincoln County. John Tunstall, a British ranch owner, hires six rebellious boys as "regulators" to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators, led by the wild-tempered Bill the Kid (Emilio Estevez), declare war on the Ring. As their vendetta turns into a bloody rampage, they are branded outlaws, becoming the objects of the largest manhunt in Western history.
-
Rating: R
-
Genre: Western, Action
-
Original Language: English
-
Director: Christopher Cain
-
Producer: Christopher Cain, James G. Robinson
-
Writer: John Fusco
-
Release Date (Theaters): original
-
Release Date (Streaming):
-
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.4M
-
Runtime:
-
Distributor: Vestron Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Artisan Entertainment
-
Production Co: Morgan Creek Productions, 20th Century Fox
-
Sound Mix: Surround
-
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for Young Guns
Critic Reviews for Young Guns
Audience Reviews for Young Guns
-
This is far from any such allegations of being underrated. Sure it's very well-acted by the entire cast, especially by Sutherland as Doc and Estevez as Billy the Kid, as well as action-wise quite tense, but the storyline is historically inaccurate and generally uninteresting. Plus the soundtrack is close to a fatal flaw, as techno does not fit in the right mood and setting.
-
Although the stars are nice to look at, the story, characters, and plot aren't all that interesting. It's the typical western, and I really don't care for westerns anyway. The action was probably the best part. Overall, it's okay, but I bet other people just watch it for the stars as well.
-
I'll admit that Young Guns isn't all that great of a movie, but sometimes it's just nice to hear six reasons why the west was wild. It's basically an 80s movie set in the west with a cast of teen idols playing outlaws. In many ways it feels like a brat pack movie rather than an actual western, but I think that was obviously the intent here. It's undoubtedly got it's fun moments here like the peyote scene and the overuse of blood and insensibility when it comes to death. Somehow, this does end up feeling like some kind of bizarre prequel to Pat Garret and Billy the Kid. I never picked up on that before, but there are definitely some similarities. You've got the excellent taste in slow motion killings, character development that defies tradition and seemingly an entrance into the mind of a western outlaw. Now how can you beat a cast like Emilio Estevez as Billy, Kiefer Sutherland as doc, Lou Diamond Phillips as Chavez and a pre-drug Charlie Sheen? I guess if you threw in Zod and Jack Palance it'd be perfect. Oh wait, they are in it. The story is really easy to get into and the characters all have their goofy qualities. I think the more times I see this, the more I seem to enjoy it and and accept it for what it is. The 80s saw very few westerns, but this is the quintessential 80s western by far.
-
The film suffers from an extreme lack of development, overly quiet spots, abrupt events, the occasional expendable scene, some gratuitous forms of violence, dialogue that worsens as the film progresses, a bit of a cop-out ending and an overact-tastic performance by Lou Diamond Phillip. Still, though it's not perfect, the film is supported by solid and somewhat unique production designs, good sound, decent cinematography, a progressive increase in compellingess, some effective comic relief and solid action sequences, especially the last. As for the soundtrack, it gets a bit corny, but is still pretty solid. Of course, the real question is "Does it fit?" Yes, if this took place in the then-modern '80s times. Sure, it fits the premise, but often contradicts the Western theme, but when it does fit, it really livens things up and when it doesn't fit, it's still fairly entertaining. Now, let's discuss the "Young Guns" behind "Young Guns". The ensemble members are charming and have great chemistry, but are - as I said - barely developed. They're entertaining leads, but there's little to invest in them outside of that. Still, their likeable charisma do a decent job at redeeming the underdevelopment, as do the particularly solid performances by Estevez and Sutherland. It may not be the most compelling ensemble, but there is enough to like about them to keep the film going. Now, I know what you're thinking "How many more times are you going to repeat your point until you fill-out this paragraph?" Yeah, I think I'm good. At the end of the day, "Young Guns" is flawed and not terribly outstanding, but still boasts enough colorful music, decent action and charm to be a genuinely enjoyable ride.
Verified