American Outlaws (2001)

A Masterpiece!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It's a wonderful and skillful retelling of a legend that imaginatively shows another possible side of history. This movie creates an youthful, energetic yet thoughtful contemporary action-adventure without those epic-sized scenes.While other movies aim to be serious portrayals of the outlaws' lives and historical events, this picture just wants to have fun with bits & pieces of accuracy. It is not a docudrama nor should it be and It's funto root for the bad guys.The boys are buff good-looking Robin Hood-esque with a great sense of humor and some witty one-liners. Don't dismiss Ali Larter either as the strong believable Zee Mims and love interest of Jesse. Great soundtrack also, what more could you want from a light fun movie night out.

this isn't too bad a movie.i would say it is mildly enjoyable.it's not exactly fast paced,but it's not quite boring either.i think it would have been better as a comedy,since it was such a lite hearted movie.the acting was OK,but nothing spectacular.it's about The James/Younger gang of the old west,led by Jesse James(Colin Farrel)it's just one interpretation of James's life,and i don't think it tries too hard to be accurate.either way,it is an interesting interpretation and it has some fun moments scattered throughout.i'd probably watch again,but it's not something i would watch over and over.for me,American Outlaws is a 6/10

As westerns go, "American Outlaws" amounts to an above-average horse opera that knows when to giddy-yap and when to giddy-up. Les Mayfield, who directed "Flubber" and "Blue Streak," stages several exhilarating but bloodless gunfights that owe their epic grandeur to Hong Kong action maestro John Woo of "Face/Off" fame as much as traditional cowboy classics like Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales." While this blatantly romanticized account of the notorious Jesse James-Cole Younger gang lacks the authenticity of either "The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid" (1972) or "The Long Riders" (1980), Mayfield keeps the action going at a gallop. Moreover, writers Roderick Taylor and John Rogers have juggled the chronological order of events to heighten dramatic impact. Clearly, "American Outlaws" duplicates the surefire "Young Guns" formula, portraying Jesse as a saintly Robin Hood bandit. While Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell resembles actor Tyrone Power, who starred as Jesse James in the prototypical 1939 Technicolor version "Jesse James," he looks nothing like the real-life Jesse Woodson James. Nevertheless,western aficionados should applaud the way that Mayfield has kept the conventions of the genre intact while adding enough fresh touches to enhance this superficial but stimulating shoot'em-up."American Outlaws" covers the early years of James-Younger gang. The upbeat Taylor & Rogers script doesn't depict the tragic demise Jesse met at the hands of the double-crossing sidewinder who bushwhacked him for the bounty. This flavorful variation unfolds as the Civil War concludes. Federal troops have pinned down Frank James (Gabriel Macht of "Simply Irresistible"), Cole Younger (Scott Caan of "Varsity Blues"), and Bob Younger (Gregory Smith of "Boiler Room") with cannon fire when Jesse (Colin Farrell of "Tigerland") rides to their rescue. Mayfield establishes Jesse's hell-bent-for-leather audacity when our impetuous protagonist launches a fearless charge against an army of Yankees. Farrell imitates John Wayne in "True Grit" as he rides full-tilt into battle, blazing away with two six-shooters while he keeps his horses' reins clenched between his teeth.After surviving this fracas, our heroes return to Missouri to resume farming. Along come villainous railroad baron Thaddeus Rains (Harris Yulin of "Rush Hour 2") and henchman Rollin Parker (Terry O'Quinn of "The Stepfather") who are stealing property at two dollars-per-acre. When they approach Ma James (Kathy Bates of "Misery"), she wants her sons to gun them down. Frank convinces Ma to hold off. Rains' chief troubleshooter, Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton of "License to Kill"), warns them that was Rains' only offer. Parker retaliates after the James refuse to sell and sends his ruffians to dynamite their farm. Ma James dies in the explosion, and Jesse and Frank saddle up with the Youngers to wreck vengeance on the railroad.While "American Outlaws" doesn't qualify as a classic, this better-than-average sagebrusher provides a glimpse of the old West we haven't seen in many moons. As Jesse's stalwart wife Zee Mimms, Ali Larter of "Final Destination" has a way with stopping trains dead in their tracks. A crackerjack supporting cast, especially Dalton as Pinkerton, makes "American Outlaws" fun to watch.

Atrocious insult to western movies, and maybe the worst cowboy film ever. The one who plays Jesse James has an Irish accent and in common with all the cast he cannot act.The script is awful and the story seems to be acted out by a bunch of 3rd class hams or amateurs.The players cannot make up their minds if this is a farce or a melodrama. The "love" interest is some whining screechy cow who is a total turn off. This nonsense glorifies the killer criminals and their gang but everyone else is either a villain or in awe of them.What "special needs" case created this film?! 1/10