American Outlaws (2001)

Plot: Jesse James, his family, and some town folk go to war against the railroad in order to keep their land after returning home from the American Civil War.

Okay, now it looks like I am my father's daughter and love westerns. Not in the slightest. After Colin Farrell's tour-de-force American debut in Joel Schumacher's Tigerland, I became interested in his career. He may be a powerhouse performer capable of stealing scenes from even Al Pacino, but I seriously doubt his powers of discernment.

If you recall my review of Young Guns, it's basically the same movie, only more stylish. Instead of the Brat Pack, it's Farrell, Gabriel Macht, Scott Caan, Gergory Smith, William McCormack, and Nathaniel Arcand as the required Native American. Actually, it's like Young Guns and Young Guns 2 all rolled up into one, so you could skip both of them and just watch this one.

Now, any movie with the tag line "Bad is good again" pretty much gives away how bad the movie is going to be. What can I say? Director Les Mayfield and writer Roderick Taylor do their best to piece together fact and fiction for their good-looking cast, but they fall short. As far as robbery movies go, it's better than Newton Boys (same concept) but not quite Point Break. Of course, I have a particular soft spot for Point Break, so that may be a poor comparison.

It's just fun. All I ever expected from it was fun, and I was free from disappointment.