Young Guns (1988)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Christopher Cain

Writer (WGA):

John Fusco (written by)

Release Date:

12 August 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

Six reasons why the west was wild.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Murder | Ranch | Mexico | Attorney

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Emilio Estevez	...	William H. 'Billy the Kid' Bonney
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Josiah Gordon 'Doc' Scurlock
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	'Jose' Chavez y Chavez
Charlie Sheen	...	Richard 'Dick' Brewer
Dermot Mulroney	...	Dirty Steve Stephens
Casey Siemaszko	...	Charles 'Charley' Bowdre
Terence Stamp	...	John Tunstall
Jack Palance	...	Lawrence G. Murphy
Terry O'Quinn	...	Alex McSween
Sharon Thomas	...	Susan McSween
Geoffrey Blake	...	J. McCloskey
Alice Carter	...	Yen Sun
Brian Keith	...	Buckshot Roberts
Thomas Callaway	...	Texas Joe Grant (as Tom Callaway)
Patrick Wayne	...	Patrick Floyd 'Pat' Garrett

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

In the final battle at the end of the movie, Emilio Estevez (Billy the Kid) shoots Charlie Crawford. Charlie Crawford is the name of his brother Charlie Sheen's character in the TV series "Spin City" (1996).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the opening titles, several of the characters are firing Colt double-action revolvers of a type which was not introduced until thirty years after the events depicted in the film.

Quotes:

Alex McSween: I'm not leaving my house.
William H. Bonney: Alex, if you stay they're gonna kill you. And then I'm gonna have to to go around and kill all the guys who killed you. That's a lot of killing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Long Ranger and Tonton (Shooting Stars of the West) (1989)

Not bad, not bad at all

This film stars many of the fine young actors that are coming of age today. They were good in this film. This film is primarily about youth and how it can be lost so quickly, so easily. All of these guys became men too young and lost their chance for youth. And they paid for it. This is also about good and evil. Emelio Estevez is excellent as the more or less evil Billy the Kid. He and the others (Keifer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Lou Diamond Phillips are given a chance to become "good" after straying from the right path. When their benefactor is murdered, they seek revenge and they get it "their way", and in the process, become wanted men. The acting is the strength here, not the story. These young guns grew up to become great actors, every one of them. This is an excellent example of their best early work.