American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James (2010 Video) User Reviews

Run fur dem damn heels

[countryshack · 3/10 · 18 May 2010]

Don't rent this DVD unless you just want to throw your money away. I think that its only redemption would be for a group to drink adult beverages and just make fun of the movie while it is playing.

We rented the DVD: "American Bandits, Frank and Jesse James" with a picture of Peter Fonda holding a side arm printed on the label. Oh Boy! Pop up the popcorn, ice down the coke, we are in for an old fashion western...............Unfortunately Not!

Almost from the opening scene you begin to have your doubts about what is coming; ten minutes later you are pretty sure; twenty minutes into the film you realize what the next hour has in store for you...basically nothing.

The acting is laughably bad, the script must have been written by a high-school teenager, and God only knows what the director must have been thinking.

We would say that it reminded us of the kind of stuff that used to be shown at a Drive-In Movie on a off night, but that would be an insult to Drive-In Movies. Save your hard earned money and let this little title just hopefully disappear into the Land Of Movies Lost. OR: Rent the movie, pretend that you like it for a while, and then realize that this review was accurate and you wasted your money. By then, twenty minutes into the movie or so, there is still the adult beverage angle to try and help you from hitting the eject button and admitting that you rented a flop:)

The James Brothers

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 26 May 2022]

Jesse James (George Stults) and his brother Frank (Tim Abell) have emerged from a robbery gone wrong and Jesse is healing up with the help of Carrie (Siri Baruc) and Mary (Lauren Eckstrom). They don't know that Marhsall Kane (Peter Fonda, who started his career making low budget Roger Corman films and fits in just fine here) is coming after them as well as his men making a play for the money and leaving the brothers in the cold.

How do you feel about day for night? Do you love it? Would you be happy just to have Jeffrey Combs show up for a little bit? Will you watch every western there is? Are you a fan of Fred Olen Ray or perhaps writing an entire week of a web site about his movies?

There's still someone on IMDB that's calling out the historical and weapon accuracy of Ray's movies, such as how the movie is set in the 1860s and civilians are carrying Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army revolvers - which weren't available to the general population until 1875 or later - and none of the guns recoil when they're shot. I appreciate the writer's attention to detail and invite them to write for the site.

Just Awful

[redwhiteandblue1776 · 2/10 · 21 January 2013]

So unrealistic it was laughable. Why do people waste their money making a movie like this?

Everyone's clothes were so clean, they look new in every scene. Horses are just left everywhere without be tied up. Jessie and Frank just happen to meet, fall in love, and end up kissing the two hottest chicks in the South. (All in about 2 days time.)

Jessie gets a bullet dug out of his shoulder and within minutes is smiling and joking and riding his horse the next day. And these aren't just uneducated grown up farm boys. They are polished philosophers who can speak eloquently about the meaning of life.

Just pathetic.

OMG how awful!

[ym-50414 · 1/10 · 10 March 2020]

I just lost precious brain cells watching this! Who writes this garbage? Please, I can help just let me gather a few third-graders and I'll pay them with Oreo cookies and get a better product! And you paid humans to act out this worthless script? Damn.

Economically restricted, but charming "B" Western

[lotsafun · 6/10 · 24 June 2021]

American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James is a low budget, but competently made little Western that nicely captures the spirit, ambience, and panache of early TV Westerns. The budgetary restrictions result in an old school intimate type of story telling, and the "corny " sincerity about the whole thing sets it far apart from the usual direct to video exploitation fare. You can obsess all you want upon its restrictions, but you can't deny the palatable love and nostalgia the director/writer clearly has for classic Westerns. There's real warmth and charm here, and I really appreciate that.

The real weapons

[druzbacarter · 26 January 2023]

The real weapons frank and Jesse used were guns they kept from the civil war. Jesse and his brother did use revolvers like colt and Remington Jesse would be using either a colt 1860 army .44 or a colt navy .36 and frank more likely preferred Remington revolvers including the 1858 army .44 pistol and frank would be using like a Henry rifle but Winchester too. And also where is coke younger why isn't coke younger mentioned in this film. And also the weapons weren't even that accurate a little bit because it had the colt peacemaker not invented until 1873 and the Remington 1875 not invented till that year.