Young Guns

1988

1h 47m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

981

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Western

Action

Adventure

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.

Directors

Christopher Cain

Writers

John Fusco(writer by)

Stars

Emilio Estevez

Kiefer Sutherland

Lou Diamond Phillips

See production, box office & company info

Top cast

William H. Bonney

Doc Scurlock

Chavez y Chavez

Dick Brewer

Dirty Steve Stephens

Charley Bowdre

John Tunstall

L. G. Murphy

Alex McSween

Susan McSween

J. McCloskey

Yen Sun

Buckshot Roberts

Texas Joe Grant

Pat Garrett

Mallory

Morton

Baker

Directors

Christopher Cain

Writers

John Fusco(writer by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

**_Fairly accurate account of Billy the Kid & his gang doesn't forget to entertain_** Before Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez) shot to fame, he's an orphaned teen taken in by English merchant John Tunstall (Terrence Stamp) who mentors him and several other 'young guns' – Richard 'Dick' Brewer (Charlie Sheen), Doc Scurlock (Keifer Sutherland), Chavez (Lou Diamond Phillips), Dirty Steve Stephens (Dermot Malroney) and Charles 'Charley' Bowdre (Casey Siemaszko). When savage injustice strikes, the youths team-up as deputies, but Billy's demand for justice takes them beyond the law where they are hunted as an outlaw gang. "Young Guns" (1988) is an excellent 'modern' Western that sticks pretty close to history. The anachronistic 80's pop rock score wasn't as bad or prevalent as I remembered and, besides, it's mixed with some more traditional Western music, usually "live" stuff performed in the scenes, like banjo, guitar, and so on. The movie is realistic if you can roll with certain things done for dramatic effect. The amazing true-life story is brought to action-packed life by a great cast (also featuring Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, Brian Keith and Patrick Wayne) with excellent performances and potent dramatic scenes, like Chavez's notable venting sequence). Not only are the characters fleshed out, but the flick entertains with one great scene after another. For instance, the way Billy handles a traitor in their midst, not to mention Sheriff Brady and an arrogant bounty hunter at a bar. Then there's the wild Buckshot Roberts sequence, Billy's two encounters with Pat Garrett, and the thrilling showdown at the house. If you have the DVD or Blu-ray, be sure to catch the excellent 30-minute documentary on the real-life Billy the Kid for comparison to the movie and its sequel. Speaking of the sequel, 1990's "Young Guns II" is almost as good and better in some ways (for instance, there's more rollicking action and a superior score, not to mention Jenny Wright as Jane Greathouse). It's mandatory because it shows the rest of the story - the hiring of Pat Garrett to chase down the gang and put an end to it by taking Billy out. It also sticks pretty close to history, but takes some understandable licenses (both Doc and Chavez lived to be old men, 80 and 72 respectively). It runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and was shot in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, with the town of Los Cerrillos redressed to pass for 1878. GRADE: A-

Wuchak26 Aug, 2025