Synopsis: Six of the hottest stars

The year is 1878, Lincoln County, John Tunstall, a British ranch owner, hires six rebellious boys as “regulators” to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators, led by the wild-tempered Billy the Kid (Estevez), declare war on the Ring. As their vendetta turns into a bloody rampage, they are branded outlaws, becoming the objects of the largest manhunt in the western history.
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Young Guns 7.75

Let’s get this out of the way at the onset: ‘Young Guns’, including its title, is low-brow.

I admit it whole-heartedly. I recognize that it’s everything that’s good and bad about ’80s films, including “cool” (but, in this film, anachronistic ) quips and a guitar-rock score (in a Western, no less! ). It’s vaguely familiar in almost all respects and smells of rehash.

But it’s fun. Dumb, yes, but fun nonetheless.

Mind you, maybe I say this because I originally saw it at a more impressionable age. Perhaps, if I saw ‘Young Guns’ (!) for the first time today, I’d be less enthusiastic about it. I can’t know, obviously, but I could easily understand why some people wouldn’t enjoy this, finding it all too derivative and silly. However, I also know a lot of people who like this – perhaps as a guilty pleasure.

The film is basically anchored by the cast. I suspect that, if one didn’t like the actors, it would all fall apart. It’s strange, ’cause even though some of the acting borders on the ridiculous, there’s still a fair bit of charisma on screen – and sometimes that elusive quality can make up for a lack of skill (Marilyn Monroe is the perfect example: not because she couldn’t act, but because she was inconsistent. But boy, did she have that “special something”! )

I remember how struck I was with the cast back then. While they’re a mixed bag, there was just something about them collectively that worked. I can’t even say that I had favourites, because I adored more than half of them for various reasons:

-Kiefer Sutherland impressed me with his sensitivity and humanity. It’s something that I haven’t seen from him in a long time (although, admittedly, I haven’t followed his career that much after such stinkers as ‘The Three Musketeers’ and ‘The Vanishing’ ). I didn’t know it then, but in ‘Young Guns’ there are shades of his father in the way he inhabits his character. Very nice.

-Emilio Estevez was a total blast. As a teenager, his recklessness was overcome by his joie de vivre and balls. Estevez is totally over-the-top here, in total (coked up?) hyena mode. He’s a lot of fun to watch, but is wholly unrealistic.

– Lou Diamond Philips exuded “cool” in this. He doesn’t display much range (he plays, after all, the stoic native! ), but there was just something about him that made him steal every single scene he was in. It’s unfortunate that he lost his star power soon thereafter.

– I’ll always remember Charlie Sheen’s turn as the more cerebral, “clean” guy of the bunch – and fearless leader of his posse. It’s funny to see now because it’s so the opposite of his reputation as an unhinged party animal. But this is the Sheen that I once knew.

– Terence Stamp plays… Terence Stamp. It may have been my first encounter, but it was a memorable one. He controls the screen when he’s on it, even though I’ve always seen him in largely similar roles. Mind you, I have yet to see “Priscilla”. Oh, and I keep forgetting his over-the-top General Zod in ‘Superman II’.

– Jack Palance is the weakest link of the bunch. As per usual, he chews the scenery whenever he’s on. But he’s still memorable, and I have no doubt that my teenage mind didn’t know any better. Let’s just say that he makes his character easy to hate – and I guess that’s why he makes for a good villain in ‘Young Guns’.

(Snicker, snicker… as a side-note, I love how the synopsis from the DVD states “six of the hottest stars”, referring of course to the megastar power of Dermott Mulroney and Casey Siemaszko. If you just said “who?”, you’ve justified my replacing them with Terence Stamp and Jack Palance in MY list )

The story in ‘Young Guns’ defies credulity, of course, and probably spits in the eye of history, but it doesn’t really matter so long as you go along for the ride. And, as far as rides go, ‘Young Guns’ is a pretty good one.

It’s not a classic, per se, but it’s definitely memorable (I remember loving every minute of it back then!). And it actually has replay value – which is not all bad, low-brow or not.