American Outlaws

The concept that drives "American Outlaws" wasn't even fresh the last time it was brought to the big screen, which was in 1988's "Young Guns" and the even-more-tepid 1990 sequel.

Not content to just steal from those two movies, the makers of this so-so, made-for-teens Western compound that problem by swiping from better films such as 1999's "Ride with the Devil" and 1985's "Silverado," now arguably a classic.

For a period piece, this film is horrifyingly anachronistic — and not even in the dopey, sort-of-fun manner favored by this summer's more entertaining, would-be epic "A Knight's Tale."

Still, it is refreshing to see a big-screen Western, even if it is as aggressively mediocre as this drastic piece of historical revisionism.

If nothing else, the film is noteworthy for giving the first mainstream exposure to supposed star-in-the-making Colin Farrell as the famous outlaw Jesse James.

As the film opens, Jesse, his brother Frank (Gabriel Macht) and cousin Cole Younger (Scott Caan) have returned from holding off Union troops trying to seize their Missouri farms for the U.S. government.

However, the threats to their family farms aren't over — they're just beginning. Railroad baron Thaddeus Rains (Harris Yulin) is busy buying up property to lay tracks for a transcontinental line, or worse, forcing farmers off their land.

To fight fire with fire, the James-Younger gang begins robbing banks where the railroad has its assets stored. And in a "good-will" gesture, the outlaws spread the wealth around to farmers and communities displaced by the railroad instead of keeping it for themselves.

While the rest of the gang is content with this new lifestyle, Jesse would like to retire and settle down with his girlfriend (Ali Larter). Unfortunately for him, famed security agent Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) wants to make their feud personal.

It's hard to say which is worse: The fact that there's no real energy here, or that screenwriters Roderick Taylor and John Rogers try to "hip" up their script with corny, anachronistic dialogue.

The cast doesn't seem all that inspired, either. And even though you can see flashes of potential in Farrell's performance, any of today's bland young stars could have replaced Caan as his partner-in-crime.

"American Outlaws" is rated PG-13 for Western violence (including gunfights, fistfights and explosive mayhem), as well as scattered use of profanity and some mildly vulgar slang terms. Running time: 94 minutes.

---

E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com