Young Guns

Young Guns

Back in 1988, this was one of those movies that people from my generation grew up on. It was our cowboy western. Sure, it was the history of the Billy the Kid, as told by the Brat Pack. It starred the then hot Emilio Estevez as Billy the Kid. It had the flash of MTV, while maintaining a lot real historical facts here and there.

With this young cast, surprisingly, they pretty much held their own in their respective roles. Estevez does a great job with his role. Billy is a cool-blooded killer, but has a strong loyalty to his crew. This was probably Lou Diamond Phillips best role to date as the Mexican Indian Chavez. Kiefer Southerland’s Doc is another interesting character worth mention too.

While the story does somewhat follow the real history of Billy the Kid and his gang, the writers had to take some liberties with the story. There are still moments that are very funny in the movie, mostly involving Billy. The score to the movie isn’t very good, and perhaps too pop/rock heavy for a western. While the movie still holds up, I feel that Young Guns II is a better movie all around.

Grade: B

So, John Locke was a cowboy before he ended up on the island.