Susan Granger's review of "AMERICAN OUTLAWS" (Warner Bros.)
Thomas Edison's "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) was the first Western ever made and "Jesse James Under the Black Flag" (1923) first introduced the outlaw folk hero. Now, more than 20 similarly-themed pictures later, Jesse James and his notorious gang of outlaws ride again in a banal MTV spin on an American legend. The story begins as Jesse (charasmatic Colin Farrell) and his brother Frank (Gabriel Macht), Cole and Scott Younger (Scott Caan, Will McCormack) and trusty Comanche Tom (Nathaniel Arcand), after four years of fighting for the Rebs in the Civil War, return to Liberty, Missouri - only to discover Union troops are occupying their hometown. And an avaricious East Coast railroad baron, Thaddeus Rains (Harris Yulin), is forcing farmers to sell their land at less than true value, aided by Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) and his infamous detectives who, back then, were just thugs who provided security. But when Ma James (Kathy Bates) becomes one of their victims, Jesse and the rest of the guys (Gregory Smith, Ty O'Neal, Joe Stevens) form the James-Younger gang to wreak revenge by attacking the railroad's supply lines, sabotaging track and robbing the banks where the payroll is kept. Plus there's romance - between Jesse and a spunky hometown gal, Lee Mimms (Ali Larter). Working from a politically-correct, cliché-drenched, sanitized and revisionist screenplay by Roderick Taylor and John Rodgers, director Les Mayfield keeps the action fast-paced and goes for lightweight laughs when he can. The choppy editing hurts but Russell Boyd's cinematography, Luke Reichle's designer duds and Trevor Rabin's music lend authenticity. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "American Outlaws" is a galloping, formulaic 3. It's the Wild West re-visited as a date movie.
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