This movie made me angry. Not just because it is a routine Western, filled with cliches, but because it is hard to imagine that in 2001, the writers of this embarrassment wouldn't give any regard to history. I realize it's just a movie, and there's a long tradition of glamorizing the murderers and psychopaths of the American west, but there has been enough research lately about Jesse James that makes this film's treatment of him as Robin Hood an outrage. Let's be clear: Jesse James was in essence a terrorist. He rode with Bloody Bill Anderson and William Quantrill, who were Confederate raiders who performed unspeakable atrocities in the name of slavery. James was no Robin Hood. He was in it for the money. The gang is represented in this movie as good-hearted guys just doin' what's right and carin' bout their mamas. Horse-hockey! Read the new biography by T.J. Stiles to get the true story. A realistic movie about James would be fascinating, but is beyond the talent of the crew involved in this boil on the butt of cinema. And besides, didn't Young Guns make this unnecessary?
Review of American Outlaws
