If you're not too concerned about historical accuracy, this is an adequate time filler, but so much of it is made up that if you know something about the James-Younger Gang, you'll wind up shaking your head. Irishman Colin Farrell as the infamous Western outlaw would be your first head scratcher, with poetic license galore on display throughout the picture. For example, Ma James (Kathy Bates) wasn't killed in the explosion initiated by Pinkerton agents at the family homestead in Missouri, though a younger half brother of Jesse's was. Nor was cousin Jim Younger killed in a posse chase following the robbery of the Hyperion Bank; all three of the Youngers were involved with Frank and Jesse in the disastrous Great Northfield Minnesota Bank Robbery of 1876, in which all the Youngers were wounded and later captured trying to escape.
What this story does get right is the rivalry between Cole Younger (Scott Caan) and Jesse for leadership of their gang, with Jesse attaining that status by virtue of his flamboyant manner and daring exploits. Their image as bandits gained something of a Robin Hood like status when their targets included corrupt bankers, businessmen and politicians. It wasn't until after the Pinkerton bombing that public opinion began to turn against the gang. The idea that Jesse and Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) came to some sort of agreement to overlook Jesse's crimes if he moved to Tennessee is another one of the big fictions the movie has to offer.
There are better movie treatments of Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang for Western movie fans, and one of the best is 2007's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". It's a stunningly visual film, with cinematography that will take your breath away, focusing more on Jesse and his relationship with the man who eventually came to murder him. For action fans, you'd be hard pressed to find a better stunt scene than the one filmed in "The Long Riders", with it's choreographed slow motion horse jump through the windows of a shop during the escape from the Northfield Minnesota Raid. Both are well recommended for their story lines and reliance on historical facts.
What this story does get right is the rivalry between Cole Younger (Scott Caan) and Jesse for leadership of their gang, with Jesse attaining that status by virtue of his flamboyant manner and daring exploits. Their image as bandits gained something of a Robin Hood like status when their targets included corrupt bankers, businessmen and politicians. It wasn't until after the Pinkerton bombing that public opinion began to turn against the gang. The idea that Jesse and Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) came to some sort of agreement to overlook Jesse's crimes if he moved to Tennessee is another one of the big fictions the movie has to offer.
There are better movie treatments of Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang for Western movie fans, and one of the best is 2007's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". It's a stunningly visual film, with cinematography that will take your breath away, focusing more on Jesse and his relationship with the man who eventually came to murder him. For action fans, you'd be hard pressed to find a better stunt scene than the one filmed in "The Long Riders", with it's choreographed slow motion horse jump through the windows of a shop during the escape from the Northfield Minnesota Raid. Both are well recommended for their story lines and reliance on historical facts.