Young
Guns II (1990)
western
directed
by : Geoff Murphy
featuring
: Emilio Estevez - Kiefer Sutherland - Lou Diamond Phillips - Christian
Slater
running
time : 1 hour 45 minutes
Only three of the
original five "young guns" — Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez), Jose Chavez
y Chavez (Lou Diamond Phillips), and Doc Scurlock (Kiefer Sutherland) —
return in Young Guns: Part 2, which is the story of Billy the Kid and his
race to safety in Old Mexico while being trailed by a group of government
agents led by Pat Garrett (William Petersen). Along the way, Billy's crew
gains three new recruits: Arkansas Dave Rudabaugh (Christian Slater), Tom
O'Folliard (Balthazar Getty), and Hendry French (Alan Ruck). Though the
film suffers from an uneven script, many performances — particularly Slater's
— are surprisingly strong, and the movie looks great. The theme song, "Blaze
of Glory", is performed by Jon Bon Jovi in his first solo appearance; the
rocker also has a cameo in the film.
The sequel
to the successful brat pack Western Young Guns (1988), Geoff Murphy's film
is equally devoid of talent. The film follows Billy the Kid's (Estevez)
attempts to elude a posse led by Sheriff Pat Garrett (Petersen) in the
company of his bad guy peers: Sutherland, Slater, and Phillips. Mostly
a showcase for adolescent posturing, the film labors to make its bad guys
heroic in the Peckinpah mold, but neither the formulaic script nor the
mediocre acting come anywhere near that level. Petersen, as the laconic
sheriff, is the only actor who seems to be doing more than phoning his
part in.