STARS : Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, Gabriel Macht, Ali Larter, Kathy Bates & Timothy Dalton

American Outlaws represents the dawning of a new era for Village Roadshow in that it is their first ever rental only title. I suppose all good things have to come to an end eventually and at least they’ve chosen a title that not many people would be rushing out to buy anyway.

American Outlaws is the upteenth retelling of the story of Jesse & Frank James with the difference being that the facts have completely been changed for the purpose of telling a story. Try as I might though I cannot enjoy a movie that makes Jesse James out to be a good guy when the real life criminal is well known for shooting people in the back. Anyway, onto the DVD….

The main premise of the film being that the owners of the Rock Island Railroad are building their railway west across America and need to convince people to sell their land so that the construction is able to continue. The problem is that those who don’t want to sell mysteriously become the victim of violent crime which sees their farms destroyed or even worse.

Jesse (Farrell) and Frank (Macht) become involved after their home is destroyed and their mom is killed in the process. They convince several of the locals, including their cousins in the same situation to join them as they take on the might of the Railroad who are protected by the man who formed the Secret Service in Alan Pinkerton (Dalton). What follows is an intriguing battle of wits as each force tries to outdo the other. Larter plays Jesse’s love interest Zee but she’s only there in a support capacity nothing more.

This is also the second time in as many days I’ve had the pleasure of watching Colin Farrell in a film after yesterday watching the excellent Minority Report. He is the standout in this film and if he keeps this up he could quickly become a favourite of mine.

Watch It If You Enjoyed : The Quick & The Dead

Verdict : An enjoyable way to kill 90 minutes or so.

THE EXTRAS

* Audio Commentary : Director Les Mayfield, Co-Writer John Rogers and Editor Michael Tronick present a very informative commentary and demonstrate a lot of enthusiasm for the film. barely any silence demonstrates just how much they really want to share every single thing they can about the film and then some. Clearly the highlight of the DVD.

* Behind The Scenes : This is broken down into 4 sections : 1)The Making Of (8:35) - this covers casting, some behind the scenes footage of the best bits of the film and the basic plot. There are also some interviews with the cast and in particular a very Irish sounding Colin Farrell. 2) Creating The Old West (6:09) - The building of the sets and creating the towns you see in the film. 3) How To Be An Outlaw (4:53) - Teaches the main cast how to ride, shoot and generally become a part of the old west. & 4) Costuming The Cowboys (5:08) - Self explantory really.

* Deleted Scenes : The deleted scenes number 2 in total. These are called “Jesse & Frank argue” (2:15) and “Jim & Lyla” (1:26). These are actually more extended scenes than deleted scenes and neither would of added anything of any use to the film. They are presented in stereo and non enhanced widescreen footage.

* Theatrical Trailer

CONCLUSION

The movie is quite enjoyable but as mentioned earlier it’s hard to feel sympathetic with someone known for being pretty much evil incarnate.

With thanks to Village Roadshow, American Outlaws is available to rent only from July 17th