It is just a movie folks. Not a lesson in "History". It was a slick fast paced western movie. Something Hollywood rarely gives us any longer.Sit back and enjoy or change the dang channel.It is just that simple in life...

It's a wonderful and skillful retelling of a legend that imaginatively shows another possible side of history. This movie creates an youthful, energetic yet thoughtful contemporary action-adventure without those epic-sized scenes.While other movies aim to be serious portrayals of the outlaws' lives and historical events, this picture just wants to have fun with bits & pieces of accuracy. It is not a docudrama nor should it be and It's funto root for the bad guys.The boys are buff good-looking Robin Hood-esque with a great sense of humor and some witty one-liners. Don't dismiss Ali Larter either as the strong believable Zee Mims and love interest of Jesse. Great soundtrack also, what more could you want from a light fun movie night out.

If you liked Tombstone, The Postman, Braveheart, or Robin Hood: PoT, you'll enjoy this one! What it shares is the lawless society where one (or a small band) of the targeted simple honest folks decides not to just lay down but to fight back against a seemingly undefeatable power-happy and -hungry foe. American Outlaws adds comedy and some great characters into the mix and comes up with a winner. Colin Farrell, Ali Larter and Scott Caan deliver solid performances.I don't know anything about Jesse James and I get the feeling after watching this movie, I still don't, but I do know that I'll be putting this one in my favourites pile.But that's just my two scents. ;)

American Outlaws (2001): Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, Gabriel Macht, Gregory Smith, Kathy Bates, Timothy Dalton, Al Larter, Harris Yulin, Will McCormack, Ronny Cox, Terry O'Quinn, Nathaniel Arcand, Joe Stevens, Ty O'Neal, Barry Tub, Tom Schuster, Robin Christian McNair, Brad Leland, Brady Coleman, Richard Jones, Jerry Cotton, Muse Watson, Ron Hayden, Riley Flynn, Shawn Patrick Nash, Kirk Hunter, David Jachin Kelley, Phillip Olivas, Frank Matthews, Chris Warner...Director Les Mayfield, Screenplay Roderic Taylor, John Rogers.American Outlaws from Director Les Mayfield, released in 2001, starred Colin Farrell, a rising star, as Jesse James. Essentially, this was about how Jesse James became the famed outlaw and it looks back at his youth in a sort of pre-quel to all subsequent Jesse James movies. Westerns on film have long enjoyed immense success. This film followed in the tradition of great Western-themed movies like Young Guns and Tombstone, though it did not do very well at the box office, possibly because this film uses humor to counter the action, in much the same way that "Maverick" with Mel Gibson did. Colin Farrell stars as a young Jesse James, who returns to his quiet home and mother (Kathy Bates) only to discover that a corrupt baron (Timothy Dalton) intends to buy the deeds to various homes and properties in order to build a railroad over them. It's up to Jesse and his band of brothers to fight off the bad guys and save his home. The film co-stars handsome Scott Caan, son of actor James Caan, in one of his better movies and roles as Cole, Jesse's brother. Gabriel Macht and Gregory Smith are the other brothers. Timothy Dalton, used to doing some "cruel guy" roles, is able to play the villain with natural ease. The music by Trevor Rabin is exhilarating and pulsating, the cinematography by Russell Boyd is larger-than-life, with vast town scenes and desert scenes. The writing/script is well done, with humorous touches here and there that provide relief from all the action. Because the film has some violence, it has either an R rating or PG-13 rating. It's one of the few Western films in recent years that I've enjoyed. Check out "American Outlaws".