You know, Sir, I do admire you, and I sure would like to touch the gun that's gonna kill Billy the Kid.

TITLE: Young Guns (1988)

A fast paced modern Western with a twist of brat packing is how I can describe the Young Guns movie. It's an entertaining story of the Lincoln County War when Billy the Kid and his band of Regulators took on their adversaries.

The movie featured six up-and-comers who were determined to bring their own personality in their characters. The ones who stood out were Emilio Estevez (William H Bonney aka Billy the Kid), Casey Siemaszko (Charley), and Lou Diamond Philips (Chavez).

Emilio Estevez played the wild and self-assured Billy the Kid. He became the leader of the Regulators when Dick (Charlie Sheen) died as they were being hunted down by Murphy (Jack Palance). Seemingly psychotic, Billy the Kid knew how to keep the Regulators from falling apart.

With his speech:

"See, you get yourself 3 or 4 good pals; then you've got yourself a tribe. And there ain't nothing stronger than that."

Billy the Kid spurred on the Regulators to keep fighting instead of giving up and running away.

Casey Siemaszko played Charley, the sympathy puppy of the crew. Maybe because Charley seemed slow witted that the "Pals" speech affected him the most.

Lou Diamond Phillips played Chavez, a Mexican-Indian among white cowboys. Chavez was on the receiving end of many rascists remarks coming from Dirty Steve, a Regulator, and others. He and Doc (Kiefer Sutherland) formed a strong bond.

What I like about Chavez was the mystic elements he brought by drawing from Indian philosophies. He was also an expert knife fighter and throwing knives looked so much cooler than shooting. Since he was shrouded with mysteries, he was the x-factor of the group. Somehow, when things were not going right for the Regulators, we knew that he was gonna do something unexpected to turn the tide. Chavez was the guy who snuck out of the house during the siege who managed to round up the horses for their get away.

Another thing I remembered about Young Guns was how surprised I was when Charlie Sheen died. At the time, I thought that major stars do not get killed in the movies. But when he just laid on the ground after getting shot by Buck Shot Roberts (Brian Keith), apparently they do.

SELECTED YOUNG GUNS MOVIE QUOTES

"I'm not a pistoleer or a knifesmith like that greaser Chavez Chavez over there. I'm a pugilist."

"I could've killed ya Dick. I could've killed ya. But I don't wanna kill ya I wanna eat."

"Advices from Lincoln report that Jose Chavez Y Chavez moved to California where he changed his name and took work on a fruit ranch. Josiah 'Doc' Scurlock is reported to have left the West for the East, taking with him a celestial bride, her mother and fourteen brothers and sisters. Susan McSween went on to see both her husband's and John Tunstall's dreams to fruition, by becoming one of most prominent cattlewomen of all time. Governor Axtel was forced to resign by President Rutherford B. Hayes and both the Murphy-Dolan faction and the Santa Fe Ring collapsed. William H. Bonney, also known as 'Billy the Kid' continued to ride, never leaving New Mexico. He was caught in Fort Sumner by Sheriff Pat Garret and killed. Sources report that he was unarmed, and shot in the dark. He was buried with Charley Bowdre at Old Fort Sumner. Advices report that sometime later, an unidentified person snuck into the graveyard and chiseled an inscription. The epitaph read only one word... 'Pals'."

The Young Guns movie script is available at Movie Scripts On Line.

2008 is the 20th anniversary of Young Guns! Congrats. The Young Guns DVD can be purchased from Amazon.com.

Technorati Tags: 80's Films, western, action, Young Guns, Kiefer Sutherland, Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Lou Diamond Phillips, Casey Siemaszko, movie review