Young Guns Ii

Western, Action

Emilio Estevez	William H. Bonney
Kiefer Sutherland	Josiah Gordon Scurlock
Lou Diamond Phillips	Jose Chavez Y. Chavez
Christian Slater	Arkansas Dave Rudabaugh
William L. Petersen	Pat Garrett
Alan Ruck	Hendry William French
R.D. Call	D.A. Rynerson
James Coburn	John Chisum
Balthazar Getty	Tom O'Folliard
Jack Kehoe	Ashmun Upson
Robert Knepper	Deputy Carlyle
Tom Kurlander	J.W. Bell
Viggo Mortensen	John W. Poe
Leon Rippy	Bob Ollinger
Tracey Walter	Beever Smith

Director	Geoff Murphy
Producer	John Fusco; Gary Barber
Writer	John Fusco
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Musician	Alan Silvestri; Jon Bon Jovi

This time around, the Brat Packers (Emilio Estevez, Christian Slater, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kiefer Sutherland) are on the run from the law and making a break for the border. Sutherland is yanked from his school-teaching job back East and extradited for trial, until he's liberated by the other members of the gang. There's a memorable scrap between Phillips and Slater, and a couple of pretty decent firefights, but all in all this is rather forgettable fare. It taps into the futility and camaraderie of classics like The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but Sam Peckinpah or George Roy Hill it ain't. Jon Bon Jovi adds to the Rock-Stars-in-the-Old-West feel of this one, rife as it is with non-period dialogue and long, blowy hair. Still, fans of the original movie may find plenty to like in this sequel, even if it comes across as being a bit tired and turgid (notice there never was a Young Guns III). --Jerry Renshaw