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AMERICAN OUTLAWS (PG-13)

Plot Summary: Jesse James and his gang of outlaws wage war against a corrupt railroad.

Reason for the Rating: Western violence.

AMERICAN OUTLAWS claims to be a movie that gives us a fresh glimpse into the story of the legendary Jesse James. I'll be honest with you, I didn't know a whole lot about the real Jesse James story going into the theater. And after watching AMERICAN OUTLAWS, I still don't. This movie was difficult to follow, and I didn't sense that I was being shown any real historical accuracies. However, even if it were accurate, too many mishaps distract from any truths this film may contain.

Though the movie does center around Jesse James (played by Collin Farrell) the screenplay seems written more for the purpose of turning relative newcomer Farrell into a major star than for the purpose of making sense. The movie begins in the middle of unexplained action, and as it continues, the sequence of events is extremely choppy. It's difficult to figure out what has happened in between the jumps from the contrived intense action scenes to the contrived intense emotional scenes, but one thing can be guaranteed. In the midst of all their confusion, the audience can count on seeing Jesse on screen, trying his hardest to convey the right feelings for the time. Unfortunately, he, like most of the actors in the movie, is unconvincing. And speaking of unconvincing, well...lets just say a good accent is hard to find in this flick. 

As far as family values are concerned, this film is relatively harmless. It contains quite a lot of old western style violence, but it has no other major moral flaws. It does take a few cheap shots at Christianity, which is bothersome, but at other times, the characters do seem to believe in God. That's just another example of how inconsistent and awkward the entire movie is. Nothing seems to fit together, nothing seems at all possible in real life, and nothing seems genuine. It's hard to tell where these American outlaws are coming from, and if it weren't such an extremely bad pun, I'd be tempted to recommend consideration of outlawing this movie in America. Or at least outlawing it from your movie-going agenda! 

FamilyFans.com Recommends: Sadly, you'll probably enjoy renting an old John Wayne western on video more than this movie.

After the Show…If members of your family choose to view this movie, use these questions to spark discussion about it afterward:

-- Do you think it was right for Jesse's gang to fight evil with violence and robbery? Explain your answer. Which qualities in Jesse and his friends were admirable?

-- How do you think Jesus would have helped the people fight against the injustice of the railroad?

-- How do you think Jesus would have helped the people fight against the injustice of the railroad? 

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