The first must-see film of the year.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I'm not going to say the film is good or even one of the best westerns out there but what I will say is that it's pretty darn entertaining. The plot of the film is Billy the kid and his band of regulators off on a revenge path on the gang that killed Tunstall. It's probably the type of movie people can eat popcorn to and have a good time but also has a lot of heart. I would recommend Young Guns to pretty much anybody, even those who aren't western fans. It's entertaining and that's all a film ever needs to be, right? I think so.

Here is one of the most underrated Western films of all time. What we have here is the untold story of "The Regulators," led by the infamous Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez). The film follows the group of six young men (none of them over 21 years old, but they all look like they're 25 or 30.) The story is quite simple; their guardian is murdered, and they are deputized to find the suspects and bring them in. When Billy goes on a killing spree of the murderers, the boys are on the run from the law themselves.The great effect of this film is how it mixes exciting Western action with comedy and boyish charm. Each actor plays their part as it is meant to be played, nothing special but still exceptional. Each character also has their defining traits that make them individually likable. One of the most lovable is Doc (Kiefer Sutherland) who is great with the steel, but also claims to be a poet, even though all of his poems are slightly tweaked versions of classic poems by acclaimed authors. Lastly, we are given a wonderful, almost-evil villain played wonderfully by the Western legend, Jack Palance.This film, being made just before the 1990s, contains new comedic elements for the genre, but is also quite relatable to the classic, beloved Westerns of earlier decades. It doesn't look like other 1980s films aesthetically; it looks more like a technicolor 1950s Western, and it is very refreshing. The film is not necessarily under-watched by Western fans, but does not receive the acclaim it deserves. It's easily one of the most fun Westerns of the last three or four decades.

Young Guns was the brat pack western starring some of the brat packers of the late 1980s, well a few were deemed to be seen as rising stars such as Dermot Mulroney and Casey Siemaszko.The rest are more bona fide brat packers such as Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kiefer Sutherland accompanied by a rock score. However there is also room for western veterans like Jack Palance and Brian Keith.Estevez is the hot headed Billy the Kid who became regulators when their boss (Terence Stamp) is murdered by Palance's gang.Now when the film came out some critics were rather sniffy about the film and you have to applaud the movie for shaking the genre up a bit. However it is bewildering silly as well. In the shootout with Brian Keith in the latrine, well they could had just gone round the side to attack him and even from behind. Maybe they needed a reason to write Charlie Sheen out of the movie a third of the way through as he was in demand as an actor at the time.There is also the silly scene where the characters get high which now looks laughable. Estevez character is supposedly to be fiercely loyal to his slain boss but also appears to be psychotic.I remember liking the film a lot when it first came out but now it looks dismal. You end up thinking why does Stamp's character want to surround himself with young lost men.Sutherland's poetic character comes off best but even his romance with the Chinese ward of Palance looks rather odd.

I have not seen a lot of westerns so I don't pretend to be some expert on western movies. However this is without a doubt one of the best westerns of all-time and my favorite western of all-time. I know some people criticize this film for not being historically accurate or a shallow attempt to be a "hip" western. Well, the truth is this film is not 100% accurate with history but what movie is? I liked the idea of this being a hip western staring Hollywood's "brat pack" with rock music playing in the background. I think it fits because this is basically a story about Billy the kid, a outlaw who was under 20 years old so it makes sense to give this one a younger or hipper feel to it. I like the Billy the kid story and I've seen many movies about him but this is the best one for 3 reasons. 1: I liked that they started from the beginning, other films focus on the "later" years when he met Pat Garret. 2: I like that this is more about the gang and not just about Billy. 3: Emilio Estevez is the best Billy the kid. I think the story is very well done, it's the best depiction of the Lincoln county war in New Mexico and the changes made were for the better. Like in real life John Tunstall was only twenty something and their were about a dozen or so "regulaters" not just the 6 shown here but the changes made worked for the better. The film is well directed by Chris Cain with a great balance of action, humor and is appropriately violent. I also like the look of the film, it really makes you feel like their in the wild west during 1878 and not on some sound stage. It also has a great cast! With the great Terrance Stamp who's perfectly cast as John Tunstall, an older English man who takes in six young rebellious men to work at his cattle ranch. The villain is the always great Jack Palance as Murphy, who kills Tunstal, starting the war. The 6 young boys search for justice so they become sheriffs but thanks to Billy killing everyone who they're supposed to arrest, they become outlaws. I LOVE Emillio Estevez as Billy the Kid. I know many would say his interpretation is not historically accurate but I think it's much more the way we would like to imagine the kid. Emillio gives one of his best performances and he was cheated out of an Oscar nomination. I think they did a great job in blending a lot of color to the kid. Billy is a lot of things in this movie, he's cocky, rebellious, trigger-happy, a little crazy, a loyal friend, and charming. Billy is perfectly portrayed as an anti-hero like he should be. Emillio always makes him likable even if we know he's a little crazy. I do like how they make Billy a little crazy as he takes pleasure in killing his enemies. His kills are marked by his unforgettable giggle, I love Emillio's lunatic sounding laugh. Billy is fearless who enjoys the thrill of life or death situations. But despite his wild behavior he's extremely loyal to his friends which gives him a lot of heart. Kiefer Sutherland is great as the more sensitive "Doc", one of my favorite performances of his. I love Lou Diamond Phillips as Chavez Y Chavez, possibly his best role and I love his knife skills. Dermot Mulloney is great as "dirty" Steve and he has a lot of funny moments. Casey Siemasko is great as Charlie, the more scared one of the bunch. I love Charlie Sheen as Dick, the appointed leader of the gang. I like how he fought for leadership of the regulators with his real life brother Emillio as Billy. I like the name of the gang as "the regulators", that's a cool name. The film has non stop action, good humor, good characters and the theme of friendship works well here.I love the rock'n'roll theme music. I like that they show Emillio/Billy take the now famous Billy the kid picture as well. One of my favorite movies of all-time.