After acting his socks off in last year's Vietnam flick Tigerland, Colin Farrell obviously wanted to have some fun in this rumbustious comedy Western. Let's hope he enjoyed himself, since no one else is likely to get many laughs out of this steaming pile of cattle dung.
In the aftermath of the civil war, Jesse James (Farrell) leads a band of outlaws against the ruthless railroad company, determined to save the innocent farmers of Missouri from the implacable march of progress.
Throwing historical accuracy, excitement and any saving touch of irony to the prairie winds, American Outlaws is a travesty of a once-great genre. All the requisite whoring, cussing and bloody killing has been snipped in order to secure a box-office friendly certificate, and the result is a toothless blend of Bonanza and The A-Team - not what you want from a Western, even one aimed at the teen market. John Ford must be spinning in his grave.
