American Outlaws
United Paramount Network (UPN) | Release Date: August 17, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
25
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
5
Negative:
17
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
It's a handsome and skillful retelling of a legend that imaginatively draws on conventions of both the western and the gangster movie to create an energetic yet thoughtful contemporary action-adventure. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Jas lots of action, drama, comedy, and corn -- and few pauses, which is striking. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
A pretty dreadful affair -- ludicrous as history and a veritable gallery of visual cliches. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
At least hits a certain adrenaline level, and the stunts have panache. If you crave the ''Young Guns'' approach to the Old West, here it is again. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
It's a sad day for film lovers when the best thing that can be said about a Western is that it's pleasant.
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The best work comes from Timothy Dalton as the grizzled, Scots-accented head of the Pinkertons. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
While movies like "The Long Riders" (1980) and "The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid" (1972) aim to be serious considerations of the outlaws' lives and legends, this picture just wants to have fun. Read full review
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
A weak whinny of a horse opera tailor-made for those who can't quite locate "Young Guns" or "The Long Riders" in their video store. Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
May be simple, but it's also simple-minded; this is, after all, a movie determined to transform its Rebel soldier heroes into men of the people, making it as neglectful of politics as last summer's "Patriot," which evaded that nasty issue of slavery during the America Revolution. Read full review
38
New York PostLou Lumenick
Repackage clichés and stereotypes with attractive young performers in a simple-minded script that panders to the teen audience. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyStaff (Not credited)
Bogusly wholesome six-gun dud. Read full review
30
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
So desperate are the filmmakers to create a "hip" western that they try to cram it with action sequences that aren't very exciting. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleWesley Morris
This plot leaves ample room for viewers to sweat the small stuff, like whether Trevor Nunn's score is more Marines ad or deodorant commercial. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
For years there have been reports of the death of the Western. Now comes American Outlaws, proof that even the B Western is dead. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Dalton, using a Scottish brogue coarse enough to take his tongue with it, is hootably bad, and Kathy Bates, playing Ma James, is pure ham. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The dumbest, most risible retelling ever made of the exploits of legendary bank robber Jesse James. Read full review
25
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
As a western, American Outlaws is an utter failure. As the basis of a "Mad TV" parody, it is an unintentional hoot. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Not only does American Outlaws distort history, but the filmmakers have created a dull, one-dimensional pop icon out of James' complex character and legend. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Some stories are eternal. They will not go away. They are told and retold for generations. Take the story of Jesse James --it is not one of them. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Instead of true grit and gutshot black-hatters, director Les Mayfield has crafted what may well be the world's first Tommy Hilfiger Western. Read full review
20
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Occasionally the Woo-inflected action sequences - particularly a horse stampede through town on hanging day, and an escape from a moving train - rouse the film from its anti-historic, even mythophobic torpor. Read full review
20
VarietyRobert Koehler
Sadly symbolizes the decline of the Western. The 36th bigscreen version of the exploits of the James-Younger Gang is one of the least convincing. Read full review
20
SalonStephanie Zacharek
No drama, no lyricism, just cornpone. It's too bad, because outlaws are, by their very nature, glamorous movie subjects. Read full review
20
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Should be shot at sunrise. Or strung up by the neck from a tall tree. Or at least run out of town by a big posse.
10
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Les Mayfield's unintentionally wry American Outlaws just smells -- of filmmaking manure as well as yard-sale revisionism. Read full review
0
Washington PostDesson Thomson
There's no escaping the hackneyed plot or Mayfield's conventional hand. So don't go. Read full review
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