Outlaw Justice (1999)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

So much average

Sadly Over-hyped

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Country singing legends Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Travis Tritt form their own posse to go after Sancho Gracia who has killed one of their friends, Waylon Jennings. Even though Tritt is a sheriff now and the other two are kind of mellowed out outlaws, they all ride to get even for Jennings and administer their own brand of Outlaw Justice.I found elements of such big screen western classics as The Searchers, Ride the High Country and Valdez is Coming all mixed in with the plot structure of Outlaw Justice. All of these guys do fine jobs and create some interesting characters. But the holes in the story as well as the lack of credible motivation for some characters leave Outlaw Justice really lacking.

I had not realised these singers acted too until this The basic plot has a lot of promise to be a classic enjoyable straight 'action western' with possible 'feel good' or comic possibilities as well. The singers have surprising screen presence and the production runs along quite well and logically until the last shootout But the violence was generally more graphic than I like or necessary, with the usual questionable American popular romanticisation and simplification of vigilante-ism or ' a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do '. Some bits made no sense or were clearly unrealistic or fantastic so the film seemed undecided between being a straight classic western or a 'feel good' Good Guys Always Win and Are Heroes to Boot show The final scenes were rather illogical in terms of behaviour and spoilt an otherwise consistent plot. Not much more is needed to make this an 'above average' film so the unfulfilled promise is disappointing and surprising given the actors involved

File this one under one of the better Westerns you probably never heard of. It pits a pair of good bad guys (Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson), against a bad, bad guy in a tale of retribution and revenge that's full of clichés that play out refreshingly well when doled out by Lee Walker (Nelson) and Jesse Ray Tarence (Kristofferson). It probably helps if you're a fan of the musicians, as the film offers a couple of well placed numbers to move it along; Nelson's tune is particularly effective if you listen to the words carefully.The pair are joined by young Chad Willett, portraying the son of Waylon Jennings' character Tobey, who's murdered in the film's opening scene to set up the story. Holden Bonney (Sancho Gracia) seeks vengeance on all three men for a perceived ill toward him; he's the only one of their former gang who did prison time. All the others opted to join the Confederate Army in exchange for pardon upon completing their service. Failing to break their cohort out of jail, Holden has had years to stew about how to get even.What's not made clear is Holden's alliance with a Mexican colonel (Simon Andru), who he hires to help take out his former partners. It's pretty transparent that the two are not very fond of each other, and it seems a bit overdone for him to need an entire Mexican Army regiment to do a Butch and Sundance on the boys.Waylon Jennings offers the film's narration after his brief appearance, in a diary given to his adopted son Brice by Lee. Brice reads the diary during his ride with the former outlaws, and gains new perspective on their life and the code they live by. One confusing element though, Brice's claim to fame was as "intecollegiate heavyweight boxing champ" - in the 1870's??? You just know he'll come to regret that claim, especially after he falls asleep during his first night watch and the group is robbed. He loses his title rather quickly to Tarence. Brice never learned how to handle a gun, his college training taught him how to be a farmer. So it comes as a surprise when he shoots Holden's gun out of his hand in the final showdown. Backing off, Holden uses a hidden derringer at close range to put down his young opponent. As Holden approaches at arm's length, Brice uses a Bowie knife that Tarence gave him earlier acknowledging his lack of skill with a firearm. As the Mexican soldiers are waved off by their leader, Brice collects his "business associates", and heads into sundown with time to ponder on just who these men are that once rode with his father.

Bill Corcoran's film OUTLAW JUSTICE aka THE LONG KILL lacks the style of Sergio Leone, the spectacle of John Ford, or the rawness of Sam Peckinpah, but Bill Corcoran's film is nevertheless entertaining and reflects the work of all these fine directors. Co-stars Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, who play former fugitive outlaws - Lee and Tarence, are getting a bit gray around the gills, and at times greatly stretch the view's ability to suspend disbelief that these two old age pensioners can be the two fisted brawling outlaws they portray, but the actors'charisma, mutual chemistry, empathy for the characters, and some self deprecating humor combine to help them pull off the performances. Country singer Travis Tritt turns in a surprisingly decent performance as Dalton - Willie and Kris' former cohort turned good guy lawman. The late great Waylon Jennings delivers a short but sweet performance as Tobey, another of Willie and Kris' former gang members who's murdered early in the film but resurfaces to deliver voiceovers in scenes where his estranged son learns about his murdered father through a diary. The film suffers from poorly played two dimensional villains (Sancho Garcia as Holden is especially stiff), big plot holes * *spoiler **(exactly why does Colonel Lupo want to capture Lee and Tarence so bad that's he's willing to pay a reward to a man he hates equally as much - Holden - and then let the two go?), well worn clichés, stereotyped characters and certainly doesn't break any new ground in the genre, but for the stars' fans and anyone who enjoys westerns - it is entirely watchable. I gave it a 6 out 10.