American Outlaws

History and any semblance of movie magic gets stuffed deep into the saddlebags of this lame western as young Hollywood beefcakes resurrect for the gazillionth time the legend of the Missouri-based James-Younger Gang. Colin Ferrell and Gabriel Macht star as Jesse and Frank James, two rebel soldiers who join forces with the Younger brothers (including Scott Caan) and a Comanche scout (Nathaniel Arcand) to rob banks after being driven from their farms by The Railroad. Mythic security guard Allen Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) protects the righteousness of progress as homesteads are burned to the ground and innocents are killed. In the film’s dumbest scene (of which there are plenty), the James boys ride up to their home just before it explodes and their mother (Kathy Bates) then stumbles out for a soot-faced, dying bye-bye. Directed by Les Mayfield (Flubber, Encino Man).