American Outlaws

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American Outlaws

PG-13

2001

1h 33m

Western

Action

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Popcornmeter

14%

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96 Reviews

67%

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25,000+ Ratings

After the Civil War ends, Confederate soldiers Frank (Gabriel Macht) and Jesse James (Colin Farrell) return home with the three Younger brothers to learn that railroad baron Thaddeus Rains (Harris Yulin) is trying to drive Missouri citizens out of their homes. When both families resist, the James boys' mother (Kathy Bates) is murdered. Furious, the two groups of brothers team up for a series of robberies designed to hurt the railroad. Detective Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) pursues them.

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Critics Consensus

With corny dialogue, revisionist history, anachronistic music, and a generically attractive cast, American Outlaws is a sanitized, teenybopper version of Jesse James.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 21, 2010

3/5

Silly western revisits Jesse James.

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Jamie Russell

BBC.com

Dec 17, 2001

2/5

The kind of film that will have you throwing your popcorn at the screen in disgust.

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Rex Reed

Observer

Aug 31, 2001

A big yawn that only reminds us why movie westerns are six feet under and not likely to make a comeback.

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Jun 16, 2013

2/5

Let's cast a lot of cute boys as the James/Younger gang. In between hold-ups, they can bicker about who's the cutest and, oh yeah, they can take their shirts off a lot.

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Kit Bowen

Hollywood.com

Nov 20, 2008

2/5

Mark Halverson

Sacramento News & Review

Aug 7, 2008

1/5

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Ram 4

@Roll47 Oct 3, 2026

It had the James boys mother dying when they were in their 20's when she actually lived to be 86 and died in 1911. The movie never meets reality. B movie fiction but a way to pass the time.

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JD H.

@RT34169225 Jun 2, 2026

Could see the competition between this movie and YoungGuns. I believe this was Colin's spring board into an amazing career. One of my top 10.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone May 2, 2025

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o elenco é fraco, mas ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

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Ian R

@RT23899272 Apr 8, 2025

What a load of codswallop. Colin Farrell sucked. Who cast Caan in this? He looks deformed. Genuinely terrible film. Don't waste your time.

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Farah R

@Farah Oct 6, 2023

American Outlaws is more like a music video than a movie. The acting is corny, the story is weak, and the whole thing is wrapped in cliches.

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May 26, 2022

Jesse James (George Stults) and his brother Frank (Tim Abell) have emerged from a robbery gone wrong and Jesse is healing up with the help of Carrie (Siri Baruc) and Mary (Lauren Eckstrom). They don't know that Marhsall Kane (Peter Fonda, who started his career making low budget Roger Corman films and fits in just fine here) is coming after them as well as his men making a play for the money and leaving the brothers in the cold. How do you feel about day for night? Do you love it? Would you be happy just to have Jeffrey Combs show up for a little bit? Will you watch every western there is? Are you a fan of Fred Olen Ray or perhaps writing an entire week of a web site about his movies? There's still someone on IMDB that's calling out the historical and weapon accuracy of Ray's movies, such as how the movie is set in the 1860s and civilians are carrying Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army revolvers — which weren't available to the general population until 1875 or later — and none of the guns recoil when they're shot. I appreciate the writer's attention to detail and invite them to write for the site.

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Les Mayfield

Director

Colin Farrell

Jesse James

Scott Caan

Cole Younger

Ali Larter

Zee Mimms

Gabriel Macht

Frank James

Gregory Smith

Jim Younger

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Synopsis

After the Civil War ends, Confederate soldiers Frank (Gabriel Macht) and Jesse James (Colin Farrell) return home with the three Younger brothers to learn that railroad baron Thaddeus Rains (Harris Yulin) is trying to drive Missouri citizens out of their homes. When both families resist, the James boys' mother (Kathy Bates) is murdered. Furious, the two groups of brothers team up for a series of robberies designed to hurt the railroad. Detective Allan Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) pursues them.

Director: Les Mayfield
Producer: James G. Robinson, Bill Gerber
Screenwriter: Roderick Taylor, John Rogers
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Morgan Creek Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Western Violence)
Genre: Western, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 17, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.3M
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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