Genre:
Western
Theatrical Release: 08/12/1988(USA)
Release Date: 01/01/2001
Sound: DTS/DD5.1/DD2
Run Time:
Flags: Not For Children, Profanity, Western Violence
Distributor/Studio: Live/Artisan
In this
Western based loosely on actual events and people,
Emilio Estevez stars as
William H. Bonney (aka
Billy the Kid). Sought for a petty crime in Lincoln County,
Billy is taken in by
John Tunstall (
Terrence Stamp), a British ranch owner seeking to make it in the cattle business.
Tunstall employs a group of "regulators," comprised of wayward youths he's gathered over the years, to watch over his ranch; in turn, he teaches them how to read and reforms them into better men.
Tunstall's business interests come into conflict with those of corrupt and murderous businessman
Lawrence Murphy (
Jack Palance), whose widespread connections make him a power to be reckoned with. When
Tunstall won't budge from his right to pursue a living,
Murphy's henchmen stage an ambush and kill him. This triggers a vow of vengeance from the quick-tempered
Billy and his five fellow regulators, who are deputized to serve arrest warrants in the murder. However, when
Billy decides to gun down the suspects instead of detaining them, his loyal pals become accessories in a vigilante spree to wipe the territory clean of
Murphy and his web of conspirators. Soon, the supposed lawmen are on the run from bounty hunters, henchmen, and government soldiers, from all directions of the compass. This box-office hit also stars
Charlie Sheen,
Kiefer Sutherland,
Lou Diamond Phillips,
Dermot Mulroney, and
Casey Siemaszko. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
;)
