Movie · 1990 · Western, Adventure · 1h 44m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.9/10 (58.6K ratings)
The west just got wilder.
Overview
Three of the original five "young guns" — Billy the Kid, Jose Chavez y Chavez, and Doc Scurlock — return in Young Guns, Part 2, which is the story of Billy the Kid and his race to safety in Old Mexico while being trailed by a group of government agents led by Pat Garrett.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.9/10
IMDb: 6.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.22/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 31%
Metacritic: 47
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
Geoff Murphy
Production
Morgan Creek Entertainment
Cast
Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, William L. Petersen, Alan Ruck, R. D. Call, Balthazar Getty, Jack Kehoe, Robert Knepper, Tom Kurlander, Viggo Mortensen, Leon Rippy, Tracey Walter, Bradley Whitford, Scott Wilson, James Coburn, Jenny Wright, Richard Schiff, Ginger Lynn Allen
Curator Review
Verdict
A breezy, star-powered sequel that leans into outlaw-myth swagger, melancholy bromance, and a more reflective take on Billy the Kid’s legend. It’s uneven and sometimes more attitude than depth, but the cast chemistry, action, and self-aware tone make it an easy watch for western fans.
Best for
fans of 80s/90s revisionist westerns
viewers who like outlaw buddy dynamics
people drawn to mythic historical fiction with rock-inflected energy
audiences who enjoyed the first Young Guns
Skip if
you want a strictly serious or historically rigorous western
you dislike sequel-driven nostalgia
you prefer slow-burn, classical western pacing
you’re not interested in stylized 1990s genre filmmaking
Overview
Young Guns II doubles down on the franchise’s biggest strengths: swagger, camaraderie, and the sense that the West is already becoming legend while the characters are still living it. The film is less interested in realism than in mood, turning Billy the Kid’s final run into a mix of chase movie, hangout western, and elegy. That approach gives it a looser, more playful rhythm than a traditional frontier drama.
Worth noting
The cast remains the main attraction. Emilio Estevez carries the mythic center, while Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips bring enough personality to make the gang feel like a real, if chaotic, brotherhood. The movie also benefits from its sense of movement: escapes, betrayals, and shootouts keep the story from settling into routine.
Bottom line
It doesn’t fully escape sequel bloat or tonal wobble, and some of the melodrama plays more like pose than tragedy. Still, if you’re in the mood for a western that treats outlaw history like a campfire ballad with dust on its boots, it has enough charm to ride with.
Top Letterboxd reviews
QuayleHiggins (5★) · 233 likes
Sadder and gayer than the first one
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (2.5★) · 81 likes
After watching the first movie, people brought to my attention this sequel, with many claiming it was a bit better.
And in many regards, they were right. In many ways the film reinvents the iconic cat-and-mouse game between Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid. Some of the new choices made lift up the material and the original casting do a beautiful job imparting their charm and talent. Lou and Keifer stood out the most to me, both for their magnetic… more
Dale Ranger (4★) · 79 likes
Doc: “I’ll tell you what you did. You rode a 15 year old boy straight into his grave. And the rest of us straight to hell.” (Picks up his rifle and points it at Billy) “William H Bonney. You are not a God.”Billy: “Why don’t you pull the trigger and find out.”
An elderly man rides out from the desert and meets up with a journalist on the road. He says that he is dying and that he wants… more
Mack · 68 likes
The director yelled ‘CUT’ but Lou Diamond Phillips heard ‘CUNT’ and served it marvelously
Jesse Snoddon · 61 likes
"Yoo hoo...I'll make ya famous!"
With the law closing in, Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez) reunites with members of his old gang to try and find a way out. Their already dire situation becomes even more dire when Billy's close friend and former member of the gang Pat Garrett takes a deal and agrees to hunt them down. With Garrett hot on their tail, the gang makes a break for Mexico in a desperate escape attempt.
It's impossible to give… more