Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory (1990) - 3/10

I’ve just rewatched Young Guns. It’s not as good as my childhood memories, but still a nice nostalgia trip. Its sequel is totally new to me, but I’m not hopeful. Many of the main players return, Billy (Emilio Estevez), Doc (Kiefer Sutherland), Chavez (Lou Diamond Phillips) are joined by Arkansas Dave (Christian Slater). It picks up the story, Billy’s story, with him quickly introduced as an old man sounding like Grandpa Simpson, reminiscing in order to prove his identity and request a near deathbed pardon. Back in the Wild West he’s still the showboating outlaw. They all are. Billy’s hiding out, dodging the bounty on his head, whilst being offered the pardon he’s now seeking to be honoured in later life. Help governor (Scott Lewis) nail some rustlers and Billy’s in the clear, except that’s obviously going to backfire or we wouldn’t have a story. The old gang are reunited as the bullets fly but that’s about the only coherent thing about this. It’s a stunted mess. Not even James Coburn or Viggo Mortensen can save it. They’re just two of a host of bad guys plotting and double crossing to catch The Kid. That might sound exciting. It’s not. This plods and very little happens. I’ve no issue with a slow place, but it helps if you care about the characters, but they’re all so thin here, there’s nothing to invest in. But the action is good right? Well, it’s mediocre at best. When the best thing about your film is the Bon Jovi song on your end credits, you’ve got a problem.

3/10