Young Guns (1988) ***

As much as anything, 1988's “Young Guns” was a vehicle to showcase a handful of handsome, young, up-and-coming actors. It also somehow manages to be entertaining as hell.

The film is a loose, and I do mean LOOSE, telling of the Lincoln County Cattle War. According to history, ranchers John Tunstall and Lawrence Murphy got into a tussle over government beef contracts in Lincoln County, New Mexico, in 1878. Murphy's ranch hands wound up murdering Tunstall, setting off a war between the two factions. The most famous participant, fighting on the Tunstall side, was Billy the Kid.

In the film “Young Guns,” Tunstall is presented as a sympathetic figure. Acting as a surrogate father for the young men he hires to protect his ranch, he teaches them manners and educates them. His “boys” include Doc Scurlock (Kiefer Sutherland), Dick Brewer (Charlie Sheen), Chavez (Lou Diamond Phillips), and, as the film begins, a new boy, William Bonney (Emilio Estevez), who became known as Billy the Kid. After Tunstall is killed, the boys get themselves deputized and, calling themselves the Regulators, set out with warrants for the guilty men. Unfortunately, Billy turns out to be more of a shoot-first-ask-questions-later kind of deputy, and after gunning down a few of Murphy's men, the boys find themselves in an all-out war, without any real legal standing. Murphy uses his political connections to get the law on his side, and the Regulators find themselves on the run, trying to extract what justice they can for Tunstall.

As a historical film, “Young Guns” may set a record for inaccuracies, but as an action film and a Western, it's entertaining enough. The plot is pretty elementary and sentimental, but the charm of this all-star cast will not be denied. Kiefer Sutherland is as good as ever as the earnest Doc. Charlie Sheen back then still seemed like a serious human being who had his shit together. Emelio Estevez steals the show, though, with his humorous, unhinged version of Billy the Kid. This is a movie that I honestly feel a little embarrassed to like, but you would have to have a heart of stone not to enjoy it.

3 stars out of 5

Black Panther ***1/2

Politically correct virtue-signaling demands not only that we love “Black Panther”, but that we carry on about the box office success of this (almost) all-black movie, and how it's proof that audiences want diverse movies, so Hollywood had better listen! We also have to talk about the strong, female characters. So let's just assume that we've covered all of that.

We first met T'Challa, the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), in “Captain America: Civil War.” His father was killed in that movie, leaving T'Challa as the new king and protector of the African nation of Wakanda. Wakanda presents itself as a poor, agrarian land, but in “Black Panther,” we learn that that is all a front. Powered by its large deposits of vibranium, Wakanda is a high-technology utopia, with fancy mag-lev light-rail and advanced medicine.

Wakanda keeps all of these advancements hidden, fearing that full engagement with the outside world would bring waves of refugees and vibranium thieves. They may have a point. Nonetheless, there are those within Wakanda who feel that hiding their light under a bushel, so to speak, represents a missed opportunity to improve the entire world, especially the plight of people of color.

T'Challa is torn between these two camps until his hand is forced by the arrival of a long-lost cousin, Erik Killmonger (Michael B.Jordan). Killmonger has much bigger plans than simply sharing vibranium technology with the world. He wants to send Wakandan weapons to black rights and black separatist movements around the world, turning the tables on Whitey in a big way. T'Challa resists Killmonger's plans, aided by an old lover (Lupita Nyongo), his tech-whiz sister, and his female-warrior bodyguard.

“Black Panther” is a decent movie, just not strong enough to carry the weight of all those political aspirations. This isn't the fault of the movie so much as all the reviewers and commentators who built it up as the Great Black Hope, probably the same commentators who did the same thing to “Wonder Woman.” Some movies are overtly political, and that's fine, but I don't care to have to think about what political statement a movie makes simply by existing. If you can watch “Black Panther” without thinking about all that chatter, it's pretty decent. It has the same patina of PG-13ness that limits most of these Marvel Comics movies. The story and characters are not cringe-worthy, but they are dumbed down enough to make sure that every 13-year-old can understand the movie. The ease with which Wakandan technology can overcome every obstacle becomes a bit numbing, similar to the Iron Man movies. Vibranium seems to be the solution to everything. If a guy has a spinal cord injury, just shove a piece of vibranium in there! The film also never explores the stupidity of an advanced nation being ruled by a hereditary monarchy, or the even greater stupidity of allowing anyone to take over the throne simply by challenging the king to a fight.

“Black Panther” is still one of the better Marvel Comics movies, and I understand it's essential to the “Infinity War” storyline. Check it out!

3.5 stars out of 5