Back in 1988, Young Guns offered the epitome of the Brat Pack’s infiltration into all aspects of Hollywood and society in general. The film never intended to offer a historically accurate experience – heck, it didn’t even pretend to be serious, for that matter.

Young Guns just became a good excuse for a small fraternity of young and handsome Hollywood male leads to spend someone else’s money and play a grand game of “Cowboys and Indians” complete with real horses, guns that shoot blanks, and some really cool costumes.

They barely needed to act, as the majority of the time, the actors simply preen, cavort, and indulge themselves like a group of fraternity brothers kicking up their heels in the Old West.

John Ford this ain’t. The opening sequence speaks volumes to that fact, as we get lingering close-ups of each actor’s face.

Then, as a really bad 80’s soundtrack synthetically rumbles in the background, the guys fire at the camera – or at nothing really. As the smoke clears, they gaze at the camera with the smug authority of Brat Pack arrogance.

Young Guns catches up with William H. Bonney – aka “Billy The Kid” (Emilio Estevez) - during his days in Lincoln County, New Mexico prefacing what would become the “Lincoln County War”. The War came about because local cattlemen John Tunstall (Terence Stamp) and Lawrence Murphy (Jack Palance), couldn’t get along, as each wanted the other out of business.

Both parties hire gunslingers and laborers to protect their interests and their own well being. Tunstall’s men appreciate the work and see Tunstall as the father most of them never had. Eventually Billy The Kid shows up to work on the farm as well, where he fits right in with the motley crew.

One day Tunstall gets gunned down in an ambush by some of Murphy’s men. When local attorney Alex McSween (Terry O'Quinn) deputize the six men as “Regulators”, things go from bad to worse.

With all of my smarmy comments at the beginning of the review, you might think that I didn’t enjoy Young Guns. Actually, I did, as I was one of those 18-year-old kids in the audience with a date who thought how cool it’d be to have fame, fortune, and women at my beckoned call.

That being said, I like the film for what it is: a mindless, shoot-em-up Western that doesn’t require much more from the viewer. That’s the exact same reason I enjoy it today.

Sure it’s cheesy and dated, but it’s also fast-paced, action-packed, and a lot of fun if you check your brain at the door.

Everyone has films like Young Guns that they enjoy despite they fact they “know better”. While we may crucify a hundred other films for being as badly written/directed/acted/executed as Young Guns, some of us find room in our cold hearts to forgive director Christopher Cain and all of the smug, self-congratulatory actors in the film.

We just sit back and enjoy the ride. I hate to admit it, but it was a lot of fun to revisit this film after all of these years.

Young Guns appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This Dolby Vision image held up well.

Overall sharpness satisfied. A smidgen of softness popped up during the occasional interior, but the vast majority of the flick boasted appealing delineation.

I saw no issues with jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes and print flaws remained absent. Grain seemed fairly natural, though some low-light elements seemed slightly “scrubbed”. This didn’t become an obvious concern, though, as any potential grain removal felt minor at worst.

Colors went with the expected rusty amber feel typical for Westerns. These hues felt vivid, with added punch via HDR.

Blacks appeared deep and dense, while shadows offered appealing clarity. HDR gave whites and contrast extra impact. This turned into a more than satisfying presentation.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack brought a pretty expansive mix. Unsurprisingly, action scenes worked best, as they used the sides and surrounds to involve the viewer in the mayhem.

The rest of the mix tended toward environmental material. These sequences never used the spectrum in a dynamic manner, but they seemed more than adequate for the story.

Quality felt positive. Speech came across as natural and lacked edginess, while music seemed full and rich.

Some gunshots showed a smidgen of distortion, but not much, so effects appeared accurate and dynamic as a whole. Expect a satisfying remix for a move from the late 80s.

The 4K also included the movie’s original LPCM stereo soundtrack. Obviously it provided a more limited soundfield than the Atmos version, but it nonetheless managed to use the side channels in an engaging manner.

Audio quality held up fine, with sonics that seemed fairly comparable to those heard on the Atmos track. While I liked the Atmos mix, I also felt pleased to find the 1988 original track, and it fared well.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2007? The Atmos mix expanded the soundscape a bit and also showed cleaner audio. The 2007 BD also lacked the 1988 stereo track.

The BD came early in the format’s days, so this Dolby Vision presentation became a major upgrade. It offered superior delineation, colors, blacks and grain structure to blow away the problematic 2007 BD.

The 4K includes extras absent from the old Blu-ray, and we get an audio commentary from actors Lou Diamond Phillips, Dermot Mulroney and Casey Siemaszko. All three sit together for a running, screen-specific look at the roles and performances, other cast and crew, and memories of the shoot.

At no point does this become an especially detailed or informative track. Nonetheless, the actors interact in a lively way, as they joke with each other throughout the discussion. Though they fall silent a little often, they make this an enjoyable chat with enough useful material to make it worth a listen.

A documentary called Billy the Kid: The True Storu fills 32 minutes, 17 seconds. It includes notes from historians Drew Gomber and Leon Metz, and True West magazine executive editor Bob Boze Bell.

As expected, we get a basic biography for Billy the Kid. It becomes an efficient and informative show.

In addition to two trailers, we finish with How the West Was Wild. In this 35-minute, 51-second program, we hear from Phillips, Mulroney, Siemaszko, screenwriter John Fusco, director Christopher Cain, director’s assistant Wendall Thomas, composer Anthony Marinelli, and actors Emilio Estevez (circa 1988), Kiefer Sutherland (1988), Geoffrey Blake, and Charlie Sheen (1988).

Created new for this 2023 release, “Wild” looks at the project’s roots and path to the screen, cast and performances, sets and locations, costumes and music, the movie’s promotion, release and legacy. Expect a pretty good overview of various production areas in this enjoyable show.

Note that the 4K package includes a newly-mastered Blu-ray copy and not just a rehash of the old 2007 disc. The 2023 BD loses a trivia track from the 2007 version but it adds the commentary, the trailers and “How the West Was Wild”.

As of December 2023, the remastered BD only appears as part of this 4K package. It remains to be seen if Lionsgate will ever issue it on its own.

In a nutshell, Young Guns offers a fun romp that doesn’t take itself seriously – and you shouldn’t either. It delivers action and thrills. The 4K UHD offers very good picture and audio along with a mix of bonus materials. This becomes a quality release for an entertaining Western.

To rate this film visit the original review of YOUNG GUNS