When a crooked sheriff murder his employer, William "Billy the Kid" Bonney decides to avenge the death by killing the man responsible, throwing the lives of everyone around him into turmoil, and endangering the General Amnesty set up by Governor Wallace to bring peace to the New Mexico Territory.
Penn's first film, it is in many ways a key stage in the development of the Western.
– Tom Milne,
Time Out,
21 Oct 2006
fresh:
The picture is a smart and exciting western paced by Paul Newman's intense portrayal.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
18 Jun 2008
fresh:
Penn's training in theater and live-TV drama (e.g. Playhouse 90) shows; the central performance is rehearsed into an anxious stir, every line matched to an actorly decision, a blocking cue.