The origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.
What's ultimately missing is a definable point of view which would tie together the myriad events on display and fill in the blanks which Hill has imposed on the action by sapping it of emotional or historical meaning.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
5 Feb 2008
rotten:
Walter Hill's first outright failure.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
5 Feb 2008
fresh:
Hill is very much in the American grain, the inheritor of the Ford-Hawks-Walsh tradition of artful, understated action film making.