Bill Paxton Movie:

Editorial Review:
The story of Jesse and Frank James, the real-life robbers whose exploits earned them a Robin Hood reputation, has been portrayed in dozens of films more faithful to the myth than the history. Only in the revisionist 1970s did the romantic shadings come off in a few genre-busting examples (notably The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and The Long Riders). Oddly enough, this 1996 feature takes more than a few factual liberties to restore the romantic portrait of the bank-robbing brothers. Four years after the Civil War, in a South crawling with carpetbaggers and occupied by Union troops, the hot-headed Jesse (Rob Lowe) and his clear-headed older brother Frank (Bill Paxton) take to the trail in a campaign of bank jobs, train robberies, and stagecoach holdups while evading the dogged efforts of Allan Pinkerton (William Atherton) and his detective agency. Writer-director Robert Boris presents the boys as heroes of the defeated South, gentleman robbers avenging the pillage of their people by the ruthless railroad and bank concerns pouring in from the North and pursued by a maniacally driven Pinkerton on a personal quest for revenge. In the wake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, Frank and Jesse comes off as old-fashioned and a little naive, but the measured pace and casting of country singer Randy Travis (who narrates and plays Cole Younger with a voice like molasses) gives the film, in moments, the intimacy of a ballad. --Sean Axmaker

Frank & Jesse Reviews:
iide see it again
2008-02-15 - It was a good movie. Their are many westerns out there but only few that deserve to be viewed again and this movie is one that deserves to be viewed again. young guns 1 and wyat erp were also great movies. it's worth buying.

Great Story of Two American Heroes, FREEDOM FIGHTERS
2006-02-09 - A lot of reviewers have given this western a less-than-perfect rating due to its historical "in-accuracy". I have read the books and researched these two freedom fighters on the Internet for many years.

THIS MOVIE IS 99% ACCURATE.

They were NOT murderers, or "poor victims of society". They were merely seeking vengence and JUSTICE. They bravely continued the South's Great War for Freedom.

Pinkerton (the bad guy) WAS an @$$hole, as depicted in old manuscripts and letters.

The acting, storyline, plot, and everything are perfect. It starts with our heroes, after being released and swearing an oath to the loyalty of the yankees (United States), minding their own business and working on their farm.

Suddenly they (including their family) were terrorized by a villian represented by the Railroad of Chicago, Ill. Father was shot dead, brother (Frank James) wounded, and home torched.

These two gentlemen (Frank and Jesse) decide to start a gang and rob banks and railroads. As shown in the train scene, the gang "never takes money from the working man".

I won't give any more away but to just leave on a good note. This is a must-see for fans of the Old West. Along with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.

Highly Entertaining Western!
2005-12-20 - There have been many movies made about Jesse James over the years. Frank and Jesse is one of the good ones! I enjoyed this very much. All Western fans should give it a look. I liked it so much that I bought it.

PU
2005-07-31 - It stinks. The 2 mass murderers are depicted as poor victims of society. They're cocky and stupid in the show. The movie puts Pinkerton in bad light. Of course cocky and stupid people will enjoy loathing him. Bad acting all around.

OUTLAWS? How about defenders of freedom?
2005-05-16 - People who watch this movie will finally perhaps realize what was behind the James gang. These were not rebel raising outlaws who stole for fun, they were men who were ran off their land and ATTACKED by our own corrupt government, the railroads burned out and killed anyone who would not sell so that they may lay their precious track...so Frank and Jesse went to work.
Also introduces Pinkerton, the man who founded the Pinkerton detective agency and later on the secret service. He was a real JERK, by the way...:)