Action flick has high body count, big guns, little point.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Language
a lot
Almost every scene features "f--k" in some permutation. Also frequent use of "s--t," "d--k," "ass," "bitch," and some vulgar references to women and Jews.
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The three main characters are outlaw brothers, guns for hire in the Deep South whose primary business is taking people out, often with big guns at close range. There are bloody shoot outs all through the film and lots of bloody corpses. There are also some intense fist fights, including one scene in which a very large man beats up women. He also snaps a person's neck on-screen. Another scene features a man being dragged behind a motorcycle, screaming, and another man about to get scalped. It's all quite gory and graphic.
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A quick shot of a naked woman's backside. Two scenes feature a gang of women who use their sexuality to lure men into lowering their guard before robbing and/or killing them. There's suggestive dialogue and even more suggestive movements as they rub up against their intended prey. A scene in a bar has porn movies running in the background; though the images are blocked, the sounds are obvious. Cleavage/skimpy outfits.
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Brothers stick together through thick and thin -- but in this case that means through mayhem and murder. And loyalty here means helping out criminals, especially if they've helped you benefit from their illegal behavior.
Positive Role Models
very little
Nobody really comes off looking good. The lawman is corrupt, the main characters are vicious thugs, and the "bad guys" -- defined here as the ones chasing the main characters -- are just as violent. A woman who seems to be trying to help a young man has selfish ulterior motives. In fact, the only person who even shows hints of a heart is a dangerous bandit who reveals a tender side when he must care for a disabled teen.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Baytown Outlaws follows three bandit brothers who are hired to kidnap a boy and end up blasting their way through scene after scene, leaving a pile of bloody bodies in their wake. Nobody comes off well here: not the woman (Eva Longoria) who looks like she's trying to save her godson, not the crooked sheriff, and certainly not the gangster (Billy Bob Thornton) who's determined to snuff out the brothers after they raid his home, guns a-blazing. There's near non-stop swearing (including "f--k" in almost every scene) and almost as much violence, including big guns, big explosions, and plenty of secondary characters who get shot to bloody bits. There's also some drinking and smoking, and some sexually suggestive images, including a shot of a woman's naked behind. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
This movie has gotten a bad rap. Yes, there is a lot of violence. Yes, there is a lot of foul language. There are some instances of offensive language (to include "fag**t" & "ret*rd"), but there are some overarching positive messages in this movie, too. There is a strong bond between the brothers acting as the main characters. There is a scene that does a good job shining a light on the inadequacies of the immigration system in the US & the under-appreciated value of "illegals" in this country. Every character in this movie would be considered "bad" or "undesirable", but the bad guys are equally represented across the board: a deadly female biker gang, a gang of marauding black mercenaries, a bad-guy clean-up crew of Indigenous people, & a slew of stupid, bad white guys.
This movie is definitely rough around the edges, but it's not as bad as it looks on first glance.
What's the Story?
The titular characters of THE BAYTOWN OUTLAWS are three redneck brothers who roam the South with big guns, taking out rival gangs that cross their path. Their foes include a Latino gangster's henchmen, a group of barely dressed biker-girl hit women, a Native American gang that scalps its victims, and a band of African-American thugs in an armored truck. The story's action is set off when Celeste (Eva Longoria) hires the brothers to kidnap her godson from her gangster ex-husband (Billy Bob Thornton), while a corrupt sheriff (Andre Braugher) tries to steer the law in the wrong direction. Before the movie is over, dozens of bloody bodies are littering the road.
THE BAYTOWN OUTLAWS seems to be trying to emulate the work of Quentin Tarantino, but it's nowhere near as interesting. Director Barry Battles isn't as skillful and doesn't seem to have that much to say. He just stages a whole bunch of big shoot outs without really having a bigger point. Nobody here really comes off as the good guys; there are the bad guys and their rivals, the even-worse guys.
Some movies about outlaws get the audience to root for the bandits to get away clean. This isn't one of them. Not only is there a glaring lack of plot to tie together the action scenes, there's also a notable lack of protagonists whom viewers will want to watch. Certainly not the three brothers, who do little to earn our affection or our attention.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The Baytown Outlaws' violence. Is it realistic? Is it intended to be?
How does the violence in this movie compare to films by directors like Quentin Tarantino? Is the high body count here trying to say anything in particular, or do you think the goal is to appeal to an audience that likes to see people shooting big guns?
Talk about the brothers' relationship with Rob, the disabled teen they're hired to kidnap. Why do they all start to bond? Who really cares the most for Rob -- his godmother or the bandits?
MPAA explanation:
strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some sexual and drug content
Last updated:
March 31, 2022
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
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