If you've seen Young Guns and Young Guns II and want to know
 how accurate the films were without doing an in-depth research on Billy the Kid's life,
you've come to the right place
 

Out of all the Billy the Kid films that have lit up the movie screen and entertained audiences from around the world, none other has captivated moviegoers than Young Guns in 1988. The movie starred Emilio Estevez, one of the popular members of the Brat Pack, as Billy the Kid. Estevez’s portrayal of the famous outlaw is one of the best, no other actor (and there were many) gave such personality and charisma to the Billy the Kid character. Who can forget that distinct Hyena laugh and cocky grin? Young Guns had introduced Billy the Kid to a new generation of people who had never heard of this legendary outlaw and converting devoted Billy the Kid buffs.

Soon after in 1990 a sequel followed: Young Guns II.  Estevez said in a interview that the first film was more of a “heavy metal western” and he wanted to “right some of the wrongs” and make a more “accurate movie.” Young Guns II was a slower pace movie from the first and it showed a more mature Billy the Kid who was no longer pushy and sarcastic, but more rational. In the first one, Billy was brave beyond recklessness but in part two, the film made him more cautious and even showed fear in the Kid’s eyes when he stood unarmed and face to face with Pat Garrett who was about to kill him. But the film did something else, it brought new attention to the much debated Brushy Bill Roberts, an old man in 1950 who claimed to be Billy the Kid. Did the film writers add it in, because they couldn’t imagine this invincible outlaw meeting his end in such a manner -shot down like a dog? Was it because they knew audiences preferred a happy ending? Or did the writers actually believe the Brushy tale to be true? Whatever the reason, the mentioning and rebirth of the Brushy Bill Roberts story, caused a bitter separation between Billy the Kid buffs, from those “who believe” and those “who don’t.”

The Young Guns movies gave rise to many of Billy the Kid’s myths, his exaggerated friendship with Pat Garrett, and triggering off the most controversial “Billy” debate. I would like to point out that the real Billy the Kid was not like Emilio Estevez’s Billy the Kid, nor were the movies “historically accurate.” Since many people ask (or believe) if Young Guns and Young Guns II are accurate, I've collected some of the historical blunders and errors in the film and compared them to the real history. I'm not at all criticizing the movies, as the old saying goes “If the legend is bigger than the fact, print the legend.” After all, isn’t that what attracted us to Billy the Kid in the first place? Thanks to the Young Guns movies, Billy the Kid is the world’s most favorite outlaw.

  The Young Guns movies vs. what happened in real life 
 

  
YOUNG GUNS                            YOUNG GUNS II    
 

Young Guns Trivia from funtrivia.com
(this is simply a link, I have nothing to do with this trivia)

    I would like to acknowledge and say thanks to James Mills, one of my regular web site visitors, for not only suggesting this Young Guns page, but also helping me gather the information.