The Legend of Butch and Sundance (2006)

David Clay Rogers plays “Butch” Parker, who has served a year in jail, but gets parole after promising not to commit any more crimes in Wyoming.

He winds up working for Mike Cassidy, who hates the railroad and wants to “hit it where it hurts,” by robbing the payrolls.

Ryan Browning is the Sundance Kid, who winds up joining Cassidy’s Wild Bunch as well, though he tells girlfriend Etta Place (Rachelle Lefevre) that he’s using his six-guns as a security guard of sorts on that ranch. Bottom line: he passes himself off as a ranch hand.

Soon, Butch and Sundance have become friends. Soon, Sundance is introducing Butch to Etta’s sister, hoping they’ll hit it off.

After all, Etta won’t wed him until her older sister Mary Margaret is married off. The thing is, Butch soon finds he’s more attracted to Etta than Mary Margaret.

Meanwhile, the Wild Bunch is harassing the hell out of the railroad until one night when the Pinkertons manage to set a trap for the gang.

Turns out they got inside information from a gang member named Durango, who guns down Mike Cassidy as the Pinkertons descend on the gang’s hideout.

From that point on, Butch takes on the Cassidy name. He and Sundance become the leaders of the new Wild Bunch, and they keep right on stealing from the railroad.

Etta? She’s not thrilled to find out she’s in love with one outlaw, let alone two. But she’ll follow them wherever they go.

Review:

Forget the “legend” in the film’s title. This is a decidedly playful version of the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid story. In this telling, neither of the famed outlaws wants to shoot anyone. Heck, Butch has to give Sundance a pep talk after he’s killed his first man, even though it was in self-defense.

Rachelle Lefevre adds charm to the affair as the lovely red-head who is strangely attracted to both men. In fact, she promises to marry both during a Bolivia-style shootout near the end of the film, but urges on her two suitors to focus on the problem at hand with these words: “Less talk, more shooting.”

There’s some silliness, too. At one point, Butch and Sundance blow up a railroad express car. When the dust clears, it’s full of strangely unharmed Pinkerton detectives who take aim at our heroes.

Some of the jokes work. Durango busts his butt to keep Butch and Sundance off a train carrying a particularly big payroll, only to discover they’re already aboard.

How? They bought tickets.

Blake Gibbons plays Durango, the villain of the piece. Mark Consuelos is the Mexican sergeant. Turns out he’s not immune to Etta’s charm either.

Directed by:
Sergio Mimica-Gezzan

Cast:
David Clay Rogers … Butch Cassidy
Ryan Browning … Sundance Kid
Rachelle Lefevre … Etta Place
Blake Gibbons … Durango
Jay Brazeau … Railroad Man
Michelle Harrison … Mary Margaret Place
Susan Ruttan … Mrs. Place
Mark Consuelos … Sgt. Sanchez
Michael Biehn … Mike Cassidy
Marty Antonini … Simpkins
Harnish Boyd … Elzy Lay
Tom Carey … Walsh
Mara Casey … Barmaid
John Escobar … Priest
John Fasano … Blacksmith

Runtime: 86 min.

Memorable lines:

Butch: “You gonna use those fancy smoke wagons (guns)?”
Sundance: “Don’t worry about me, fancy britches.”
Butch: “It’s not the cut of your pants, kid, it’s what you got in them.”

Butch drops a coin into the hat of each lady as the Wild Bunch robs a bank.
Gang member: “What the hell’s that?”
Butch: “Public relations.”

Sundance: “At some point, Etta, you’re going to have to stop just looking at life and start living it.”

Etta to Durango: “I’ll bite your lip off if you try anything.”

Rachelle Lefevre as Etta Place with the Sundance Kid in The Legend of Butch and Sundance (2006)

Ryan Browning as the Sundance Kid with Butch in The Legend of Butch and Sundance (2006)