Genre: Western/Action
Director: David Michod
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Paul, Dakota Johnson, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Hedges, Sissy Spacek, Sean Bridgers, Jude Law
Plot: Very late in the American Civil War, a group of Confederate guerillas are trying to raid the Union Army. The southerners are ambushed, but thanks to the sharp-shooting of Frank James (Taylor Kitsch) and the clever antics of Jesse James (Garrett Hedlund), the guerillas manage to survive and pull through. The James brothers congratulate themselves, but upon arriving back at their camp, are surprised to learn that their army has pulled out, General Robert E. Lee had surrendered the previous day at Appomattox, and the war is over. The group decides to return home to their families and farms in Missouri.
Things have changed when they get back to Missouri. The town is occupied by the Union Army, Jesse's childhood friend, Zee (Dakota Johnson), has grown up into a very attractive young woman, and there is a man hanging in the town square supposedly for committing treason against the North. Farmers in the area with large amounts of land are being pressured to sell their farms to the Union Pacific Railroad company, who are pushing across North America. If they don't sell their land to the well-groomed former Union general Gabriel Raines, (Sean Bridgers) and his secret-service organizer, Allan Pinkerton (Jude Law), the farmers are burned out of their homes, or executed for crimes against the North.
Back on the James family farm, Jesse and Frank are greeted by their mother Zerelda James (Sissy Spacek), who is happy to see they survived the war. Frank finds that the railroad doesn't even need their land, they're just trying to buy it as cheap as they can get, to push the railroad through. The James and their childhood friends, the Younger brothers don't want to sell. Cole Younger (Aaron Paul) loses his temper when several railroad men approach him about selling, and beats two of them to death when they try to pressure him. The Union Army decides to hang him since they were working for the government, he faces charges of treason. Cole's brothers Bob (Lucas Hedges) and Jim Younger (Caleb Landry Jones), along with Jesse and Frank, decide to rescue him, with some help from Zee. During the rescue, Jesse is shot in the shoulder, and has to hide out at Zee's farm while his wound heals.
A few weeks later, when Jesse has recovered, the railroad sets fire to the James' home, killing Jesse and Frank's mother. The James and Younger brothers ride out for revenge against the railroad men. They first turn their focus on the bank's payroll, planning to steal the railroad payroll funds and attack supply trains to make sure the Union Army and the railroad goons take notice.
Calling themselves the James-Younger Gang, they set out robbing banks, with Pinkerton and Raines struggling to stop them. The impact of the James gang is only increased when they commit the first daylight bank-robbery in history, turning themselves into local folk heroes in the process.
Eventually, the gang comes to blows over leadership, with Cole Younger feeling that Jesse is getting an overblown ego from the publicity of "his" gang's activities. After a bitter argument, Jesse lets Cole plot out the next robbery. Cole's chosen bank target turns out to be a trap set by Pinkerton and Raines. Jim Younger is shot and killed. Following Jim's death, Jesse and Frank leave the gang, with Jesse later marrying Zee.
The gang does not do as well without the James brothers. People don't respect the Younger brothers as much as they did the James-Younger Gang, preferring Jesse's kinder personality and his warm, friendly and accommodating manner, which had won the affection of the townsfolk in previous robberies, rather than the more aggressive nature of Cole Younger.
When Jesse and Zee attempt to start a new life, Pinkerton shows up and arrests Jesse. Frank goes to see Cole and Bob to get their help to break Jesse out of Pinkerton's custody. They make amends and start hashing out a plan.
During the train ride to the jail, Jesse is chained in a rear car, but manages to trick one of the deputies into showing his gun, which he uses to escape to the top of the train car. Meanwhile, Zee and the Gang shoot a cannon at the locomotive, stopping the train and rescuing Jesse. Confronted in the final moments by the two men he's come to hate, Jesse decides not to kill Pinkerton or Raines. He rather ties them up to a nearby tree, naked, joking that the wildlife will be far less kind than himself. Pinkerton tells Jesse and the gang, that they should go to Tennessee since the railroad has no interest in Tennessee. But that if James chooses to stay in Missouri, he will find him and have him hanged. Jesse tells Pinkerton that he'll see him around, before riding off into the sunset with Zee and the gang.
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