La revanche de Jessie Lee

With Posse I believe they had a great IDEA for a movie, but unfortunately great ideas is only where it starts. Poor acting, bad direction, and unbelievable characters all added to this flop. It seems the director was torn between screening a serious look at blacks in the wild west or a parody of a western. Either of which, he failed miserably at.

Ok, maybe Posse can't compare to other popular cowboy/western movies. But that's because it didn't have the FUNDING those movies had. Obviously, whenever you want to produce a story such as this one, focusing on African American historical involvement (and NO, servants and 'mammies' are not historical involvement), Hollywood isn't going to be too supportive. And believe me they weren't. The producers and actors sacrificed a lot of 'out of pocket' expenses to make "Posse", just so that the story could be told. I think that alone is commendable. Posse may not be Oscar material (and they don't like Black media too much either), but it is a start. It is entertaining, and it introduces us to the black cowboy, a character most of us are unfamiliar with.

"Posse" is a great movie!! It's basically something nobody has tried before: telling the tales of the first great black cowboys. Mario Van Peebles wears both hats as he works as both an actor and director for this film, about a black infantrymen named Jessie Lee leading his fellow troopers into battling white supremacists and his former commanding officer (played with slimy exception by Billy Zane). "Posse" has everything a good western should have: great gun-fights, cool performances (especially by Van Peebles, Stephen Baldwin, and Big Daddy Kane) and a triumphant ending.

So a great concept, such great actors, and what do we get nada, zip, zippo, caput, no more, out the door, so long, good bye, mierda. This film has its good points but the script just did not go anywhere. Alot of the characters just went back and forth in their personalities, others just never really made a difference. Some talked like they were time travelers from the future (hint, hint Tone Loc). Others just wouldnt shut up (Weezie). One thing i just couldnt wrap my mind around was this if in the future the old man is holding a picture of the cast. How could that be possible if most of them died before they could all meet? Its like one of those time paradoxes that gives you a head ache. Not to mention the ending was a bit melodramatic to say the least. All in all i give Posse a "A" for effort but "F" on delivery.

This movie has some great character actors, Isaac Hayes, Woody Strode, Pam Grier, Paul Bartel, and unfortunately they are mostly wasted. The development of the main characters is too rushed, and the story races on at a breakneck pace. "Posse' borrowed liberally from the "spaghetti westerns" ( revenge flashbacks as in "For a Few Dollars More", gattling gun as in "A Fistful of Dollars", coming of the railroad as in "Once Upon a Time in the West") The movie tries to accomplish too much too quickly, and makes one wish that the deliberate pace of the "spaghetti westerns" had also been "borrowed". I rate it a 5.0, very average, and a missed opportunity. - MERK