marsmitchell79 Not overly dramatic; most westerns aren't. Honestly, I thought it was better than Tombstone. Don't be a fuddy-duddy bigot and think all westerns have to be Caucasian-- if it's a good movie say so. Colonel Graham(Billy Zane, I think) is hyper funny in this movie--keeping your interest all the way. His bantering back and forth with Jesse(MarioVP), Lil Jay(Baldwin), and the others was something else! If you don't like Mario Van Peebles' movies, don't let that keep you from seeing this movie! I don't remember liking any other role that he does in any other movie(except possibly Mama Flora's Family), but I do give him an A for this. He acted "seriously" as a leader of men. If you only looked at Jesse Lee in this movie, you would be thinking that he's a Denzel or Hanks type actor. Then, add in Blair Underwood(He is the main Uncle Tom: Carver), Mario's real life dad(Melvin, I believe), Big Daddy Kane(father Time), Sheriff Bates, and "Denzel's wife" in Antwone Fisher/FBI agent in Ransom(Jesse Lee's lover). There are also other famous stars(Grier, VelJohnson, Hayes, etc.) in minor roles. Meteor Man once tried to do a similar thing(a lot of good to very good actors in one place), but that movie has nothing at all on this! It seems like everyone did a pretty good or better job. What's under the hood? It's a western that has humor, harmonious characters, and war between people just trying to survive(with only agility, amateur gun, and a few fast guns and able fighters on their side), and extremely racist people and their allies(with military weapons on their side). A few gunfighting scene seems a little surreal; most of them seems at least good. It also was well written. That being said, tiny parts appear to be illumatic in nature: the alternate religion and calling its doctrine the good book(bible has been called that) and crafting a king David(who had moralistic, but antibiblical beliefs). There are also 2 scenes of nudity(confined to the same area of the movie at about 1/2-2/3 way in): bathing in water and sex scene.

mozli I wanted very much to enjoy this film. When it was released I wasn't interested in watching any westerns. I'd come back to it because I believe Mario Van Peebles has a great film in him. Unfortunately, this one is not it. It is ambitious and the multi-racial cast gives it a good go. The various skill and talent levels aren't blended correctly to make an organic, cohesive whole. A shame because its clear that Robert Hooks is trying really hard as is Billy Zane. Seeing old school players like Lawrence Cook and Pam Grier trying to make sense out of their brief story arcs was a chore. The biggest problem for me was Mario at some point decided to make it a vanity project because it started out a decent, 40's style western(albeit with nudity and some extreme violence)that morphed into a weak Clint Eastwood imitation. The contributions of rap star Tone Loc were pitiful at best but Big Daddy Kane worked harder and his work was credible. Richard Jordan and Blair Underwood are so intriguing together that they are almost in a different, better movie. There are a lot of moments like that in this film where you sit frustrated at the editing and continuity decisions made by the director and the cinematographer. What is clear is that the script is pointing to a much, much better film than what is being delivered. Oh, BTW, the word 'motherfucker' has its origins in the antebellum slave culture of North America. I've seen many complaints here about the usage of that epithet and how it shouldn't have been used during that era(1898). Research the word and you will discover its bleak and stark history. If you were a fan of the show DEADWOOD you would have noticed that the character Swearingen peppered his remarks with the word and it even popped up in the film Heaven's Gate. I have to give it up again to the Billy Zane for his spectacular death scene. I didn't have that big of a problem with the New Jack Swing musical stylings imposed on the film's soundtrack but I did take issue with the lack of banjos and fiddles.A blown opportunity for greatness.

C. Sean Currie (hypestyle) spoiler--In 1993, African-American director/actor Mario Van Peebles followed up the tremendously popular urban-action film New Jack City with "Posse". The film was co-written and directed by Van Peebles, who also stars as the main character, Jessie Lee.Plot: The film begins at the turn of the 20th century, when the United States was embroiled in the Spanish-American war. Apparently a time when the U.S. justice system could send convicts into military service, Jessie Lee finds himself an unwilling enlisted man, serving with an all-black cavalry troop in Cuba. Some of his compatriots include Little J (Stephen Baldwin), fast-talking Weezie (Charles Lane) and the towering-but-simple Obobo (Tiny Lister). They find a hidden chest of gold on a reconnaissance run and decide to keep it. However, the ambitious, bigoted Colonel Graham (Zane) finds out about the gold, and is apparently willing to kill Jessie Lee and company for it. A shootout between the Graham's forces and Jessie Lee's leaves the colonel blind in one eye, and his forces retreat. Jessie Lee's ragtag crew manage to smuggle themselves (and the gold) back to New Orleans, but it turns out that Graham isn't far behind. Jessie Lee and his allies are forced to go on the run, heading west, to a town called Freemanville. Apparently, Freemanville was founded by blacks in the years following the Civil War. Jessie Lee's father, "King David", was the charismatic preacher who co-founded the town. However, as is revealed in intermittent flashbacks, King David was soon brutally murdered by a white mob, in a parallel of the Ku Klux Klan terror campaigns that began around the same time. Jessie Lee and company eventually find their way to Freemanville, only to find that the townsfolk aren't exactly glad to see him—especially when Sheriff Bates (Richard Jordan) of a nearby white township makes it clear that he wants Jessie Lee and his partners—dead or alive. Carver (Blair Underwood) is the sheriff and de facto mayor of Freemanville—and his own agenda may not square with having Jessie Lee around.Analysis The action sequences are all very credible, and Mario Van Peebles turns in a good performance as the brooding hero. In the aftermath of the success of New Jack City, it was almost expected Van Peebles would helm a sequel, or at least a similar urban-action follow-up. Instead, Van Peebles looked 100 years into the past, creating a mostly-black Western (effectively 'updating' the black-themed Westerns of the 1970's), and continuing the legacy of largely-forgotten black-themed cowboy films from the early 20th century. Unlike New Jack City, the film was independently financed, and originally released through Gramercy/Polygram Entertainment. Allegedly, execs at the major studios balked when Van Peebles pitched 'Posse' to them. Some of the more "curious" casting at the time involved rappers Big Daddy Kane and Tone Loc as Father Time and Angel, respectively. In certain interviews, Mario Van Peebles has said that he often likes to cast against type; in the years since, the trend of casting rap singers in non-musical films would become almost commonplace. Keen viewers will notice several cameos by various entertainment personalities: Black-action film veterans like Isaac Hayes ("Truck Turner"), Pam Grier ("Foxy Brown") and Larry Cook ("The Spook who Sat by the Door") show up, as does stand-up legend Nipsey Russell, not to mention TV producer Stephen J. Cannell (who hired the junior Van Peebles to star in "Sonny Spoon" years earlier). The film is bookended with Woody Strode ("Spartacus") in a key role.

Anthony Bannon (bannonanthony) I saw this film not too long ago, nd I must say it was enjoyable. The Posse of the title is quite an impressive grouping and Mario Van Peebles as their leader turns in an impressive performance as he turns against his cruel commanding officer and sets out on a revenge quest.It's been known for a while now that there were black cowboys and this film shows exactly what they had to put up with. As for the film's villains, Billy Zane is very good as a chew-the-scenery camp villain, but the really hateful one is Richard Jordan as a corrupt white sheriff. The action sequences are handled brilliantly. Things could have been improved about the movie, however. For instance, capable performers like Pam Grier, Isaac Hayes and DIE HARD's Reginald Veljohnson appear but are given a set of thankless cameos (I don't think Grier even has any lines.). SPOILER POSSIBILITYAlso, Tone Loc as Angel, the sixth member of the Posse is killed off incredibly early in the film. Strangely, at the start of the film, we are shown a picture of the Posse which includes him and Father Time. But the thing is, Angel is killed before Father Time actually hooks up with the posse. In addition, although he comes good in the end, Charles Lane's character is a real creep at first. It's only the sacrifice of Stephen Baldwin's Little J that he comes good.These gripes aside, POSSE is a very enjoyable film and worth spending time viewing.