Outlaw Posse (2024)

Mario Van Peebles is Chief, and the time has come for him to retrieve a chest of gold bars stashed in the mountains in the middle of Indian territory.

So he emerges from a self-imposed exile in Mexico and begins rounding up accomplices for the adventure ahead, including a young gun named Southpaw (Jake Manley) and a comedian named Spooky (D.C. Young Fly).

He’s also joined by an old partner named Carson (John Carroll Lynch) and the sister of another. She’s known as Queenie (Amber Reign Smith), can fling knives with deadly accuracy and proclaims that she’ll become Chief’s wife.

Chief is less interested in being accompanied by his extranged son Decker (real-life son Mandela Van Peebles). After all, Chief promised Decker’s mom not to pull him into the outlaw life.

But the young man proves his usefulness as Chief’s gang is making its get-away following a bank robbery. So he’s along for the ride anyway.

What Chief doesn’t know is that Decker is being forced to take this ride.

He and his family got a visit from Angel, an old nemesis of Chief. Years earlier, Angel led an expedition to recover the lost Rebel gold. Chief was one of his lieutenants.

They had a falling out. Chief wound up with the gold; Angel wound up without a left hand.

Now Angel is after the gold and revenge. And he’s kidnapped Decker’s wife so that he’ll be forced to cooperate in that quest for vengeance.

Review:

There’s a brilliant opening scene in which a racist enters a south-of-the-border saloon and begins harassing a Native American. A bearded Chief emerges from the shadows and, guns blazing, settles the dispute.

It’s cool. It’s stylish. It’s imaginatively filmed. It’s a great opening for a movie from the director who brought us “Posse,” another Western about a hunt for gold, back in 1993.

Unfortunately, most of what follows is a meandering mess full of WTF moments. The Indian chief promised Chief could return for the gold in 123 full moons. Huh? Chief’s party decides to blow up the mountain after retrieving the gold. Why?

Another favorite: Chief presents the Indian chief with a newspaper clipping of an incident in which the gang blew up a wagon full of munitions, guaranteeing the tribe wouldn’t be annihilated. Didn’t know Indian chiefs were impressed by newspaper clippings. And the gang sure seemed in a hurry to flee the scene of the crime. When did they stop to grab a newspaper?

Then there’s Angel, as campy a villain as you’ll find. He weeps when his captive plays violin. And seems hell bent on chopping off as many left hands as possible.

Whoppi Goldberg has a small role as Stagecoach Mary. And there’s a scene that seems to have been shoe-horned into the film to give her more screen time.

Cedric the Entertainer has a bit part too, as mayor of a town call Lil Heaven, where folks from various races and religions get along just fine.

Yep, Van Peebles clearly had some societal messages he wanted to deliver along with this Western. He does that in the most heavy-handed way possible.

At one point when Chief takes his gang off to right a wrong, Decker tells him the outlaws need to get back on track. Shame his son wasn’t standing over his shoulder to say the same thing when he was writing this script.

Directed by:
Mario Van Peebles

Cast:
Mario Van Peebles … Chief
William Mapother … Angel
John Carroll Lynch … Carson
D.C Young Fly … Spooky
Mandela Van Peebles … Decker
Amber Reign Smith … Queenie
Neil McDonough … Bart
Jake Manley … Southpaw
Allen Payne — Jeremiah
Cam Gigandet …. Caprice
M. Emmet Walsh … Catfish
Edward James Olmos … Ossie
Cedric the Entertainer … Horatio
Whoopi Goldberg … Stagecoach Mary

Runtime: 108 min.

Memorable lines:

Chief, addressing a racist customer in a south-of-the-border saloon: “You really put me in a pickle. I came in here just to whet my whistle. I ain’t killed nobody in a month of Sundays. Then you guys roll in here and ruin my buzz.”

Angel, to a terrified young girl who’s just witnessed him killing a frend: “Do you know why they call me Angel? Because I make angels wherever I go.”

Angel, to Lewis, a journalist who follows him to record his exploits: “Son, you can’t tame the Wild West and keep your clothes clean.”

Chief, issuing a warning to a young woman asking to join his miession: “Well, Queenie, folks that get close to me tend to end up dead.”
Queenie: “Ah, I ain’t never been scared of death. Only thing that scares me is not living an exceptional life while I’m alive.”

Sheriff, after the gang pulls off a diversion-filled bank holdup: “White and black. In cahoots with each other. Who would have seen that comin’?”

Angel: “Everybody wants to go to heaven. But nobody wants to die.”

Carson: “Oh may the Lord let our souls grow wings and let us fly from this mountainous grave.”
Spooky: “If you’re praying to that same Lord that stood by while they enslaved Africans and Indians, we dead.”

Angel: “This land was made for wealthy, white Christian men, like me.”

Whoopi Goldberg as Stagecoach Mary, listening to Chief talk about justice for all in Outlaw Posse (2024)

Cedric the Entertainer as Horatio, mayor of Lil Heaven, where people of all races and religions live in harmony in Outlaw Posse (2024)

Edward James Olmos as Ossie, a resident of Lil Heaven, wary of the posse that’s searching for Chief in Outlaw Posse (2024)

Swen Temmel as Willis, the journalist traveling with Angel to document his heroics in Outlaw Posse (2024)

William Mapother as Angel, threatening maiming, then death to a member of the outlaw gang in Outlaw Posse (2024)