Black History Month Series #11
Huzzah, another film with rough and tough cowboys. Long before The Harder They Fall came around, Mario Van Peebles crafted a revisionist western film with an all-star cast - so stacked that I was concerned if some big names (including Pam Grier and Isaac Hayes) were even gonna have any lines at all! Granted, this is no New Jack City (in terms of the directing quality from Van Peebles): there's a whole lot going on in various settings, and some scenes aren't paced in the second act - which definitely hurts the potential strengths of this near two-hour feature. Some punchlines are... very, very dated and so very 90's. Sheesh. And to make matters more conflicting, I feel that Van Peebles is a little too stoic as the lead - and not compelling enough here.
However, the final act (after the posse lands down on familiar ground) provides ballsy, over-the-top and fun action scenes amidst a revenge plot. I wish that the film got more into the backstory of this posse as the flashbacks aren't constructed to its full purpose - like a missing puzzle piece that could've glued this movie to be a little more feasible. While it is messy, yes, it's nonetheless a valiant effort that showcases a reimagined plight of Black cowboys in the Wild West. Bottom line: we need more stories like this.
MVPs: Big Daddy Kane as "Father Time" and Billy Zane as a villain who is outrageously over-the-top... but it's Billy Zane, what could one expect?
Black History Month Series #11
Huzzah, another film with rough and tough cowboys. Long before The Harder They Fall came around, Mario Van Peebles crafted a revisionist western film with an all-star cast - so stacked that I was concerned if some big names (including Pam Grier and Isaac Hayes) were even gonna have any lines at all! Granted, this is no New Jack City (in terms of the directing quality from Van Peebles): there's a whole lot going on in various settings, and some scenes aren't paced in the second act - which definitely hurts the potential strengths of this near two-hour feature. Some punchlines are... very, very dated and so very 90's. Sheesh. And to make matters more conflicting, I feel that Van Peebles is a little too stoic as the lead - and not compelling enough here.
However, the final act (after the posse lands down on familiar ground) provides ballsy, over-the-top and fun action scenes amidst a revenge plot. I wish that the film got more into the backstory of this posse as the flashbacks aren't constructed to its full purpose - like a missing puzzle piece that could've glued this movie to be a little more feasible. While it is messy, yes, it's nonetheless a valiant effort that showcases a reimagined plight of Black cowboys in the Wild West. Bottom line: we need more stories like this.
MVPs: Big Daddy Kane as "Father Time" and Billy Zane as a villain who is outrageously over-the-top... but it's Billy Zane, what could one expect?
