“Outlaw Posse” is not Van Peebles’s first rodeo in this particular genre, having starred in and directed the 1993 film “Posse”—no relation to this film, whose title is essentially meaningless. That film was essentially a history lesson that found Van Peebles determined to remind viewers that there really were Black cowboys back in the day—a laudable notion except for the fact that he was so determined to remind them of this that he never quite got around to supplying an interesting story to go along with it. This time around, the historical lessons are presented in a more subtle manner, but he still hasn’t quite come up with a particularly compelling narrative. Most of the material is overly familiar, so much so that even the most potentially progressive conceit on hand—the notion that those disenfranchised because of race, creed, gender or economic status need to stop fighting amongst themselves and band together to battle their common enemy—is the same one that helped make “Blazing Saddles” more than just a collection of jokes. Perhaps to cover up the lack of a strong narrative, Van Peebles has his characters espouse more contemporary viewpoints in ways that are presumably meant to supplant the old genre tropes, but which are only occasionally interesting or edifying. More troubling, he also employs a frantic visual style throughout, employing a constantly moving camera and quick edits in ways that prove to be only distracting.

And yet, even though the film never quite comes together into a satisfying whole, it is never boring, and I found myself enjoying a number of the individual elements on display. I have already spoken of the genius of the opening sequence and there are a couple of others that are almost as good, including one where Chief’s gang robs a local bank by utilizing an approach that I will leave for you to discover and one where they come across a multicultural community run by one of Chief’s old associates (Cedric the Entertainer) that is like a more bucolic version of Bartertown from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” Although there are a couple of distracting cameos from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Edward James Olmos, most of the main performers acquit themselves nicely—I especially liked Lynch as the wise-but-weary Carson and Smith as the wild card Queenie. I also liked Van Peebles’ work in front of the camera as well—he cuts a dashing figure that is clearly reminiscent of the aforementioned Fred Williamson, and he looks perfectly at home in a milieu that not many contemporary actors can convincingly convey these days.

“Outlaw Posse” doesn’t quite work in the end but there are enough moments of note scattered throughout it to let you forget that from time to time. It never hits the heights reached by the films it evokes and it even pales in comparison to such recent takes on the genre as Walter Hill’s often-stunning and sadly overlooked “Dead for a Dollar.” That said, it isn’t as if the multiplexes are currently overflowing with Westerns, so if you have a particular fascination for the genre and do not want to wait for the release of the first two of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon” films this summer, you might get a kick out of some of it, assuming you go in with lowered expectations.