Genres

Visitors Review

Erik Oskarsson 2013-06-17 20:22:36

The first really positive Post-apocalyptic film I've seen!

I am a huge fan of post-apocalyptic films, and I've seen many cornyunderground productions, but until now I've somehow managed to miss outon this little(long) gem.The movie is really cozy and uplifting, something that i have yet tosee in a movie in this genre. However, you have to see beyond the starsand bars of the flag the Postman fights for, and think about what itmight mean in a world filled with chaos and despair, otherwise it mightfeel a bit tacky.The idea that the young people of the destroyed earth longs forsomething bigger and "decent" is terrific. I could see myself as apost-carrier in the sinister future that might be waiting for us.There is no people in ice-hockey armour, no bad-ass cars and no mohawkhair, but i didn't even miss it once during the whole movie (almost 3hours). Instead Costner has created a sort of wild west world that isfresh and interesting to watch.So if you like PA movies, don't miss this one!Ps. This film reminded me very much of a brilliant post-apocalypticbook that everyone who loves this genre MUST read : Lucifers Hammer.

2013-06-17 12:31:34

PRETENTIOUS, PATHETIC, UNDILUTED CRAP

I shouldn't even be giving it one star. Don't get me wrong. Despite all the bad reviews, I thought WATERWORLD was still immensely enjoyable. But POSTMAN is so full of crap, you have to smell it to believe it. There is no salvation here for Kevin Costner here. It's hard to believe the same guy who made DANCES WITH WOLVES would sink so low.

2013-06-17 09:29:10

The Postman: A message of hope

I enjoyed "The Postman. It was a message of hope and determination. It also showed a sense of loyalty. It was a classic example of "fake it til you make it.

murphyclm 2013-06-16 21:46:10

SO long and so dumb

I have to say up front I'm not a big fan of Kevin Costner to begin withso I only picked up the movie because I couldn't find what I was reallywanting from the library the other day. I don't know what I expectedbut I decided to take it as a comedy. What a dopey movie, so darnunrealistic, as if that many people wouldn't figure some way of killingthat overbearing general guy and his men, come on, what a bunch ofwimps. I'll take Arnold Schwarzeneger (sp)? any day of the week in aConan the Barbarian movie, at least those are entertaining. I finallygave up on it and turned it off. The only good thing I will say is itdidn't cost me a dime since it came from the library. If you have towatch it, at least do like I did and hit your library. Better still,pick up a Conan movie.

2013-06-15 00:51:10

This Movie is Very Enjoyable

I found this movie to be very good. Throughout the picture i was rivited to the screen. The story line is very well done, it starts out a little slow, but builds nicely to a wonderful and complete ending. However, I did feel that the ending was a little contrived and could have been a little more realistic. I also felt the movie was a little too long, it could have been done just as well at 2 hours. Other than that, I would say go buy it, rent it or get to see it any way you can. Well worth the trip.

2013-06-14 10:03:16

This was too weird for me

I could not relate to this movie at all because it was very fictional and the plot was not exciting enough. I waited for the revelation that was going to make me like the movie, but it never came.

Anders Åslund 2013-06-12 10:02:29

Now why did he have to go and do that?

From water to sand - and from entertaining to cheesy, sappy, pretentious andBORING. "The Postman" is an overblown "epic" filled to the brim with classicclichés, single-minded characters and exasperating hero shots designed tomake my stomach churn. What I don't understand is why on Earth Costnerwanted to make a sequel to "Waterworld" and play almost exactly the samecharacter again - bar the gills. Because that is what this is. A really,really bad follow-up.

2013-06-11 23:40:11

Postal Future

This review is from: The Postman [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) What a great story and epic adventure! This is one of the best post apocalypse movies ever made, maybe THE best. Not unrealistic, very well acted and directed.

2013-06-11 00:55:17

THE POSTMAN DELIVER'S THE GOODS

I don't get it. Kevin Costner (JFK, WATERWORLD, ROBIN HOOD : PRINCE OF THIEVES) is the most underrated actor/director of my generation. I can't think of a single film he has been in that wasn't good (okay, okay DRAGONFLY sucked!) and THE POSTMAN is no exception. A truly epic film based on the novel by David Brin, begins in the year 2013 and follows a drifter played by Costner (who also directed the film) wondering a vast wateland. America we learn was ravaged by war in the late 20th century by an army of fascist warlords called "The Holnists" led by Nathan Holm (whom we never see, only learn about). The United States government has been overthrown, there is no technology and earth's suvivors have scattered into tiny hamlets across the country. Costner's character & his mule named "Bill" travel from village to village where he preforms Shakesperian plays in order to get food and shelter. It is after performing one such play that Costner's character known as Shakespeare (we never learn his true name) is captured by the Holnist army when they raid the village to get three men from ages "between 15 & 50". The army now led by the evil General Bethleham, played brilliantly by Will Patton (THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, ARMAGEDDON, REMEMBER THE TITANS)is now an army basically comprised of murderers, rapists and anarchists. Shakespeare escapes, and in a heartbreaking scene finds shelter from a storm in an old mail carrier's vehicle. He then takes the dead postman's uniform and begins traveling from village to village telling people that he is a representative of the "Restored United States Government, authorized by "order 417" to reestablish a communication route. The problem is that EVERYONE believes him and a legend begins that inspires hope in people who have not known it for a long, long time. Once Shakepeare realizes what he has done he leads a rebellion of postmen in a battle to defeat the Holnists and reestablish a country destroyed by violence. This is truly a film of epic proportions that is one of the best films of the 1990's. I emplore everyone to see it despite what you may have heard. A+. A masterwork from Mr. Costner.

2013-06-10 11:26:40

A positive tale of the basic goodness of people.

The Postman was a really wonderful movie. It shows the courage and basic goodness of people if they are given hope of a brighter future. I was a little leery about watching it, not normally liking post-apocalyptic movies, but with Kevin Costner starring I was willing to give it a try. I was so glad I did, because I just loved it. It was a really good story and very well done. And I loved the ending - it does leave you with "hope". Critics: go join up with Bethlehem!

2013-06-09 08:36:26

It's As Bad As They Say, And It's Hilarious

The Postman: A movie so atrociously stupid, so egregiously absurd, so stunningly idiotic, it is easily one of my favorite films. I agree with the featured reviewers in one sense only: you really should see this movie.I was astonished to see the vast number of glowing reviews on this page. I'm guessing most of them were written by America's postal carriers. There's a reason the critics savaged The Postman when it first came out. Its script is ridiculous and its drama beyond maudlin. The underlying theme - that a restoration of the postal service is the first step towards bringing freedom and justice back to a destroyed USA - is simply laughable. Kind of like the entire film!Costner is at his worst as the Postman, an aimless drifter who spins a web of lies to get a free meal and then runs from his post as soon as the downtrodden start to feel better about themselves. Olivia Williams plays his love interest, yet another woman seeking Costner's seed in a postapocalyptic future. Supporting cast includes Larenz Tate as the Postman's sidekick Ford Lincoln Mercury; Daniel von Bargen, a classic "that guy" who delivers the great line: "RIDE, POSTMAN!"; and Tom Petty, who at first appears to be the mayor of a village on the Hoover Dam, until the Postman says "Hey, aren't you famous", and Petty replies, "I was, once." That's when you realize that TOM PETTY IS PLAYING HIMSELF. It's the kind of jaw-droppingly awful moment that typifies this film.The very entertaining villain, General Bethlehem, is played by Will Patton, who apparently was living on a diet of scenery during the shoot. Try keeping a straight face when he bellows lines like "I was AT the Battle of Georgetown, I saw the White House BURN to the GROUND!!!"But it's really the small moments that make this film a horrid spectacle worth laughing at again and again. When the Postman inspires a small village with his...postal carrying, a small girl begins to sing "God Bless America". Say what?! Another horrid scene involves a young boy hoping against hope that the Postman will pick up his letter - this later becomes the astoundingly dumb denouement of the film. Just imagine a three-hour-long movie packed with idiocies such as these, and you've got the Postman. An unintentional comedy classic.

Ornlu Wolfjarl 2013-06-08 22:46:59

Not a bad movie, could use better direction

The film is about the near post-apocalypse, where men try to strugglethrough the aftermath of nuclear winter and a world war. Thecatastrophe was caused by a religious/nationalist group called theHolnists. After the war, the surviving humans in the former unitedstates form little settlements to survive, but are daily terrorized andruled over by the remaining Holnist army. A vagabond (Kevin Costner) isfirst captured by them to be conscripted in their army, but manages toescape. He finds refuge in a town called Pineview where he poses as apostman of the reformed US (which is a lie he fabricates to get food)but the people of the town fill with hope and make his lie reality.Soon, a whole postal service is organized which poses a threat to theHolnist regime.The idea of the film is a pretty good one. I generally like the genreof post-apocalyptic films, but this one would be by far my favourite,if it only had a mildly better director. Kevin Costner took Waterworld(1995) and decided to set it on land. The difference is that in thisone, the action is very scarce and the drama much more. That would be agood thing, if every scene was not constantly overdramatized. Insteadof watching how the rebellious postmen fought against the Holnists, wejust see how Kevin Costner's character feels guilt at every turn forgetting people killed. Again, it's not a bad thing to show this, but ifit takes the whole of the film, then it becomes boring, especiallysince the film goes on for 3 hours. 3 hours is too long to just talkabout one thing considering only one character, when you have a farmore interesting story running in the background. The point of the filmshould have been how the little lie Costner said to the people ofPineview got out of proportions and spread into a rebellion, whichwould convey a lot of good messages, and would have been moreinteresting. An example of how bad the background war story wasundersized in expense for the guilt story of the Postman, is the lastscene (SPOILER ALERT) where the Holnist leader the The Postman fightfor leadership of the Holnist army, but the fight only takes a fewseconds and seems very unimportant compared to other parts of the moviewhere Kevin Costner tries to stop his lie from spreading.Also, I hated, as I stated above, the overdramatization of a lot ofscenes, especially the scene where the boy goes out the house to handCostner a letter. I don't like films (especially in the 90s where thisused to be tradition) that have an orchestral "uplifting and inspiring"theme song running throughout the film without pause. Especially in apost-apocalyptic film, where everything is supposed to be grim, adirector should choose very carefully what kind of music he uses andwhere he uses it. Take for example, Children of Men, where the music isvery rare throughout the film and the director there uses silence orambient background noise to convey the feeling of catastrophe andmisery that overtakes that timeline.In general, watch it if you want, it's not a bad film and is kind ofinspiring in some parts, but if it had a better direction it could havebeen a masterpiece. Also, be warned: it goes on for 3 hours

giz 2013-06-07 23:50:39

This is a good movie!!

What has Hollywood got against Kevin Costner? This is by no means the bestmovie I have ever seen but sure beats the heck out of many that have beenrated much higher. If there had been another actor such as Mel Gibson orHarrison Ford in the lead you can be sure the Hollywood hype machine wouldhave been behind this one 100% and considered it as one of this summers bighits. But of course, a lot of the acting and great scenery would have beencut for big action scenes. I believe this would have hurt this refreshingmovie that developed the characters by acting rather than action. Iapplaud Kevin Costner's work and hope he continues making movies regardlessof what the powers that be in Hollywood say and do to discredit his actingand directing.

ianlouisiana 2013-06-07 21:45:07

Dances with Letters......................

I hate to kick a man when he's down......no,no,that's not actuallytrue,particularly if the man is Mr K.Costner whose ego apparently knowsno bounds.In "The Postman" we have Mr Costner's hymn tohimself.Unfortunately not satisfied with the self-deification of"Waterworld",Mr Costner gives us another long dose ofmirror-gazing,rather like a megalomaniac millionaire's home movie.Justthe sort of film William Randolph Hearst would like to have made for usto remember him by.Fortunately Mr Orson Welles saved him thetrouble.Perhaps his shade will come back and do the business on MrCostner - we can only hope. Mr Costner may well be bidding to becomethe new Stanley Kramer.He makes long pretentious movies aimed atpolitically acceptable targets hoping to wow us with his impeccableliberal/intellectual credentials.Sorry Kev,it isn't working. "ThePostman" is merely an uninspiring mishmash of the work of superiordirectors - Frank Capra,Preston Sturges,John Ford,to name but afew,and,yes,even Stanley Kramer. A man pretends to be a postman inorder to obtain food(surely a Federal Offence,Kev?).He wanders roundthe American Wasteland rallying "The People" together to throw offtheir chains.Yuk. As the world in 2009 tumbles towards the financialapocalypse I shall keep my eye open and if a scruffily dressed postmancomes up on horseback to my door he'll get pretty short shrift fromme,I can tell you.

aok02056@aol.com 2013-06-07 01:12:27

Another post-apocalypse film, this time with Kevin Costner starring as a drifter turned hero.

Probably the best post-apocalypse movie I have seen. Kevin Costnerbrings a quiet dignity to the role of hero which is a nice change fromyour typical blast-all-enemies-to-hell hero which is overly prevalentin the movies today. It definitely gives a more interesting view ofmorality than you are going to get from any Chuck Norris or ArnoldSchwarzenegger film. Don't get me wrong, I love a good action film too.I just like to see a thoughtful film every now and again too. Thecinematography is beautiful and the story line intelligent. I don'tlike to give away endings so I will just say that it is satisfying andmaintains the dignity of the film. Overall it is well worth the 3hours. I would hate to see any of these scenes left on the cutting roomfloor.

Canner 2013-06-06 04:32:31

Despite crtics reviews, a solid piece of work.

In a post, near oblivion, war, the Postman brings a realistic view to life thereafter. Kevin Costner delivers and the rest of the cast nails their roles. Slightly longer than needed, but definitely an addition to my movie collection.

tospyros 2013-06-06 08:09:53

Inspirational Concept

A great film regardless of the abuse which showered it. I thought theconcept was inspirational and revolutionary.People get influenced easily by critics and mass populist opinionswhich I guess was why a lot didn't like it.A film about life.An imperfect simple man showing simple people that they don't have tolive by the rules of, and under the oppression of an egomaniacscontrol, subjugation and perceived power.You must watch this film, the cinematography hawks my mind back toplanet of the apes at some points, and if you watch it from start tofinish properly you WILL be effected by the "corny" bits. One must make allowances for these when a director/film maker has triedto bring to life a concept which is so simple but at the same time torevolutionary and empowering.The final scene with the emotional confrontation and the line "Itdoesn't have to be this way" was one of the most powerful lines andconcepts depicted on film. The postman was one of the most intriguing and engaging films I've everseen - and the characters and their development was fantastic. Everyoneshould see this film.I think either critics seriously overlooked this film, or had politicalreasons to do so.

2013-06-05 21:47:59

Really not so bad after all

I'm being a little generous here (really 3 1/2 stars), but critics obviously had it out for Costner on this film, regardless of its merits. I don't consider myself a Costner fan, but this film is perfectly entertaining and I never found it dull. The script is laughable in spots, the acting lukewarm, and the patriotic leanings are definitely "aw shucks" (very Costner!), but overall The Postman succeeds as a perfectly watchable epic. I liked Will Patton's ruthless General Bethlehem a lot -- he succeeds as a loathsome, megalomaniacal villain. This movie is actually better than Waterworld, Costner's other post-apocalyptic film.

noldor22 2013-06-03 00:24:55

not as bad as people say

people need to take this movie for what it is. its yet another postapocalypse movie but not half as bad as some of the others out there.people wanna get into things like how did they conquer the UnitedStates on horseback well its post apocalypse there are no vehicles sothey use horses and also they conquered with brute force as there wasno army to fight back. when someone finally did fight back theyovercame them. i took this movie for what it was. had some good up andcoming actors and also some established acting veterans. kevin costnerdoes an OK job as the reluctant hero and it was a nice change to see ahero just trying to exist instead of being the token badass you get inso many other films of this type. all in all worth a view.

2013-06-02 17:50:26

Blu Ray brings The Postman to life.

This review is from: The Postman [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I am not going to review the movie, it is and always has been a great movie. My comments are on the Blu Ray format.Blu Ray has brought this great movie to life. Unbelievable visual and audio. I at irst was not going to update my DVD collection to Blu Ray figuring the older movies wouldn't have that pop. I was wrong and with Amazon's prices I can do it.