The Postman Review
by "Michael J. Legeros" (legeros AT pagesz DOT net)January 6th, 1998
The Postman (1997)
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros
(WB)
Directed by Kevin Costner
Written by Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland, from the novel by David Brin
Cast Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for violence and language) Running Time 180 minutes
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC (25DEC97)
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THE POSTMAN is pretty bad. Kevin Costner produces, directs, and stars in this ponderous, preposterous post-apocalyptic epic about an actor who dons a blue uniform as a trick to get food. He spins a yarn about a restored U.S. government, which inspires others to hit the sack, which, in turn, unites several previously disconnected Pacific Northwest communities. The core story, here, is a good one, but the narrative too often zigs when it should zag. Costner indulges himself in such dopey detours as an extended love scene, when the screen time could be better- used elsewhere. (Perhaps to explain the relationship between the bad guys-- an organized army of bandits-- and the various barricaded towns that they terrorize?) The grand vistas and hundreds of extras are some- thing to see, I guess, even if the tone is too thick and the story makes increasingly less sense as it goes. (In particular, the time frame is a tough sell. Less than nine months for all this sweeping stuff to occur? And did you catch the hero's pregnant girlfriend lamenting her late hus- band as the "best man she'd ever known" and only an hour earlier describing how he beat her? Good grief.) Maybe if Mr. Costner paid more attention to the trees, he'd have a forest worth seeing. Maybe. Return to sender.
Grade: D+
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Mike Legeros - Movie Hell
http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell
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