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I'm still sitting here in complete & utter awe. It has happened; Uwe Boll has finally made a good film. "Postal" isn't necessarily a “good film” in the traditional sense, but by Bollian standards, it's far above anything else he has directed/produced thus far.

Culling inspiration from and paying homage to - but not really adapting – the videogame "Postal" or its sick sequel, this film is more an exercise in extremely crude humor wrapped in a nice religious/political satire than it is one man's quest to go about his daily activities while keeping his own sanity in the process, ala the videogames (namely the second). Zack Ward plays Postal Dude and the only connection this has to the videogames is Ward's character’s alias and the mail truck he drives (get it, a POSTAL truck) stocked with one of the film's big plot devices.

But aside from that, as well as the fact that Dude never really goes postal as the character did in the games, this is a fairly faithful videogame adaptation. Taliban threat? Check. Tons of crude, offensive humor? Check. A shitload of profanity? Check. Senseless violence? Check, check and triple check. A plot that is thinly held together by some semblance of a "story" in order to insult everyone from the morbidly obese, Middle-Eastern folks and African-Americans, all the way down to Germans, concentration camp victims, the vertically challenged, the mentally challenged, religious fanatics, and even Uwe Boll himself? Check a million times over. I'm not sure if Uwe intended for this film to be as satirically broad it is, but by doing so, it makes sure to offend SOMEONE, at least. Whether you are offended or just laughing heartily along with it, Mr. Boll has assured one or the other.

Whether or not you agree with "Postal's" brand of "I don't give a fuck" humor is really what keeps the film from reaching any other audience than those interested in an especially black comedy with tons of marginally dissected social issues and C-grade gunfights interspersed for good measure. I'm sure a lot of potential viewers will look at the back of the DVD box and see that Uwe directed this and immediately steer clear of it. That shouldn't be their fear here. Whether or not they can appreciate dreadfully bleak gallows humor is. If you are into that sort of thing and like it to have literally no care or concern for anyone's feelings, “Postal” is wholeheartedly recommended. Granted, there is very little plot to speak of and none of the cast are really acting outside of just playing weird caricatures of the groups they are mimicking, it makes for a fun, fast, wildly comedic ride nonetheless.

In fact, the picture is so cheesy and so inept in nearly every way that you have to ask yourself occasionally; is this intentional or is Uwe really this bad a director? Whatever the answer to that question is, it helps "Postal" out tremendously. Its source material is no less outlandish than the movie, but it’s great potential for an irreverent big-screen comedy is undeniable. Strangely enough, I thought Boll did a fantastic job with the script and also in bringing the game world to life. The actors ham it up as they should (especially the inimitable Dave Foley and the charismatic Zack Ward), but Boll deserves special commendation for simply picking on anyone and everyone and not being afraid to get picked on himself.

The political satire is sharp and the other forms of satire so broad and overly generalized that they are just as effective. I loved watching the not-so-subtle hinting that Dubya and Osama were in cahoots and that during those infamous events of 9/11 the terrorists were actually re-routing the hijacked aircraft for the Bahamas because they were only guaranteed 12 virgins after their martyrdom, only to have the flight disrupted by the passengers. Offensive? You bet. But also damn hilarious.

For those interested in Boll's more experimental approach to cinema (never thought I'd say that) which means, of course, he is less focused on big angles, sets, and set pieces, this is perfect viewing for all of us yearning for that "one good movie" Uwe never could seem to make. Loaded with tons of crude humor and even some great political insight, “Postal” is much more than it appears to be on the surface. If anything, it proves that the man has a few more tricks up his sleeve and, perhaps, we may have written him off a bit too soon. Some intelligent, thought-provoking movie-making going on here from the man dubbed "The new Ed Wood." Surprising, ain't it?

8/10