Review of The Postman

Dances with Wolves is a movie that labeled Kevin Costner as one of the most prolific directors and producers of the 1990’s. His filmmaking credibility however disintegrated once his post-apocalyptic science fiction flop The Postman debuted in theaters. An unnamed outlaw (Kevin Costner) escapes from a fascist government concentration camp, dons a uniform from a dead postman and travels into the blockaded city of Pineview, Oregon. There, he plots to reform the U.S. government and fight General Bethlehem (Will Patton) and the Holnists for their country, almost akin to Robin Hood. Part of why this movie failed critically and box office wise was Costner’s tired, self-indulgent plot and message about fighting against authority for the better of the country. Despite the excellent costumes, decent cinematography and entertainingly dated design of 2013, The Postman was not well-written, not well-directed and seemed derivative of other movies such as Mad Max, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld. Plus, the epic mano e mano was lame, as The Postman and Bethlehem tackled each other, fell off their horses and physically fought on the dusty ground. It visually looks like I’m watching a catfight that might as well involve them aggressively shoving each other’s hands. For that matter, why couldn’t they just order their troops to attack instead of letting them watch on horseback? While it is not a good film by any means, The Postman is the most tonally consistent, unlike the other Razzie winners I’ve seen.

(2 Bronze Costner Statues out of 5)