Postal

If we forget for a minute that this film was directed by Uwe Boll, the discussion of this film would be very different. It's hard not to remember other video games he's responsible for bringing to the screen ("Alone in the Dark," "Bloodrayne") that really really sucked.

Boll has said he looked inward to write about his own frustration with the world for this. And it's very different. It doesn't compare to his other films at all - is closer to "Kentucky Fried Movie" than to "Alien Vs. Predator." It's a comedy, presumably his first intentional one since his debut film 15 years ago, and it goes to a place he hasn't shown us before.

It's based on the spirit of the game "Postal" already politically incorrect, cartoony, out of control, and not really serious (not even as "Vice City"). In a post 9/11 world, how do you make a film about an urban terrorist who's just "p--ssed off" without addressing terrorism, racism, and everything else that are hot buttons in the world...that create the madness that might make someone go...well, you know.

Boll has channeled the politically incorrect attitude and turned it on its ear. He doesn't mind making everyone look the fool, do things they shouldn't for the wrong reasons, kill the wrong people, overreact, act out clichés, etc. Everything and everyone is fair game in this film, and we must remember that - it's a FILM. It's fake, folks. Everyone in it takes themselves too seriously and thinks killing someone solves their problems. They're crazy, wrong, and in this film, they're laughable. Having fun yet? This is really a kitchen-sink movie. Every possible joke, high and low, sexual or sociological, is jammed in, with varying degrees of success. A lot of it's quite funny, some is stupid and offensive (but weirdly, in a good-natured way. It's not mean-spirited at all.) Ultimately it's a lot of fun. I agree that's it's too long towards the end, if only because Boll didn't have the resources to make the final shootout as epic as it should have been, and it begins to feel cramped.

The portrayal of Osama bin Laden (by "soup Nazi" Larry Thomas) is inspired. Zack Ward and Dave Foley are both great and very comfortable in their roles. Uwe himself has a great no-punches-pulled cameo along with the original maker of the game "Postal" at one point.

I wonder if this will ever translate to a wide release or if it will remain something we see on DVD (unrated, we can only hope) and laugh over. It is up to us to support any film that gets to the uncomfortable part of our world.

And amazingly, Uwe Boll wrote and directed it. Good job. Not the best film in the world, but one to remember. I don't think Paul W.S. Anderson or Eli Roth (to pick other famous "hacks") could possibly have pulled something this off. Boll is off the worst-director-ever list after this.

Let's hope after "Bloodrayne 2" he does something else more personal.

This is Uwe Boll's best film to date. That being said, it's still crap. Abundant plot holes, crudely forced shock tactics, a shallow attempt at satire, and the worst director in the entire world are just the tip of the iceberg on why this movie blows. I hate Boll's work. I hate his belligerence. He should not be allowed near a camera.

The ultimate question, however, is did I laugh? Yes. In spite of everything , I laughed. This movie is Uwe Boll's "F*^# you!" statement to the world. He's going to continue making movies whether we like it or not, and he's actually a lot better at crude humor than any sort of horror, adaptation or whatever random dung heap genre he sticks his nose into. He even makes fun of himself in this movie during a cameo between him and the actual creator of the postal franchise. For some weird reason, I respect that.

Zack Ward was fantastic, and really should be getting better work. This may be a rare time when an actors participation in a Boll film didn't herald their imminent career death. He proved himself to be an adequate action actor, and I'm hoping this gets him some publicity. The same cannot be said for Verne Troyer or Dave Foley, who are circling the drain. (I still laughed though.)

Is it worth the price of admission? Nope, but it's so much closer than any of Boll's films have ever been. Boll may be a deluded, stubborn and angry man,(at the Q&A he explained to us in a very serious tone, how postal was a gutsy, intelligent satire) and his work may be awful, but Boll genuinely loves films and wants to make them. He wants to get better and who knows? Maybe one day Boll will produce something worthwhile. Tasteless director John Waters invented Hairspray, which was thought to be impossible. Maybe Boll will one day harness his ambition towards film-making in a productive way. Or not. Who cares?

You shouldn't see postal if you have an option, but if you don't, you might giggle a few times, in spite of yourself. However, if you're a moron, you'll love it!

-Max

P.S: Boll has always clashed with wheelchair-bound "AintItCool" news leader, Harry Knowles. They don't get along at all. Why do I reference this? There is a mentally challenged character in the movie who begs for money from the seat of a motorized wheelchair. Can you guess his first name?

Uwe Boll has done the impossible: create a game adaptation that stays at least somewhat true to the game; he has turned a game full of antisocial and offensive content into a movie full of antisocial and offensive content. So, as an adaptation, it's a success.

Unfortunately, it's still Uwe Boll we are dealing with here, so don't expect the movie to be actually any good. while it does have it's moment, "Postal" wears out his welcome very fast and becomes a pain to sit through.

At its core, Postal is a satire on the United States, as done by a twelve year old kid. Boll seems to think that offensiveness is linearly proportional to comedic value: the more offensive, the funnier, and the more exaggerated the funnier. This results in a movie that sets new levels of tastelessness while being extremely hit and miss. Yes, some gags do work but it seems to be pure luck. High points include the director satirizing himself, and people getting hit very violently by trucks and other vehicles. Low points include..well pretty much everything else.

After the initial surprise wears off, Postal simply becomes a bore to watch. Yes there is a good joke every and good point ten minutes, but everything else consists of hordes of annoying characters shooting and chasing each other all over the place for what seems to be an eternity.

This probably would have worked as a short movie, but it's just not enough content for something that lasts over 90 minutes (although it feels twice as long). There are nice ideas and nice tries, but they get hopelessly lost in endless and pointless action scenes and content that is offensive just for the sake of it 4/10

I don't understand the bad reviews of this film. People complaining about how its not true to the games have obviously never played Postal 2. This movie is probably closest video game adaptation that I have seen. It is completely true to the theme of the game.

I watched this film at the premier and actually had a chat with Uwe Boll before the film started. He came out right before the film and made a 10-15 speech that consisted mostly of him tirading about how Bush is an idiot and even more about how he hate all the reviewers that give him bad reviews. I think he must have self esteem issues to come off like that against the reviewers.

Anyways, this movie is very funny, if you're into this sort of movie. Obviously if you hate Uwe Boll or are totally politically correct or are easily offended, then don't watch this movie. For people like me that like dead baby jokes and are pretty much desensitized to everything, this is a gold mine of comedy.

After all the crap Uwe Boll made, I really had very low expectations for this one. And those were not just met, but exceeded. The guy actually has a sense of humor. A dark sense of humor. But few people like that thing, so it's understandable that many don't like it. It goes against most common movie taboos, which is good, it doesn't favor any side, and makes fun of itself as well. There are a few drawbacks, though, like the music and some scenes could've been better, but overall it is above average.

The movie is random, it is senseless, but it is also fun. I never thought Id say this, but if you like dark humor, go see this Uwe Boll film.