Postal

Now we all know Uwe Boll's track record when it comes to movies, but even more so when it's applied to video games. However, in the case of Postal I have to say I was rather surprised because the movie possessed this subtle flair of the game. While watching it I felt it was trying its hardest to be as true to the game as it could. It has sick and pointlessly funny humor both political and sexual, and it has a ridiculous plot that feels like something right out of the game. Perhaps the one thing Boll does well in Postal is the bumbling collection of Muslim terrorists who are apathetic about the whole "Jihad" thing and they are quite funny to watch as they goof around. I guess what makes Postal the movie special is the collection of little silly Easter egg-esquire instances that will just make you chuckle. Like the Postal game, the movie deserves its due because it is a novelty among movies. Regardless, it's Boll's "best" work.

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.

I'm apparently an oddball for giving this movie an "8". Most votes are for a "10" or a "1". Actually, the average score and the mean score reveal VERY little about the quality of this movie. It has video game style gore *of children*, so many people probably walk out/turn it off then and give it a "1" on IMDb just for those scenes. It is shocking.

OTOH, once you get over the shock, it is a hilarious movie. It does have a quirky style. It also has many crystal clear moments of lucidity, followed by utter absurdity the likes which have never been seen before.

I don't know much about Uwe Boll, but I do think I could actually get into film making because of the freshness of the scenes and plots.

So, offbeat funny but with ever-present political and satirical undertones. If this attracts you, you're perhaps another "10". If getting your brains blown out doesn't sound like a good way to clear your head, then you'd probably give it a "1".

Easy recommendation for most people.

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

Disclaimer: Let me start by saying that I was neither drunk nor high when I watched this movie. I watched it stone cold sober, alone, in my living room.

Amazingly I just gave an Uwe Boll film 8 stars, I know, I can't believe it myself. If I were twelve years old and still read MAD Magazine I'd probably have given it ten stars.

There are plenty of "zany" pop culture riffing movies out there, (Meet the Spartans, Super Hero Movie, Date Movie, etc.) but the difference here is Postal works. I laughed throughout the entire movie, with the exception of about seven jokes which didn't make sense or just didn't work. But it doesn't matter that these seven jokes failed because the movie is an endless stream of jokes, sight gags, bikini clad cult members, machine gun battles, and bad taste in the vein of John Waters/Troma Films earliest efforts.

It's too bad Uwe Boll got himself involved in a petty internet pi**ing contest over this film. I think had he just been modest, kept his mouth shut, and let the film speak for itself it may have been a minor success. The old Hollywood saying about there being "no such thing as bad publicity" doesn't work for you when all you get is BAD PUBLICITY.

That said, the only real problems with the film are the low budget production values and a few of the minor performances, but even those problems just add to the humor of this film.

The plot actually made sense.

The actors played it straight without being too zany too often.

And the jokes, although in bad taste and definitely not for everybody, were never so mean spirited that I was turned off by them.

I think Uwe Boll knew what he was doing with this picture. The satire and parodies worked well, and there were even a few jokes that made me want to cheer. I know, crazy huh?