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| Index | 129 reviews in total |
I saw the world premiere at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal.
Seriously, this movie blows away anything ever done by Boll.
It's the most violent, disgusting, offensive, thrash movie I've ever
seen. I give the movie 9 stars because it was exactly what Boll was
intending, and it's a complete success. Go home Takashi Miike! To sum
up, it's probably the best video game to movie adaptation ever made. It
perfectly captured the spirit of the video game, and then added more,
always more, to create such excess that you can't help but laugh during
the whole thing.
People criticizing the movie because it's violent, disgusting and
offensive shouldn't comment on it - they obviously missed the point.
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
Uwe Boll's best Movie. Better than "You Don't Mess with the Zohan". Neither of those statements are saying particularly much, but to say the least, this movie is actually worth watching. Postal is essentially an absurdist farce comprised of characters designed to be caricatures of the worst parts of humanity. Assuming this was not some cosmic coincidence whereby Uwe Boll managed to write and direct a movie that actually entertains it's alleged target audience, I feel confident in saying that this movie actually hits it's mark. Knowing the spirit and tone of the source material, this is actually a pretty decent video game adaptation. The movie is essentially a Bollian journey into Tromaville territory: from the crass socio-political commentary, through the excessive violence, coarse language, gratuitous full frontal Dave Foley nudity, right down to the self deprecating director cameo. It's intentionally offensive to everyone. Despite itself, on some level this movie works. It's weird that I seem to only have good things to say about this movie, seeing as it is not a good movie... but, dare I say, it's not bad either. 5/10
After I saw Postal, I got a chance to see Uwe Boll himself in a Q&A
session. He's actually pretty amusing in real life and I think he
channeled that when writing Postal. This was the first movie of his
I've ever seen and...
I actually had a lot of fun. Take a few friends with you when you go,
and you'll probably leave in a good mood too. It's not without some
flaws, it does stutter here and there and Mr Boll takes a few great
jokes and doesn't quite build up and then punchline them properly, but
there's enough hits here to make up for it. The cast is excellent (Dave
Foley and Zach Ward steal the show but there are some great cameos).
The VERY last shot of the movie is strangely beautiful. You'll have to
see it to see what I mean.
In the end there's something very good-natured about how this movie
with decapitations and explosions and suicide bombers and gunfights
tries to make you laugh. It was happy to roll around in its own
silliness and for that, I loved it.
While Uwe Boll has garnered a reputation as one of the worst directors of all time, I can only surmise that those particular critics either have a very limited awareness of cinema (and clearly have not seen any films by Ulli Lommel...or Eli Roth), or are so embittered by their profession that they cannot see the insane, driven vision beneath the surface of the German mastermind's work. Those who have followed his career with masochistic pleasure have concluded that his current works have shown a legitimate upgrade in quality, and "Postal" is one of his most impressive films; while yet another loose take on a video game, Boll's proficiency with narrative structure (he co-wrote the script with Bryan C. Knight) has gotten better, as has his scene composition (few out-of-nowhere edits away from the action); and placed on the grounds of an absurd satire (a genre that many filmmakers bungle), Boll shows unfettered confidence and drive, even if the end result comes up short. Ditching the nauseating sitcom-structure that has turned Judd Apatow's films into crudely saccharine cinematic gold-mines, Boll goes for the subversive, anti-commercial jugular with "Postal"--he seems on a mission to top one offensive gag with one even more offensive, and the film (true to its title) is an onslaught of un-PC humor from start to finish. While I will say I laughed often at "Postal" and its politics (which echo the anti-consumerist diatribes that made "Fight Club" a cult classic), the comic timing is probably only spot-on about half the time; the remainder of the film's humor flows out of the absurdity of its premise: Dude (Zack Ward, the red-haired bully from "A Christmas Story") is an unemployed, lower-class guy having a bad day--in a pinch for cash, he and Uncle Dave (Dave Foley) concoct a plan to steal a shipment of Krotchy dolls from a Nazi-themed amusement park (run by Boll himself in a hilarious cameo); meanwhile, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban (camped out in the back of a convenience store, natch) are also converging on the coveted toy. Yet the plot is really just an excuse for Boll to let loose with a skewering of stereotypes, history, and blue-collar madness: while "Postal" could have merely been tasteless and humorless, its own sensitivity toward mankind's collectively repressed id shows a greater existential curiosity toward our "post-9/11" society than any Oscar-nominated tearjerker to come down the pike.
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