Metacritic reviews

Although The Postman conveys a thoroughly imagined vision of a future society, its basic concerns are actually far from those of traditional sci-fi, as it quickly comes to feel more like a Western than anything else.

If you take The Postman at face value - that it's a straightforward, post- apocalyptic adventure tale, then it could seem like one of the worst movies of the year, if not of all time.

It's tempting to accuse director and star Kevin Costner of taking the idea of vanity production to a new level in this frontier adventure based on a book by David Brin.

Costner's ponderous post-apocalyptic morality tale feels every minute of its nearly three hours.

Regrettably, The Postman is just one more reminder of what a nonfactor sincerity often is in terms of artistic merit.

The Postman isn't as atrocious as the inane trailers and media hype have indicated, but like "Waterworld" a lot of the prerelease scrutiny is well warranted.

There are those who will no doubt call The Postman the worst film of the year, but it's too good-hearted for that.

But since Costner canít save his movie, it's something of a stretch to think he might be able to save the world.

The dragging pace is one of several agonizing defects in this bloated sci-fi action drama.

Every truly awful movie epic has a point of no return, a moment when the accumulated bad lines and bogus sentimentality become so cloying that the best defense against a mounting queasiness is an awed amusement. The Postman, offers a new opportunity for levity every few minutes after its first hour.