The Postman

BuilderPlumber

With the success of Mad Max Fury Road I decided to rewatch this 1997 Kevin Costner film. For years all these Mad Max type films came about inspired by the success of the original 3 Max films. None of them came any way close to the Max films but The Postman may be the best of these.

Despite the fact it got slaughtered by critics and did poorly at the box office, this film at least had a sense of intelligence in it which made it closer to Mad Max than the Mad Max ripoffs. It was also a much better film than Costner's other post apocalypse adventure, Waterworld.

The downsides of The Postman were its 'post apocalypse lite' style that was not brave enough to tackle the savagery Mad Max was unafraid to show. In other words, The Postman was to Mad Max what Clean Break was to Love/Hate. Showing restraint blocks vital stories and blocked the development of what could have been a classic baddie in the fascist General Bethlehem. The conclusion was poor and unbelieving too (try defeating ISIS like this for example and see how far you'd get and remember, Bethlehem is in charge of a group like ISIS). It other downside was its length. It often rambled into unnecessary scenes that seemed to go on forever. The last flaw is more could have been done to explain the apocalypse, something akin to the beginning of Mad Max 2 for example. The interesting part that could have been developed further were the contents of the letters which could have been used to explain the end of society as we know it. More could be done to explain who exactly Nathan Holn was as long as they didn't make him look too much like Donald Trump that is!

On the positive side, the film is wellmade and the acting for the most part is above average. One of the strengths the film has is that it was able to put a different spin on the drifter entering a town to save the day that did not replicate Mad Max 2 and 3 or Shane. But one wonders what the film would be like if it was made better and was not held back by restraints. General Bethlehem is introduced as a tyrant and hangs his own innocent man early but this was not developed as the film went on. Also no reason is given for why he acts the way he does. Similar apocalyptic villains like the Toecutter and Humungus were motivated by fuel control and Immortan Joe by controlling water and fertile land. Bethlehem just seems to be a cliched Adolf Hitler type with no original character development which is a pity as Will Patten was convincing in the part.

Image if this was done by George Miller with Mel Gibson as the lead part at the time. Mad Max and Braveheart into the mix in a good way. Perhaps the theme could have been developed more on the lines of Bethlehem enforcing a policy of no communication between people and the Postman fighting against this? It is a shame that The Postman which was one of the most interesting post apocalypse worlds since Mad Max (and more interesting than the worlds in films like I Am Legend for example that had a less interesting backstory but yet were superior films) did not explore its full potential. It could have been the Mad Max Fury Road of the 1990s but sadly it was not developed to what it could have been. A waste.

bnt

I'm a fan of the author (David Brin), and he has quite a lot to say about the film - most of it positive. Or, video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgWH0BTaOMg

BuilderPlumber

bnt wrote: »

I'm a fan of the author (David Brin), and he has quite a lot to say about the film - most of it positive. Or, video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgWH0BTaOMg

This is a very interesting view of the film by the writer of the book it was based on. I myself would largely agree with most of what is said. The film is flawed but has a lot of good points.

What I do not understand is why all the hatred for it. When the 'worst films' of 1997 are listed, The Postman along with Batman and Robin are usually there. I am pretty sure there are a hundred at least worse films than either of these two made in 1997. Batman and Robin fair enough was poor fare, the poorest of the Batman films but it still was watchable anyway. The Postman is a lot better film than B and R but suffers from the same fate: perhaps, a big letdown after expectations being far higher. Like 1989's Batman set the bar for Batman films, Brin's original The Postman book set the bar for this and it became one of those cases where 'the book was much better'. The Postman suffered from its inevitable comparisons to Mad Max but Brin explains that his story was to be different.

The Postman was probably not designed to be an action film with a post apocalypse theme like Mad Max. It was intended as more of a story of how a society found a saviour who restored their country and rescued it from fascists. Therefore, the final fight between the Postman and Bethlehem would disappoint Mad Max fans used to Max v Blaster in the thunderdome. The lack of biker gangs and car chases also disappointed such fans. Also cinema goers at the time may have been enticed to go to see The Postman after seeing posters of it up after going to see the then new James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. The action in The Postman would likewise not meet their expectations.

When one gets past this misreading of the film as an action flick and instead accepts it for what it is, perceptions would improve. It does not deserve its status as being listed among the worst films ever made. Films of equal ranking (but more deserving of it!) such as 50 Shades of Grey have more fans and it is a shame. Compared to 50 Shades of Grey, The Postman is intelligent, thoughtful and has deep meaning. Yet both are listed as among the worst films ever. Grey gets the love of all those who are sex obsessed and do not care about story.

A final issue is Kevin Costner. If say Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson or Pierce Brosnan was in the Postman, would it have ranked so low? Sometime in the 1990s audiences turned against Costner for some reason. Personally I find him a good actor who always convinced in his roles. Others sarcastically refer to him as the poor man's Mel Gibson and the like. Yet Field of Dreams and Dances With Wolves are ranked very highly. I blame 1995's Waterworld for why Costner went from highly to poorly rated almost overnight. Waterworld may have been the daftest post apocalypse film ever made this side of those 1980s Italian Mad Max ripoffs. But once more it was hardly the worst and was essentially an entertaining action flick that critics didn't like. I think that a lot of people decided to hate Waterworld and as a result The Postman on the basis of their reputation without seeing for themselves.

bnt

Like Brin, I think opinions of The Postman are going to improve over time. One critic called it "Mad Max directed by Frank Capra", as if that was some kind of deadly insult: considering the storyline of Fury Road and how well that did, I might just read the book again, if I can't get the movie.

BuilderPlumber

bnt wrote: »

Like Brin, I think opinions of The Postman are going to improve over time. One critic called it "Mad Max directed by Frank Capra", as if that was some kind of deadly insult: considering the storyline of Fury Road and how well that did, I might just read the book again, if I can't get the movie.

I think so too. I feel all those who rate it so poorly haven't seen the truly awful films that exist. Within its own genre of post apocalypse science fiction, it is one of the better ones along with the Mad Max films and certain others. In the wake of Mad Max, I remember all these awful post apocalypse movies such as Cyborg, Battletruck and Steel Dawn. Unlike Mad Max or The Postman, none of these even attempted to be any way intelligent.

Suppose it was scheduled for remake? Which is very possible in this era of reviving, rebooting and continuing franchises. Many of the best and most successful films of the last few years such as Mad Max Fury Road, The Dark Knight, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, SPECTRE, the new Star Wars, and the like were all continuations or remakes of old franchises. With Brin's book rated so highly, another movie of The Postman will happen sooner or later.

BuilderPlumber

Just read this from David Brin:

https://plus.google.com/+davidbrin1/posts/eMbKxhayfYz

Could we see a real scenario develop in America akin to the events of The Postman? Brin seems to think it is possible. America is more divided than it ever was and who knows what could happen. Brin is right about Trump: Trump is not the danger but what has erupted is. Violent fascists could see their opportunity and cause trouble. A second US civil war if it were to happen would at the very least ruin the world's economy.

BuilderPlumber

Maybe it is time to have a darker remake of The Postman. The 1997 version though not as bad as we are lead to believe toned things down and left out a lot of the excellent book's source material. Watched the 1997 film of it again last weekend to compare and contrast one possible future with what this film portrays.

Nathan Holn/General Bethlehem? Are we seeing some of these types or a transition to some of these types sweeping to power in the US? The Holnists were clearly an ISIS like KKK type organisation and were not unlike real world individuals like Timothy McVeigh. Suppose we have some madman come to power in America perhaps inspired by Trump but then let down by him as he considers him too moderate. Suppose Trump's war against ISIS provides fanatics in the US with a chance to take over and leading to a fanatic state where racism and weird religion comes into being. Suppose it was lead by an embittered farmer who wrote a book about seizing power called Nathan Holn? Suppose they seized power in 2017? Suddenly, 2018 become 1998 because the regime has 'evidence' that Jesus was born 1998 years prior to 2018. Suppose a nuclear civil war develops in the US and then elsewhere wars and instability wreck the world? Suddenly, you have The Postman situation.

By 2033 (2013) The Postman escapes from the Holnist army and gradually goes from being a conman seeing food and protection for selfish reasons to becoming a leader and the 1st president of the Restored USA. Sadly the positive ending is the most unlikely!

check_six

Always got the impression that Costner was well disliked in Hollywood and the press. When he started churning out turgid duds everyone was only too happy to put the boot in.

razorblunt

BuilderPlumber

check_six wrote: »

Always got the impression that Costner was well disliked in Hollywood and the press. When he started churning out turgid duds everyone was only too happy to put the boot in.

I would feel this to be the case as well. Costner was never one of the in people in Hollywood for some reason and the press did not care for him either and I think that when he made WaterWorld this gave them ammunition.

Other people did not take a shine to Costner's Epic-inspired style of direction for films. It worked excellently for Dances with Wolves and Field of Dreams but films like his Wyatt Earp biopic were less well regarded as was JFK.

WaterWorld was a big expensive watery flop pandering to climate change science fiction and sporting a relocated to water Mad Max story ripped from the second and third of that series. It neither won the respect of Max fans or climate change advocates.

The Postman was at least better than WW and was based on a great book. While it was not excellent by any means, it did not deserve to be listed as one of the worst films ever made either. Flawed it was and hardly on a par with Mad Max 2 or the like but it gave us an interesting world but I cannot help but wonder what George Miller or another such director could have done with David Brin's source material. A remake of The Postman done properly would be awesome and a great modern day apocalypse film to complement Mad Max Fury Road. Costner's version is watchable but flawed. Certainly not one of the worst films (I'd be tempted to say that the top 100 of the worst films I ever saw would be poor grade martial arts flicks) but not a classic and one that teasingly asks questions of what might have been. I felt that there was too much attempts with this (the same with Wyatt Earp) to bring in the feel of Dances With Wolves into it and it ended up more with the feel of that film that anything to do with David Brin. An interesting film but a wasted opportunity.

BuilderPlumber

After watching most of the excellent The Handmaid's Tale series, I feel the same should be done with The Postman. As with Handmaid, it covers a similar storyline of a post second civil war America run by violent bigots. With realworld types threatening to lead America down the drain, the appetite for good post-apocalypse and dystopian films and series is there. Mad Max Fury Road and The Handmaid's Tale emphasised the anti-woman agendas in a scarce and unequal world.

I feel the 1997 adaptation of The Postman while not as bad as some lead you to think is nevertheless a film that does not do justice to the book. Another similar 1990s film was this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale_(film)

That was not that well received and remade much better later. I feel as with the series and getting Margaret Atwood onboard, the same should be done with a remake of Postman: do it with David Brinn onboard.