It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This film takes place in 2013, at a time when the World was destroyed by the Third World War. Communities have become isolated, there is no government, United States seems to have disappeared and armed militias on horseback are oppressing the people. However, a man will change that when, somewhat accidentally, it triggers a movement of resistance to oppression.The center of all history is the way a man, with no name but who is nicknamed "Shakespeare" due to his survival as an artist and itinerant declamer, ends up giving rise to a movement of resistance to a strong and fierce armed militia, when he disguises himself as a postman to be able to receive help from the people, averse to the visit of strangers. He comes to be seen as a symbol of hope when he lies, assuming himself as a representative of a Restored Government, which does not even know whether it exists or not.The central idea is great, and the film is interesting by the ideas it presents and by the good work of the leading actors, Kevin Costner and Will Patton. The two actors worked well and their characters are very interesting. Costner gave life to a hero by chance, full of internal conflicts and a complex psychology that he managed to explore; Patton was an insensitive and bloodthirsty villain, cultured but cruel. The sub-plot created between the Postman and Abby turns out little and does not seem very happy by the way she quickly forgets her husband. But worse are the three hours lenght, which are not justified by the plot and denounce a bad post-production and editing work. There's a lot left in this movie and lots of details that don't matter and should have been taken off. Another problem is the time when everything is happening: the year 2013. Okay, the movie was shot in 1997, but we're in 2018 today, and it seems silly that they thought of a future so near as something so apocalyptic. The film should have been thought for 2113, not 2013.Despite all the flaws, the film is interesting and tells a good story of freedom, resistance to oppression and tyranny, survival and companionship. Despite the long lenght, it entertains who has not watched it, but its not worth more than two or three views.

I saw this movie once and did not appreciate it. However for some strange reason, my thoughts always came back to it. Watching it a second time, many years later, I know I will watch it again and again, because there is more to it then meets the eye. It is now my favorite.

Kevin Costner's second post-apocalypse movie in the same number of years after WATERWORLD is a real yawner of a film, simply because the limited story does not fill three hours of screen time. An hour and a half and this might have made a decent movie, but at three hours the pacing is a crawl and the film difficult to sit through without losing interest. As an adventure, it's also seriously lacking in the kind of action these films require, and the minimal battles and fights that do exist are rather mundanely portrayed and uninteresting. Instead, it appears that Costner is interested in the moralising, the sentimentality, and the occasionally pretentious storyline about an everyday drifter who pretends to be a postman and invents a story of a new government in order to bring hope to the post-holocaust masses.It has to be said that the story is original and interesting (a rarity these days), but the endless padding and cheesy romance between Costner and Olivia Williams seriously drags things down. Costner is adequate in the role as the hero but seems unsure of himself at times, just giving vague expressions instead of acting when he has to. Instead of the clear-cut heroic roles of his past, instead he's portrayed as a pacifist and occasional coward who only fights after being hunted down by the enemy. His thunder is somewhat stolen by the superb and underrated Will Patton as the bad guy, General Bethlehem, who gives an in-depth and multi-layered performance as the intelligent villain and has a great screen presence - it's a shame this man doesn't get leading roles. Larenz Tate is also good as the young patriot, but Olivia Williams and her corny romance belongs in another film. The supporting cast is littered with the familiar faces of James Russo, Daniel von Bargen, Tom Petty, Giovanni Ribisi, and Joe Santos, but nobody gets a look in much and the only developed characters are Costner, Tate, Williams, and Patton.Without a doubt, THE POSTMAN has some great cinematography in places, especially in the sweeping vistas and magnificent landscapes it often uses as a backdrop. Yet the special effects are kept to a bare minimum, thus alienating the young thrill-seeking crowd, and after the blood-and-thunder of the likes of Mel Gibson's BRAVEHEART, audiences weren't expecting this off beat, slow-paced and preachy epic. I didn't hate it as much as some, but I did find it hard to keep up the energy of watching it in places. Probably the best aspect of the story is its originality, but this frequently means taking the tale into unsatisfying areas. Not a total failure, but that running time is a real killer for this kind of story.

The Postman is one of those films that supposedly destroyed an A-listers career.For some reason, Costner has always been a target of critics, and despite the fact that in the early nineties, he was one of the big players thanks to the like of The Bodygaurd, Robin Hood and Dances with Wolves, we all tend to remember him for Waterworld, Wyatt Earp, and this, which is unarguably nothing more than a vanity project for it's star/Director.But i've always been a fan of Costner, and I would watch him in a film where he reads the dictionary..Set three years ago, after war has destroyed most of USA, including the government, a lone drifter is captured by a fascist group called the Holnists led by General Bethlehem.When he escapes, he finds a mail Jeep and uniform, and starts to travel through small cities, telling them he is a postman, a representative of the restored United States.No one believes him at first, but soon he has followers, and they start to prepare a revolt against Holnists.......With this being a post apocalyptic vision of the recent past/future depending on when you actually see the film, I for one was actually surprised as to just how light hearted the film was in some scenes.What Costner has given us is nothing more than Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves meets Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, as The Postman has the same traits and problems as Hood.Now take away Patton (even though he is very good), and add Rickman, I would guarantee that this would have been better received, and more regarded today.I wouldn't have been surprised if the late actor was sent a script, but didn't want to steal the show from Costner yet again.So he escapes from the General, starts a movement, gets injured, spends a winter with Olivia Willaims, and fights some more, until we have a Braveheart type finale.The film is all over the place, Costner clearly believed he had the answers to the meaning of life with this film, and was betting that he would repeat his success with Dances With Wolves.It's not a bad film by any means, it's actually quite entertaining, and my advice is make your own decisions, you will find something to enjoy.Even if it is for all the wrong reasons.