Postal (2007)

Postal: Directed by Uwe Boll. With Zack Ward, Dave Foley, Chris Coppola, Jackie Tohn. In the ironically named city of Paradise, a loser teams up with his cult-leading uncle to steal a peculiar bounty of riches from their local amusement park. The recently arrived Taliban have a similar focus, but a far more sinister intent.

“If we forget for a minute that this film was directed by Uwe Boll, the discussion of this film would be very different. Itu0026#39;s hard not to remember other video games heu0026#39;s responsible for bringing to the screen (u0026quot;Alone in the Dark,u0026quot; u0026quot;Bloodrayneu0026quot;) that really really sucked.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBoll has said he looked inward to write about his own frustration with the world for this. And itu0026#39;s very different. It doesnu0026#39;t compare to his other films at all – is closer to u0026quot;Kentucky Fried Movieu0026quot; than to u0026quot;Alien Vs. Predator.u0026quot; Itu0026#39;s a comedy, presumably his first intentional one since his debut film 15 years ago, and it goes to a place he hasnu0026#39;t shown us before.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s based on the spirit of the game u0026quot;Postalu0026quot; already politically incorrect, cartoony, out of control, and not really serious (not even as u0026quot;Vice Cityu0026quot;). In a post 9/11 world, how do you make a film about an urban terrorist whou0026#39;s just u0026quot;p–ssed offu0026quot; 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBoll has channeled the politically incorrect attitude and turned it on its ear. He doesnu0026#39;t mind making everyone look the fool, do things they shouldnu0026#39;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 – itu0026#39;s a FILM. Itu0026#39;s fake, folks. Everyone in it takes themselves too seriously and thinks killing someone solves their problems. Theyu0026#39;re crazy, wrong, and in this film, theyu0026#39;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 itu0026#39;s quite funny, some is stupid and offensive (but weirdly, in a good-natured way. Itu0026#39;s not mean-spirited at all.) Ultimately itu0026#39;s a lot of fun. I agree thatu0026#39;s itu0026#39;s too long towards the end, if only because Boll didnu0026#39;t have the resources to make the final shootout as epic as it should have been, and it begins to feel cramped.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe portrayal of Osama bin Laden (by u0026quot;soup Naziu0026quot; 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 u0026quot;Postalu0026quot; at one point.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd amazingly, Uwe Boll wrote and directed it. Good job. Not the best film in the world, but one to remember. I donu0026#39;t think Paul W.S. Anderson or Eli Roth (to pick other famous u0026quot;hacksu0026quot;) could possibly have pulled something this off. Boll is off the worst-director-ever list after this.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLetu0026#39;s hope after u0026quot;Bloodrayne 2u0026quot; he does something else more personal.”