Joe Leydon The Moving Picture Show May 14, 2024

In synopsis, The Postman may sound like a blueprint for a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch. On screen, however, the weirdly compelling plot, taken from a novel by David Brin, is all the more affecting for being played perfectly straight.

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Eddie Harrison film-authority.com Mar 10, 2024 3/5

The Postman is probably worth a revival as a film that was laughed off the screen, but got plenty right in retrospect... a sci-fi film that’s less about machines and technology than ideas, and that’s as unfashionable now in 2024 as it was in 1997’s 2013.

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Dec 18, 2019 1.5/4

Costner the director lavishes all sorts of attention on Costner the actor, from laughably reverential dialogue ("You give out hope like it was candy in your pocket") to loving close-ups to gauzy slow-motion montages.

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Yael Shuv Total Film May 30, 2018 2/5

You can go with the idea of a heroic postie implausibly rallying the downtrodden, or you can have fun making fun of its awfulness.

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Paul Tatara CNN.com Feb 16, 2018

It's about as inspiring as a movie about a vengeful meter reader.

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Mike Clark USA Today Jan 9, 2018 1.5/4

Star/director Kevin Costner's futuristic folly The Postman is so loopy that, for a while, one wants to shield it from a critical storm that has already begun.

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Todd McCarthy Variety Jul 6, 2010

The sweeping movement of the tale across half a continent, and the frequent action that facilitates it, is conveyed in a majestic and for the most part exciting manner.

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Nick Bradshaw Time Out Jun 24, 2006

The film aims for an uncomfortable compromise between the dramatic sincerity of Dances with Wolves and the epic spectacle of Waterworld, but lacks the explanatory detail and narrative fluency to achieve either.

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Luke Y. Thompson LYTRules.com May 3, 2006

...wasn't bad for the first two hours, but then kept going another hour

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Chuck O'Leary FulvueDrive-in.com Mar 3, 2006 5/10

The first half of Costner's The Postman is actually quite interesting, but it falters badly in the second half with a few unintentional howlers.

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Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews Apr 9, 2005 C-

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Andrew Wright rec.arts.movies.reviews Dec 18, 2004 F

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Dragan Antulov rec.arts.movies.reviews Jan 8, 2004 3/10

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John R. McEwen Film Quips Online Feb 8, 2003 3.5/5

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Rob Vaux Flipside Movie Emporium Nov 1, 2002 2/5

A good idea hopelessly strangled by Kevin Costner's ernestness.

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Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) Oct 17, 2002 2/5

Not as bad as everyone says, but still not worth seeing.

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Tom Meek Boston Phoenix Mar 24, 2002

The film's most gracious performance comes from Olivia Williams as Costner's love interest. Unfortunately, even her sensual effervescence can't redeem the inept dialogue and perplexing overuse of slow-motion sequencing.

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Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice Mar 1, 2002

Emblazons hope as a powerful spiritual force.

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James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk Feb 27, 2001 2/4

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Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope Jan 1, 2001 5/10

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