Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In 2013, there are no highways, no I-ways, no dreams of a better tomorrow, only scattered survivors across what was once the United States. Into this apocalyptic wasteland comes an enigmatic drifter with a mule, a knack for Shakespeare, and something yet undiscovered: the power to inspire hope.
Kevin Costner's ambitious post-apocalyptic epic based on David Brin's novel has genuine scope and an earnest idealism about American institutions, but the film is plagued by bloated runtime and self-indulgent direction. The premise of a drifter accidentally inspiring a postal resistance movement is engaging and thematically rich, but the execution drags with melodrama and an overlong third act. Acting is uneven — Costner is charismatic but the surrounding cast struggles with thin material. Cinematography offers some sweeping Pacific Northwest vistas but nothing distinctive. The ending feels overwrought and too neatly triumphant given the film's own tonal ambitions. A noble misfire that reaches for greatness but collapses under its own weight.