The Postman (1997)

Costner's follow-up to Waterworld (95) as no less than star and director was this pic, a lengthy post-holocaust tale of a wanderer (Costner) and his mule. He gets by on his wits and his cons, revolving around performing flawed Shakespeare for his supplies at small settlements.  Then he's forcibly conscripted into the growing army of General Bethlehem (Will Patton) and his mule is destroyed for food. Escaping, he finds shelter for one night in an old mail truck. There, he finds a bag of old mail; this is his avenue for a new con - also donning an old uniform, he passes himself off as the representative of a new government and a newly-established postal service. This little Kabuki Theater of his expands far beyond anything he envisioned, mostly due to the efforts of his young, idealistic 2nd-in-command (Larenz Tate).  The Postman, as he's later known, also gets involved with a woman (Olivia Williams).  Bethlehem, who has his own visions of an empire, becomes frustrated by this supposed 'other' government which has settlements defying Bethlehem's will.
This film may have suffered from the backlash against Costner and his perceived ego in the wake of Waterworld.  There were a couple of short scenes here which hinted at this ego, a pretentiousness in setting up his Postman character as this great legend, but I didn't have too many problems with it.  There were a few weak parts but certainly not enough to revile it as the worst film of the year.  It may have had too much ambition and was too long by perhaps 20 minutes, all part of Costner's plan to craft an epic.  Tate's character is problematic - he's almost as fanatical as Patton's Bethlehem in ensuring the continuation of the postal service, but there's never a clue as to his reasoning or lack of same.  Patton wasn't that bad as the villain, suggesting megalomania and even some delusion - though I never pictured him as this great fighter (the reason he keeps his command).  Late scenes feature Tom Petty as himself - perhaps another miscalculation; it takes one out of the film. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10
Postal Trivia: has the distinction of winning Razzie Awards for worst film, worst director & actor (Costner) and worst screenplay.