The fantasist touches are excellent- and Going Postal is incredibly faithful to the detail of Pratchett's Discworld universe: especially in the bizarro fascination in proxy versions of new technology (the best Discworld novels have dealt with them- Moving Pictures, Soul Music and Going Postal each take modern world technology and give them a magical reimagining).
In addition, the new Post Master must fend off the treacherous attentions of Reacher Gilt (Suchet), the owner of the Clacks service (a clever Discworld version of the internet) that was responsible for the orginal demise of the post office. Not quite as simple as it sounds: the post office is filled with millions of undelivered letters, and is both painfully understaffed and there's a faint ominous whiff of the supernatural about the place.
Going postal movie review manual#
Watching him tick off the steps from a manual on What To Do In The Event of a Fire is a particular highlight.Ĭoyle's Von Lipwig is a con man who is reprieved from his death sentence by the city Patrician and extended the opportunity to further put off his date with the hangman by bringing the suspiciously defunct postal system of Ankh-Morpork back to life. His excellent take on a personified bag of nerves is very rewarding viewing, while is allegiance to Von Lipwig and overall simpleton with a heart demeanour is enromously endearing.
The highlight of the acting performances- aside from David Suchet's unhinged brilliance- for me was Ian Bonar as comically obsessive pin collector or "pinhead" Stanley Howler.
The star-studded cast is completed by David Suchet (brilliantly pantomime), Claire Foy, Andrew Sachs and Steve Pemberton, who each have clearly taken the manifesto of maintaining Pratchett's spirit of character genesis from his novels to heart.
Going postal movie review series#
Richard Coyle, in the lead as conman/postman Moist Von Lipwig is the complete opposite, bringing some of the cheeky charm he displayed in comedy series Coupling and a genuine likeability factor to the character. Typically of a Sky One/Pratchett adaptation, the casting is excellent: Charles Dance exudes poise and power as Vetinari the Patrician, and was far more understated than predecessor Jeremy Irons (who played the Patrician in The Colour of Magic), and I thought far more quietly menacing. The third in that particular series, Terry Pratchett's Going Postal is now available to buy on DVD and Blu Ray, and it continues the form, and excellent eye for casting that was set by the first two installments.
Going postal movie review tv#
There have already been a number of high-profile adaptations, including a recent version of Chris Ryan's Counter Strike, but the best by far have been the Terry Pratchett books that have been made into TV mini-series so far, starting with the excellent Hogfather, starring David Jason. A fairly new arm of the TV market that they have begun to make a real imprint on, which traditionally has been owned by terrestrial giants BBC and ITV, is the book adaptation arena. Sky One have a bit of a reputation for both making and amassing the best talent in terms of TV series and mini-series in Britain: chances are, if a rival network has the audacity to stumble across something of real merit before them (like 24 and Lost for instance) they will no doubt pilfer the show for themselves and run with it.