Going Postal product reviews

What a hoot! Though I have always enjoyed the Discworld books, the movie live-action adaptations have always been more than a little 'flat' to me, especially "The Colour of Magic" - despite an all-star cast. This one, however, really rocked me back on my heels laughing.

With David Suchet - always memorable as Agatha Christie's 'Poirot' - playing the 'bad guy' Reacher Gilt, and Claire Foy playing Adora Bell, there were two instantly familiar faces perfectly placed in their roles. Add to that Richard Coyle playing Moist von Lipwig - our 'hero' if you will (despite having a rather chequered past to say the least), the story unfolded beautifully, if not entirely loyal to the original manuscript as penned by Terry Pratchett. No surprises there - you simply can't cram a book into a movie format and have it match exactly.

The only slight disappointment I found was Charles Dance as Lord Vetinari... though he had the right manner and tone, one of Vetinari's main distinguishing features was jet black hair slicked back, and a midnight goatee that came down to a point... and on both of these counts the make-up department blundered off the track totally. Still, it was a small thing that didn't detract from an excellent performance, and will only matter to the die-hards... like me.

Overall, a most excellent way to spend 3 hours of a cold, rainy day. Though it is flagged as PG, I didn't see anything in there that my kids haven't seen worse versions of on the nightly news, so I would be comfortable saying that this movie is a family-safe one, well suited for a clan gathering, on the couch, under a couple of thick blankets, with drinks and biscuits in hand.