Punisher: War Zone

OK first off I just came back from the midnight show and was pleasantly surprised by the time the movie started there was a lot of people at my showing. We loved the movie, nice kills definitely worth price of admission. Considering the low budget ala Desperado I give kudos to Lexi & crew for doing what they did for not so much money. Ray Stevenson is like a tank in this movie mowing down bad guys like a piece of cake (yeah he doesn't say much because he's too busy kicking ass). I wish Micro was used a bit more, but if you don't like this character you'll be cool with that. This movie I do agree is flawed but the action and the extreme brutality of it makes you overlook it. The intro is really cool (you can tell it's a comic book movie so prepare to suspend reality) and the mansion scene at the beginning is beyond awesome. Ray is a killing machine. Now the Villains are over the top and even cheesy at times but it's a good cheesy. The movie does seem a bit rushed and edited...so I believe in the future we'll get an extended or unrated cut. Just from the general opinions people were expressing right after the movie almost everyone found this Punisher better than the 2004 one and definitely better than 1989 one. Julie Benz was actually not bad at all in this, Dominic & Doug enjoyed being evil and you can tell they had fun but I would have liked to see more of them causing chaos and havoc. Ink and Pittsy were good and pretty funny at times. All and all an awesome Punisher flick, doesn't pretend to be anything else or hold any punches. Not every comic book movie can be a Dark Knight or Iron Man. Just go in with no expectations and enjoy the Punisher punishing and blowing up the corrupt. The heavy metal and the soundtrack was used very little throughout the movie, mostly score which rocked and fit the movie very well. I have no idea how this movie will perform but I hope it does well at the box office because I would love to see where Ray takes this character in the next chapter. Love it or hate it judge for yourself!

Before you discount my review of this movie because I didn't stay until the end of the movie, let me defend my fandom. I have been a Punisher fan for years, I am a rabid fan of the Punisher MAX comic, I loved the 04' film and The Punisher character is for me one the best characters in a comic ever. I went into this movie with low expectations because I was such a fan of the Thomas Jane Punisher film in 04'. It also had horrible reviews, but I told myself that a true fan would give this film a chance. In the opening scene of the movie Frank Castle sneaks into a mafia stronghold, and does what he does best, kills people. However, he does two things that Frank castle would never do: he snaps some mafia woman's arm and decks her, true fans know the Punisher doesn't hurt woman or children, it's one of his few rules. Then he grabs a chandelier, hangs upside down and then starts shooting. The Punisher is not a flashy overly choreographed showboat. He's a well trained, straight forward, ex-military killing machine. Knock my sheer nerdery but how do you enjoy one of your all-time favorite characters acting glaringly uncharacteristic manner. He accidentally kills an undercover FBI operative for god's sake(unless they explain he didn't do it after the 71 minute mark of the movie when I left). The Punisher I know doesn't accidentally kill people I swear i thought that I read that the director of this film did extensive research into the character, and stated her love for the war journal comic. But I refuse to believe that anyone who would put this movie out, is anything close to a fan, let alone well versed on the characters nuances. The casting was horrible, the acting was hackneyed, and the excessive splatter gore and grandiose fancy deaths were total BS. Ray Stevenson was horrible as Frank Castle, talk about a phoned-in effort. Choosing Ray Stevenson to play this role would be the equivalent to casting Corky from life goes on to play Jason Bourne in the next Bourne Movie. I will go as far as to say that i feel like this movie is the marvel equivalent, to the DC Batman and Robin debacle. You want to see horribly campy special effects and one-dimensional acting se this film. The Jigsaw face special effects reminded me of Jim Carrey's "the mask", and his brother "Looney Bin Jim", wow what a horribly over the top job of psychopathic portrayal. This movie takes various elements of the Punisher story: his family's murder, microchip(worst casting choice), Frank Castle's soft spot for children and his penchant for extreme violence. And then perverts them to the exact opposite of what I've come to expect from the Punisher Mythos. The bad part of the plot for me was pretty much start to finish. It was predictable and B-movie-esquire. Punisher maims a criminal, he survives, and then goes on a rampage of revenge, Punisher kills him in a bullet drenched showdown, credits role. I'm not saying I could write it better Per Se, but I would've stuck to the Punisher MAX style of writing. Had Garth Ennis written this movie and used any of the Punisher MAX story arc's this movie would've been better than most of Marvel's recent films.

I really enjoyed The Punisher (2004) though I don't think Thomas Jane made a good Punisher he is a competent enough actor to have pulled it off. When I heard about this one 4yrs later I had no interest, I was frustrated that it had essentially been rebooted and that Jane was no longer playing Frank Castle. Here we are 9yrs later I've finally given it a chance and I'm saddened I didn't earlier. Punisher: War Zone is not the brainless action flick cash grab that I expected, in fact it rivals the 2004 version. For a start Ray Stevenson is perfectly cast as The Punisher, he looks perfect and blows Jane & even Lungren out of the water. He thoroughly takes the role and makes it his amidst a host of great actors and characters. Extremely violent and quite loyal to the original material this is something I could have gotten behind if it had become a franchise. I'm not an action junkie, in fact I'd say it is by far one of my least favourite genres but when its done right like it is here it makes for some great entertainment. Ignore the critics and put the 2004 version aside for a moment, War Zone is a damn decent film. The Good: Remarkably violent (As it should be) Awesome soundtrack Very competent cast Ray Stevenson makes a great Punisher The Bad: Accents are hit and miss Recasting/Reebooting so soon after the last movie was a stupid move Hero is a Christian, villain is an atheist. Overwhelming irony Jigsaw monologue scene was dumb Things I Learnt From This Movie: I would love to see this Punisher added to the Marvel Universe R-Rated superhero movies were a thing before Deadpool Julie Benz is ageless

This is one of the worst action movies I have seen. I enjoy action films as much as any other but i can't take JUNK. The only two good actors were Ray Stevenson (Punisher) and Colin Salmon (Black FBI guy; he was the commando leader in Resident Evil) after that it seems every body else was picked at the streets and it shows; and the dialog seems to have been written by an 8 years older. Jesus now I understand why Thomas Jane and the original director quit the movie. And the Jigsaw guy was a joke for a villain, he acted like a retard villain from a BAD TV show. And all that fake Italian/NY/mafia accent was pain to the ears. He was not scary at all, he was pathetic. Trust me the Joker from "Dark Knight" beat him fair and square. I had my doubts when I learned the director, Lexi Alexander, was a first timer on the big screen and my fears come true: she did a disgusting job and the climax of the movie was over in less than 5 minutes. Seriously if you watch the Trailer you see the whole movie in 1 minute. By the way some good critics here are suspiciously from new users. Do they work for the movie???

The newest Punisher movie lies at about the extreme of how good a bad movie can get; so bad it's good should be this movies motto. I enjoyed the previous Punisher movie with Thomas Jane as a guilty pleasure and it continues as such with every consecutive viewing. Punisher: War Zone takes this principle to a delirious high and former fighter, director Lexi Alexander certainly has a flair for directing high quality dreck. On a purely visual level, this film trumps its predecessor and is indeed quite slick and well shot. Along with such artistic clarity however, follows copious amounts of blood and brutal sadistic violence, which at times repulsed me to a certain extent. For those who found the previous outing violent, will find themselves wincing more then in any other movie this year. It is this choice to turn The Punisher, Frank Castle, into a purely animalistic killer (Which truthfully is probably what he should be) that distances the audience from his blight and makes this B movie a pure action film; and features little dialogue, no character development, just pure unadulterated havoc. Replacing Thomas Jane, is Ray Stevenson, who I loved from HBO's short-lived series Rome and he certainly suits the part; Brooding, ruthless and savage in his ways. A reboot, more then a sequel, Punisher: War Zone features all new characters, a fresh back-story and a pristine batch of baddies to dispense of. Following a crimson soaked encounter at a Cosa Nostra summit, The Punisher has found a true nemesis (A disfigured Mafioso calling himself only Jigsaw (Dominic West)). However, during this encounter an undercover FBI agent is killed by Frank Castle, the former Special Ops agent, and wracked with guilt, hovers behind the widow and daughter of the agent. Feeling a sort of connection to the two with his own slaughtered family, he fosters a protective tendency over the pair, which ramps up when Jigsaw seeks revenge against the family of his crony who was, obviously, an undercover operative. Recruiting his imprisoned brother Looney Bin Jim (Doug Hutchinson) following a feisty prison break to aid in his revenge, Jigsaw wages a war against The Punisher, his friends and goodness in general. The high point of this film is undoubtedly Dominic West as Jigsaw, who oozes malice and over-the-top sadism and is certainly the best villain since…well Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight......never mind. His brother is equally insane, but is more laughable in his place then West's portrayal. Wayne Knight as Castle's ally, plays the role surprisingly straight and departs nicely from Newman on Seinfeld. Really, truthfully, don't believe for a second that this film is a good movie, it is corny, clichéd, supported by minimal dialogue, and by all standards a bad, bad movie. Yet, damn was in fun.

Taken on its own terms, "Punisher: War Zone" is everything it is supposed to be: excessively violent, larger than life, fast paced, and almost always loads of fun. War Zone doesn't take itself seriously and it doesn't ask the audience to do so, like the '90 and '04 films did. It never ponders the morality of its hero any more than necessary; it's The Punisher for gods' sakes. The casting of Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle is, in a word, perfect. He is commanding, intimidating, and always fun to watch. If you can't enjoy Stevenson as The Punisher, you shouldn't even be watching the damn movie. Though the film is shot tongue-in-cheek, Stevenson stays consistent but is almost always interesting to watch. The supporting cast, led by Dominic West as Jigsaw, also shines in several scenes. There are no weak links in the cast to undermine WZ the way, say, John Travolta undermined the already-suffering Thomas Jane-"Punisher" movie. There are many reasons to fault the first two Punisher pics for perhaps giving the character a bad rap, because the critics sure seem to be roasting this more than necessary. One perplexing review comes from Roger Ebert, who seems to praise the film in several ways while outright damning it to the same exact two star rating he applied to the first two (far dumber and less entertaining) Punisher movies: "The Punisher: War Zone is one of the best-made bad movies I've seen. It looks great, it hurtles through its paces and is well-acted. The soundtrack is like elevator music if the elevator were in a death plunge. The special effects are state of the art. Its only flaw is that it's disgusting." I don't see what's wrong with that. This isn't an average mainstream film. This is an extremely gory film, with a level of violence that is rarely seen on the big screen outside of the "Saw" movies. And yet it remains entertaining, even comedic in how far it goes. The superb and colorful cinematography, action choreography, sound effects, score, and editing make "Punisher: War Zone" a must for (dark) comic book fans and action film junkies.

The Punisher has been portrayed twice on film so far. First in the 80's flick with Dolph Lundgren and more recently in the 2004 flick with Thomas Jane. While both were OK in parts the movies as a whole just weren't that good. Being a huge fan of the comic series I have always felt that they had never pushed the violence far enough for a Punisher film. He was always to restrained. So how did the third attempt at a Punisher film work? Lets see... Punisher: War Zone starts a few years after the death of Frank Castle's family. Since than he has been killing mobsters at a steady rate and the police see him more as a help than a hindrance..although they won't admit it. When the Punisher fails to kill an up and coming mobster named Billy Russoti, Billy decides to start a war against the Punisher and he won't quit until the Punisher is dead. While the story may seem fairly basic it serves its purpose perfectly. This is the ultimate Punisher movie. There are more bullets and blood in this movie the most action movies and the action never lets up. Acting is well done by everyone. While I like Thomas Jane as an actor I think Ray Stevenson is a better Punisher. Dominic West is good as Jigsaw, but I felt he might have hammed it up a bit in a few scenes. Lexi Alexander has made the quintessential Punisher film that dares to show you the gritty world of the Punisher without shying away from all the gore. I can only hope that a sequel will be on the way soon. Fans of the Punisher comics and extreme action lovers will eat this up, but know that this is not a movie for kids or people who can't take a ton of gore. *** out of ****

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