I have to say right off the bat that the Punisher is one of my favorite Marvel characters and super heroes of all time. Ever since he was introduced as what was supposed to be a one-off character in Spider-Man comics, Frank Castle has captured readers and fans much the same way that Bronson's "Death Wish' movies did, trying to address the question "what are we going to do about criminals and unpunished crime?"
Characters like Batman, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Punisher (so called street-level characters) have directly addressed the need for crime fighting in specific neighborhoods or cities. Often the area they are trying to protect or clean up has been overrun with criminals that are too strong or influential girded by lawyers that are too clever for the police and prosecutors to have any effect. Enter the vigilante.
The self-made dispenser of justice takes it upon himself to decide who is right or wrong within their individual moral code, and act accordingly. Most of the time they are right, so we cheer for Batman, Luke Cage, Daredevil or Punny- until a movie like "Punisher - War Zone" comes out.
This movie is not a Punisher movie. It's a gore-fest, a bloodbath, a movie that could be called a lot of things, but not a Punisher story. The plot is nearly non-existant and what threads are there simply serve as a vehicle to move us along to the next slash/bleed/disembowelment sequence. The producers could have placed anyone in the 'protagonist' position and there would have been no difference in the film. That's how much this film is not a Punisher film. If you read my review on 12 Angry Men, I talked about new movies forgetting about plot and relying on slam/band special effects to try to tell a story- this movie is a perfect example of that.
In Marvel comics, Frank Castle aka the Punisher evokes empathy from of because of who he is: a Marine Corps vet who watched his family be slaughtered simply because they were at a park and happened to witness a gangland killing by organized crime. Frank went to the police and the D.A. but the criminal element was so entrenched in law enforcement that they were unable to do anything about his family's killings. He asked the questions- who is going after the criminals? Who will punish the guilty? And he because his own answer.
Say what you want about Punisher 1989 with Dolph Lundgren, or Punisher 2004 with Thomas Jane. Those movies have their own issues, which we will address here on this website also, but you can look at plenty of the details of those films and see an undertone of Punisher canon. Those two films succeed or fail on their individual merits, not because someone mad a "not Punisher" film and stuck the name Punisher on it.
I do have to say that the most faithful adaption we have seen for the Punisher has to be the Netflix series of the same name starring Jon Bernthal, and the Daredevil season that introducd us to that same Punisher. Bernthal is exceptional at shoving our faces right in the Punisher's hurt and then asking us "now what?"
In Punisher War Zone, there is none of the anti-hero angst that (along with Wolverine and Magneto) makes Punisher so palatable. In legitimate Punisher stories, he is killing in the name of his own justice code, and yeah he is playing judge jury and executioner, but haven't we all been there when we see a news story about a child molester who was released on a technicality and is walking the streets again? We want to scream "who is going to protect those kids?" and we deserve an answer.
Punisher War Zone forgot all that, in an effort to compete with films like "Saw," whose audience just wants to see how much innovation a movie company can cram into a film about killing. Punisher War Zone is not a Marvel movie, it's not an anti-hero movie, it's not a Punisher movie. It's a mess. A big, blood-spewing, ill-conceived mess.
The production company spent $35 Million on this hot mess of a movie, and grossed $10 Million at the box office. For those of you not familiar with "movie math", a film has to make roughly 3x what was spent on it to be profitable. Punisher War Zone needed $100 and got 10. For $35 Million, I could have made 7 films better than this one (which BTW Hollywood, I have 12 feature-length screenplays finished, and waiting for you to read).
IMDB gives this movie an undeserving 5.9/10. The Delta Force (1986) got a 5.6, and it's better than this movie. Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) also got a 5.6 and it's wayyyyyy better than Punisher War Zone. Ray Stevenson does an adequate job as Frank Castle, but it's nothing note worthy. Like Ben Affleck in Daredevil (2003), no one around him knows how to play their parts, or knows what to do with the non-existant script. At least Affleck had Jon Favreau as Foggy.
IMDB 5.9/10, GBU Films 2.9/10. And that's generous.
Comments