Finally went to see Punisher: War Zone a few nights ago, and honestly, the comparisons to Uwe Boll are entirely unfair.
This is what fans wanted in the last two Punisher movies. The Dolph Lundgren version was just a Rambo wannabe, while Thomas Jane was a little too emo (although I like that Punisher for other reasons).
Firstly, it’s rated R! Egads, a Punisher movie that’s rated R? How did that happen? Oh yeah, someone finally realized that the Punisher is just a cold-blooded killer of “evil” men.
Of course, they did give Frank a little pathos by having him accidentally kill an undercover FBI agent and follow him through the breakdown that follows. Ray Stevenson did a great job as Frank Castle. They got the character right, both in looks and characterization.
Also, finally Microchip makes an appearance! Wayne Knight is great as Micro. Anyone else would have probably made him too “sidekicky”, but Wayne played him just right.
It was also nice seeing Soap in a Punisher movie since he was introduced with the rest of the characters from the Thomas Jane film. He was suspiciously missing from that one. Dash Mihok was PERFECT.
Oh, and Jigsaw and his brother… absolute brilliant insanity. Dominic West was great (and I didn’t think his accent was that over the top like other critics have), and Doug Hutchison is sheer genius as Loony Bin Jim (his accent was stretching it a little, but it was fine).
The makeup on Jigsaw was better than I thought it would be from the trailer as well.
One thing I really enjoyed in this was how the cops handled the Punisher. Of course he’s a vigilante and what he does is technically illegal, so there is a task force set up to catch him (run by Soap, of course), but the police also just let him do his thing, knowing full well that he can accomplish what they can’t.
The movie is extremely violent, gory, and bloody. WHICH IS WHAT A PUNISHER MOVIE IS SUPPOSED TO BE!!
The critics who complain about this need to do their research. The Punisher kills people. What the hell do you expect him to do? Talk them to death?
Now, I’ll admit there are a few wrong steps in this picture. The accents are a little much at times, but not as bad as some I’ve seen. The cinematography is a little jarring at points, but I’ve seen (and done) much worse.
The main problem I had was the overuse of neon. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but this movie does still take place in New York, right? They didn’t move the Punisher to Vegas and not tell anyone did they? There was even a neon cross in the church. I see what they were going for, and it does fit with the colors of a comic book, but they took it a bit too far.
Overall, though, I’d most definitely have to say that they’ve finally figured out how to make the Punisher work on screen.
A reviewer on IMDB said that this film was for the fans, not the critics; and he’s absolutely right.
If you’re a Punisher fan, definitely check out this movie.
William, the Movie Nerdfighter
who almost agrees totally with his friend Jonathan when he said after the movie finished: “that was AWESOME!”
The Movie Nerdfighter's Reviews 