Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
2.5/4
"Punisher: War Zone" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/12/2012
Frank Castle accidentally kills an undercover FBI agent when he storms a mob stronghold, leaving him torn between protecting the man's family and hanging up his guns for good. Warzone is less a sequel than a reinvention of the previous film, and as a whole it is a big improvement. Ray Stevenson is a much more intense Punisher, and his guilt over the agent's death combined with his moral dilemma makes him a much more interesting character. The double act of Dominic West (dodgy accent notwithstanding) and Doug Hutchinson also make for much more interesting, larger than life villains and the action is far slicker and more exciting; in fact the whole film looks the part of a moody comic strip far more than the wishy washy original. The tone although still consciously aping the Batman films …
Rating of
3/4
INSANELY violent. but awesome.
filmfan09 - wrote on 01/09/2009
Closer to the Marvel Comics source, this film marks the third time that The Punisher comes to the big screen. With previous verisons starring Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane. This movie is slightly better than those were. The extreme violence and sadistic dark humor is very satisfying. Also fans of hardcore action cinema will enjoy it. I liked everything about this movie. The filmmakers were right to make the film so over-the-top. Why make a stipped down PG-13 version of a film about a semi-insane vigilante who murders criminals? Thats more upsetting than the spraying of blood on display here.
Ray Stevenson is easily great to watch in the lead role. Dominic West (best known for his work on The Wire)does a good job as the mutilated villain. Punisher: War Zone is going to appeal to a …
Rating of
1/4
Third Time Punishes the Audience Some More
Alan @ Transbuddha - wrote on 12/23/2008
Let’s start with the good, shall we? Ray Steveson is the third, and best cast, actor to take on the role of Frank Castle. In this latest version Frank is a former military officer whose family was gunned down when they witnessed a mob hit. Only Frank survived. Now, as the Punisher, Castle hunts down all members of organized crime in his never-ending quest for vengeance.
The latest name of his hitlist (Dominic West) gets himself thrown in a big vat-like glass recycler (Joker, anyone?) and is reborn as the tattered faced Jigsaw.
When the film plays it straight it works okay, although the scenes where the Punisher takes down rooms (or buildings) full of baddies who stand around waiting for him to first kill the guy next to him before taking action gets a bid old. I also liked …