Review of Punisher: War Zone (2008) by Graham M — 04 Nov 2013

A mere four years after the 2004 Punisher film, we get the release of this little film, which, like the 2004 entry, is another reboot.

Well, I say reboot, but it also feels like a quasi sequel at times, even though it ultimately sets out on its own course. Why they felt the need to reboot things so soon is beyond me, though.

This time around, not only do we get the standard plot of Castle waging a war on crime vigilante/guerrilla style, we finally get the inclusion of Castle's tech support sidekick Microchip, as well as the source material villains Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim.

To start, this film, simply put, looks great. The production values are outstanding. I think they sometimes went a bit too overboard with the neon, but it does at least give the film a distinctive look and style. There's a tight pace, and, when it comes to the violence, this film really delivers the goods, getting quite graphic and gory at times, Whereas the 2004 version focused more on the drama and tactical side, this one goes all in on the brutality aspect, no doubt pleasing those who weren't fond of the 2004 one. And while I do think the violence is a highlight of this one, I think that maybe they put too much focus on it, and as a result, the film feels like the violence is the main point of things, and only there for the sake of it.

I do have to give props to the fact that there's a woman at the helm for such a balls-to-the-wall actionfest, as too few women are present in the world of action films. Lexi Alexander proves she can hold her own with this type of stuff, but unfortunately, this film suffers from the lack of a great script, or any kind of meaningful depth and substance.

Given the material though, the film is well cast and features some passable acting. I enjoyed Tom Jane's work, but I think that Ray Stevenson, so far, has done the best as Frank Castle/The Punisher. It's also nice seeing Wayne Knight back on the big screen, though it seems he once again disappeared after making this one. Dominic West and Doug Hutchison are also fine as Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim, respectively.

My only hope is that if another of these films is made, they make it a direct sequel, keep Stevenson in the lead, keep the level of violence/gore from this movie, add in the drama and intensity from the 2004 film, use the gritty aesthetics and tone from the 1989 film, either keep Alexander as director, or get someone like John McTiernan to helm it, and get someone like Garth McInnes or anyone else who wrote the comics to pen the script. If all of that is done, then there might finally be a Punisher film that is 100% in every way like the comics.