Review of Punisher: War Zone (2008) by Coyc. — 07 Dec 2008

First off, the critics have been a bit harsh when reviewing this film. I respect Roger Ebert and I generally sift through the reviews here to see what he has to say about most movies that I watch. His is a fair review.

As far as film quality, this is no Godfather. Then again it's not supposed to be. War Zone is the Punisher pulled from the adult targeted comics and projected on screen. The gore and violence is over the top, but then again Frank Castle is an over the top vigilante.

I loathed the Dolph Lundgren Punisher. There was very little about that film that resembled the Punisher that fans know and love. The Thomas Jane Punisher wasn't as bad as many will argue, but I am sympathetic to the fact that his Punisher was poorly scripted and spent way too much time on a muddled and wrong backstory.

As much as Thomas Jane loved the character, he couldn't save that movie from the rightful criticism that they took the worst corny elements from the Max line and used them for the story. However, this time the Punisher has been done right.

They took some of the best elements of the comics and brought them to life on screen and it's going to be a pleasing spectacle for all fans of the Punisher comic line. Also of note, they ignored the fact that the last two films existed and thereby relaunched with the proper origin story unlike the Jane film.

As a huge Punisher fan, I am glad they finally cast someone who looks the part, plays the part well, and more importantly filmed a script that does justice to the character. I can only hope the film is successful enough to warrant a sequel.