Review of Punisher: War Zone (2008) by Matthew C — 08 Aug 2015

"Okay, we just up the violence for the second installment and..." Nope! Still sucks.

This kind of cartoony, ultra-violence within an otherwise mostly "realistic" world just doesn't work for me. Having said that, this horrible sequel somehow manages to pull off a far more consistent tone than its predecessor.

Ray Stevenson, for me, has more of a darkness and mystery to him that I feel is lacking in the Thomas Jane version. But he's also more annoyingly one-liner-spouting and unrelatable. Overall, I think Jane comes out on top, but not by much. There has yet to be a truly convincing portrayal of this character on film.

Some of the supporting characters are far more likable than Stevenson's Punisher or Dominic West's over-the-top villain, Jigsaw. Dash Mihok, Wayne Knight, and Colin Salmon all turn in the kind of darkly comic yet gritty work that is enjoyable in B-movies like this one. Yes, Marvel has made a couple of B-movies in its time.

The only other real compliment would go to the cinematography. It's decidedly over-the-top at times and not always completely motivated by reality, but setups like these really help pump up the scenes of urban gun violence and provide the kind of creativity one rarely sees in a comic book film.