Review of Punisher: War Zone (2008) by Mike C — 26 Sep 2010

I was going to bash the hell out of this...because I know little about the comic book. I like Tom Jane and liked the 2004 version enough to buy it. That was a soft version with a real human being dealing with real pain and emotions after the murder of his family. War Zone is a much harder movie, but evidently more in line with the true character of the comic books. That I can respect.

That means a whole different approach to the movie. Now, the completely ridiculous, over-the-top violence is to be expected and becomes a little entertaining. Some of the other stupid stuff (oh everyone color coordinated with classy black outfits and white roses for the funeral??) like costumes and storyline must also be evaluated on a different level. For a comic book movie, I guess all that works.

I will say the characters are sometimes okay. I really liked the mild Jane as The Punisher. Stevenson can be a bit much, and the manner in which they give his back story is just shit. But the villains are pretty cool. The guy getting cut up by glass is neato but the name Jigsaw kind of sucks. His brother from the loony bin is pretty badass. Finally, Benz was very pussified and blonde on Dexter. She showed some range going with the dark hair, which looked good, and toughening up quite a bit.