Review of Punisher: War Zone (2008) by Walter M — 10 Feb 2010

We interrupt the scheduled intelligent exploration of the human condition for some mindless violence. Regular service will be restored tomorrow.

"Punisher: War Zone" starts with just another night for Frank "The Punisher" Castle(Ray Stevenson) as he massacres another organized crime family. The police are in tacit agreement with his ends, tipping him off to a meeting at the docks. It is there that Castle accidentally kills an undercover FBI agent. On the other hand, mobster Billy Russoti(Dominic West) barely manages to survive and escape, plotting his revenge and getting his money back.

The Punisher is not a comic book character that I like and the only time I have read the comic book was when Garth Ennis was writing it, not only because he is one of the best writers around, but because he walks a tightrope in knowing the Punisher is sick, while also having a lot of fun, too, and eschewing any kind of statement. "Punisher War Zone" is not up to the level of Ennis' writing with a muddled plot.(Say what you will of "24." At least, it can keep track of its WMD's.) And it desperately misses a strong female presence.(Come back, Molly von Richthofen! All is forgiven.) But the level of grisly mayhem is there, with just enough real human emotion and one classic segment to make it at least somewhat entertaining. What's troubling about the movie is its making the case for the necessity of a murderous vigilante like the Punisher in a system that cannot put away the criminals like it should, especially with such inhuman and cartoonish villains on the loose that seem like they are straight out of "Dick Tracy" while barely paying any attention to the people caught in the crossfire.