Punisher War Zone


release year: 2008
genre: action
viewing setting: home Bluray 6/6/23 and home DVD 6/22/12 and 3/18/09

synopsis: As the vigilante Punisher begins to doubt himself, a disfigured enemy plans to get rid of him once and for all.

impressions: I hadn't seen this one in a while, and upon my latest viewing, I decided it was better than I gave it credit for previously. It's ultra-violent and incorporates many elements from the comics (with varying degrees of success) but the overall product is fairly satisfying. This one totally disregarded the previous one, to which I say: if you didn't like the plot of the first one, you shouldn't have made that movie at all. I hate it when someone decides to make a different style of film for a sequel and so they disown the one that came before. There were also some bad guys (Jigsaw and his brother) who were a lttle too insane, to the point that it made the characters look stupid at times. All in all, it would have been good if all of the characters and elements here were completely faithful to the comic material...but that's not possible in a single movie, and they did the best they could.

acting: Ray Stevenson is suitably dark and non-verbal as the Punisher. Dominic West is insane brother #1, whose face is scarred thanks to the Punisher. Doug Hutchison is insane brother #2, who combines temper and a disregard for his own safety. They both laugh like maniacs for no reason, and it comes off as stupid. Colin Salmon is an FBI agent with his own agenda. Julie Benz is the wife of an agent accidentally killed by the Punisher.

final word: Violently entertaining, but not a keeper worth repeat viewing.

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