Thanks for checking out our Punisher: War Zone review.
So earlier tonight I had just walked out of the screening of Punisher: War Zone and was standing around in the foyer of the theater… and Ray Stevenson (star of Punisher) comes walking up to me and asks me “So what did you think?” I paused for just a second, looked him right in the eyes and said:
“You know something Ray, I’m one of the guys who has been predicting that this movie was going to suck. I’m also one of the guys who has been saying that you were the wrong guy to cast as the Punisher. No offense against you, but I’m a Thomas Jane fan. But now I have to go home tonight and eat my words… caused I really liked it, and dude… you were pretty much perfect as Frank Castle”
And that’s the total truth. Don’t get me wrong, I never gave up ALL hope for this flick… there is always SOME hope, but my hope was SLIM. Very slim. Almost non-existent slim. But despite all of the weaknesses (and trust me, there is a lot wrong with this movie), by the time the credits rolled I had a great experience at the movie theater.
THE GENERAL IDEA
Infamous vigilante, anti-hero Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson) is six years into his vengeance driven zeal as the Punisher when he brutally assaults a “beat the rap” party for notorious mob boss Gaitano Ceasar. During the course of the massacre, he hideously disfigures overeager gangster Billy Russoti (Dominic West) and murders a mafia lackey who turns out to be an undercover FBI agent.
Agent Paul Budiansky (Colin Salmon), the ex-partner of the undercover Fed, joins the NYPD’s “Punisher Task Force” to help bring Castle to justice, once and for all. A facially mutilated Russoti recovers from his run-in with the Punisher with revenge on his mind and recruits a massive army of psychotic killers, gangbangers, and mobsters under his new alias “Jigsaw.” Distraught that he has now become the very evil he swore to battle, Castle is content to hang up his guns and quit the justice business for good. However, plans quickly change once he learns that Jigsaw has kidnapped the surviving wife and child of the dead federal agent. Forced back into the war, the Punisher now has to face off against Jigsaw’s formidable army in order to save the lives of an innocent family his actions put on firing line. “Clock’s ticking.”
THE GOOD
I mentioned this at the beginning, but I’ll expand on it a bit here. Ray Stevenson was nothing short of absolutely perfect as Frank Castle (The Punisher). He was miles better than Thomas Jane (and I really liked Thomas Jane in the role). Come to think of it, I just can’t imagine the role being played any better. Many actors can play a “bad ass”. That’s not hard. But The Punisher is not just a bad ass. He’s far more complicated than that. He’s also hopeless. Filled with despair. Closed off from the world and the other people in it. Stevenson put it perfectly to me as we chatted. He said: “It was important to me that when people see him (Punisher), they in no way want to be him. People want to be Superman or Batman, but the must not want to be Frank, because to be Frank is a terrible thing. I think we got that across”. He’s right, they did.
Even though this is a reboot, I found myself hoping they wouldn’t waste a bunch of time re-telling an origin story that comic fans already know… and they handled it perfectly. Instead of using the first 30 minutes of the movie showing us Frank with his happy family… them getting killed… him getting pissed and becoming the Punisher, they instead wisely just start the movie with Frank having been The Punisher for 6 years already and then later use some short flashbacks to communicate to non-comic book fans how and why he became The Punisher. This approach was an excellent decision and handled really well.
The violence! Oh my sweet goodness the ultra gory, ultra high intensity, ultra wow-factored VIOLENCE! The movie doesn’t waste anytime at all jumping right into the action with Punisher dishing out hot platters of death to a mansion filled with mobsters. If you’ve ever thought there were only so many ways to show a guy getting his head blown off… this movie shows us there are at least 100 more ways than you might have thought. There was not only lots of action… it was QUALITY action. Very very very fun to watch.
THE BAD
Aside from Ray Stevenson, much of the acting in this flick was just horrible. Even the usually reliable Dominic West, who plays the main bad guy “Jigsaw”, was mind numbingly cheesy at times. He shifted gears between really frightening and menacing to just a slapstick joke that you couldn’t take seriously. Doug Hutchison as Jigsaw’s psycho brother was even worse. Instead of coming off of scary, he felt like a Saturday Night Live skit of a funny acting bad guy. Pathetic.
There was a prolonged scene in the film where Jigsaw is going around recruiting a new gang… and without giving away any details… it was painful to watch and broke with the tone much of the rest of the movie seemed to be working so hard establish.
Dialog. Thankfully Frank has next to no lines (the way it should be), but wow… all the other characters in the film consistently has some flat out brutal dialog. Even right down to the tired and overused line where one guy is dying on the floor and the hero comes over and says… “Don’t you die on me”. Really?!?! Did they really have to do that? Come on.
OVERALL
There is a lot wrong with Punisher: War Zone. Bad dialog, some terrible performances and some disjointed and poorly composed scenes. But at the same time it’s a film that knows what its audience was looking for, and delivered loads of it. High intensity action, brutal violence and some world class machismo served by a dark and complicated character like Frank Castle. This is not a “good” movie per se… but it is entertaining and I had a good time. Over all I give Punisher: War Zone a 7 out of 10.
Three mistakes in War Zone. Two are forgiveable; one is not.
1) Tagging on “Vengeance has a name” was a bad choice. It’s not vengeance, goofballs; it’s punishment. Issue 1, page 1, paragraph 1. Ugh…but ok.
2) The spinning chandelier. What the hell? Who is this guy, Castle or Pokémon? What? Super-Mario Contra, all of a sudden. It was stupid in Boondocks and it sure as heck wasn’t less stupid with a Specials Forces vet doin it. Arg…but ok.
3) Killing an “innocent”. Someone NOT “on the list”. Terrible mistake. Unforgiveable mistake. There is NO acceptable collateral damage. The day Castle kills an “innocent” is the day he eats a bullet. Making the movie ABOUT THAT doesn’t “add dimension to the character”, no, it SLAPS us in the face by spitting on the STATUS QUO of the character. I had a really hard time with that part.
Other than that, I thought it was friggin awesome!
Peace
First off, the previous Punisher flick…suckeeeedddd in comparison ton this one. Ok it’s mindless sensless action and gore…but that’s the way the punisher gets things done…This guy is the punisher…who the hell wants a blondo pussycat as Frank..not me.
Yes the bad guys could’ve been better,acted better but it totally surpassed my expèctations.Good movie…and yes Blade did horrible at the box office but know it’s a cult film with a great sequel…may be with more money we can have an even better one.
Saludos amigos!
Punisher warzone was amazing! I loved every second of it. Ray stevenson was the perfect punisher! In every way. I use to read the comics all the time he truly is the punisher. He captured all the darkness of the character so well is was stunning. The action was great and was one of the most funny stuff Ive ever seen. It was the real punisher! The first time i saw the movie I couldnt speak! Thats never ever happened to me watching a movie! The movie was just great and i would love to see another
WOW this one sucked all the way 4 thumbs down, horriable acting and Ray as Frank poor choice. Should have stuck with the orginal guy and let the same people make this one. This is the 1st marvel movie that sucked
The “Only” punisher movie in my books.The producers should note though that the only people who’se gonna appreciate A True Punisher movie are those that actually red and collect The Punisher Comics. It won’t win awards thats for sure, but at least its going on the right direction now.
P.S Blade was a flop in movie theaters remember, but its DVD release was a success.
For years ever since uggg….Dolph and then Jane, i’ve been waiting for a true Frank and he (Ray) deliverd. Unfortunatly the rest of the world would never understand from a true fan that the others were imposters, from the crapy mood I was in just thinking of sitting thru another shity Punisher flick (in my humble opinion 2 before this), this gave the rare few of us who waited for this gem to finally be told….ok jigsaw kinda suked and the premise of the flick was bad, but for those of us who waited for the violence of a true Punisher flick, it Deliverd!!!
lets hope theres a second and a third, I truly doubt it (because of main-stream reviews)
heres to hope and the love of true comic books fanboys everywhere
For years ever since uggg….Dolph and then Jane, i’ve been waiting for a true Frank and he (Ray) deliverd. Unfortunatly the rest of the world would never understand from a true fan that the others were imposters, from the crapy mood I was in just thinking of sitting thru another shity Punisher flick (in my humble opinion 2 before this), this gave the rare few of us who waited for this gem to finally be told….ok jigsaw kinda suked and the premise of the flick was bad, but for those of us who waited for the violence of a true Punisher flick, it Deliverd!!!
lets hope theres a second and a third, I truly doubt it (because of main-stream reviews)
heres to hope and the love of true comic books fanboys everywhere
thanks…
You know I’d really like to say this last thing about this movie and the series (If you mean series as part 1, 3 different times)
How hard is it to animate the pages of a comic book?
I mean really if they did that it would come off perfect. You might have to add some more dialog then what you would read in the books but Robert Rodriguez managed to do it with Sin City so I don’t see why they can’t just do that with this.
They need that narration that you get when you read the book. To me that’s always been a Frank Castle special. When you read a Punisher book you get the story straight from his mind. You see exactly how his mind reads a situation and how it computes the next action he will take. That’s one thing that’s been lacking in these movies (With the exception of the minute or so of narration you receive in the Jane movie when he’s getting ready for the final battle.)
This movie was very close to the Max stories with a bit of the old War Journal thrown in. I just wish these guys would just go to Ennis and say “Hey we need you to adapt the Max series into a screenplay.” That’s all they would really need, besides some actors who could live up to the colorful characters I’ve grown to love and hate throughout my literate journey with Frank. And I think someone mentioned it before but maybe it shouldn’t be a movie series. Maybe it should be a tv series on Showtime or HBO (The only two places you could go with this kind of story.) A weekly hour long series, with Ennis writing and maybe even directing???
There’s just so much realness in the Punisher universe and it burns me up to see it wrong over and over. This last movie was the closest by far but it was still a long long way from home. Ray Stevenson is the guy now let’s get something he can really sink his teeth into. Give us the Slavers, Give us Mother Russia, Give us BARRACUDA!!
Personally Iiked the Jane Punisher as far as story but I have to admit. Stevenson’s Punisher was downright perfect. Sure everything else about the move sucked but Ray was great and the action was awesome.
I even thought Jigsaw was ok but the rest of actors and dialogue in the movie is bantha fodder. This movie is just like a slasher flick with Castle being the slasher. I broke out laughing when Castle shot that one dude on the roof with an RPG. LOL
Now if they combined the talent and dialogue from the first movie add Ray,gore and action from Warzone. Then we would probably have the perfect Punisher movie.
In my humble opinion which carries as far as the next reveiwer.
Punisher:Warzone get a 6.5/10 from me. The action and gore work for this movie but you still need somewhat good acting. It was like watching a really bad independant zombie movie.
Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t looking for an oscar performance from this but you still need some acting skills to carry a movie.
Ray Stevenson as the Punisher is the only redeeming quality in this movie.
THIS MOVIE FUCKIN RULED. MY GIRL EVEN LOVED IT! The kills were the best I’ve seen in a movie in a long time. The rocket launcher scene? My theatre in the D was full, and people fucking jaws DROPPED at least three times. Stevenson was a meaner more calculating punisher, and Jane was more enraged, but that is to be expected ‘cuz this movie was six years later. The only thing is that they shoulda kept the fam dead in puerto rico or cuba or wherever they got smoked in the first one and not changed the flashback. OTHER THAN THAT PERFECT. 10/10
While most of you are sitting there discussing whether Thomas Jane sucked, I am sitting here lamenting the loss of Rebecca Romijn. I could have given a rats ass about Thomas Jane in the first movie. He was definitely replaceable. I have always found his acting to be flat.
But Ms. Romijn, we she was just right as the abused, woman running away from her past. Frankly,I even thought John Pinette was pretty good, though he just played himself.
Quickly looking at the credits, it seems that Julie Benz is the only woman cast in this movie. I like Julie Benz, she is excellent on Dexter but just not even in the same league as Ms. Romijn.
Alright, I have much respect for this review. But I really did like War Zone, and to tell the truth I’ve loved all three of them almost equally. I know many didn’t even bother watching the 1989 one starring Dolph Lundgren, and many hated Tom Jane’s performance in the 2004 one. But i have much respect for all of them. They’ve all showed they were the punisher in different ways. Many Say Dominic West who played Jigsaw was joke. If many critics would have read the War journal comics you’d see yes, Jigsaw isn’t the most serious character you’ll see. Many people have also been saying Jigsaw is a copy off of the Saw franchise. The Punisher Franchise goes back a bit longer then the Saw franchise. haha. I thought this movie was well acted by Ray Stevenson and the violence was just unbelievable. Awesome… This movie was great, For the most part well acted, and very well put together. 4/5
I watched it last night, and as much as I hate to say it I’m pretty disappointed.
Ray Stevenson RULES. He IS the Punisher, I did beleive it utterly and completely. From the opening scene on I felt he was the best person for the job. The violence was great, the kills were fantastic. But the rest of the cast was just downright awful with the exception of Wayne Knight suprising the crap out of me (I kept waiting for him to turn into Numan.)
Anyways Jigsaw and LBJ were just a pain to watch. Their crap accents came off more like retarded people then NY. Maginty sounded like he practiced for about a week before shooting, and the guy who was helping Soap had about as much charisma as a corpse in Disneyland. Even Julie Benz who I thought was a shoe in for the part dropped the ball on this one.
The only thing this movie has besides the action is Ray. He has staked his claim on the part and I felt he hit it out of the park. I just wish Lionsgate would open the checkbook up and allow whoever directs the next one (If there is a next one) to spend a little money to get some friggin TALENT in the picture.
just seen the new Punisher movie and I leave there feelin now this was a Fuckin Punisher movie, sure it was over the top but a awesome job done by Ray Stevenson., all was very entertaining. no remorse ro regrets just pure revenge and Punishment….Jigsaw was a letdown.not really a good villian his fake Ny accent was annoying. luv how it ended and started with the skull bright then fading out good touch. this movie also stuck very true to the comic book.very satisfyed. and If I was Thomas Jane and all his fans I would be embarrassed to even own the last movie. sooo may flaws in the second movie . and that no talent ass clown Jane couldnt hold Stevenson jockstrap as the Punisher. Jane looked like he was tryin to look so hard core that it was painful 2 watch it. also last thing he almost looked scared to handle the weapons.. Stevenson looked like a real ace with them.. great Job Ray Stevenson!!!blewall the other Punishers out of the water.. would love 2 see a sequel!!!!
dude that is bull crap this movie sucked something fierce. The first one kicked ass but this one just took it in the ass.
I thought the Punisher: War Zone sucked monkey balls!! Way too goofy. Just punching a guy causes his head to explode? WTF? It looked more like a spoof than an actual movie. It seemed as if it was just pieced together from random projects. I went to the 7 pm show on Saturday and there were only 4 other people in the theatre. It will bomb.
I liked the Thomas Jane Punisher movie. And yes, I can see valid complaints about the long origin story and what not. But usually the first movie of a series is kinda drawn out.
dang, too bad they didn’t bring back Thomas Jane to be Frank Castle again
Loved it! My only serious gripe concerns the recruiting scenes. It was mentally jarring because if felt as if the movie switched writers/directors midstream. One minor example: Castle meets tall black guy (can’t remember name) in church and invites him to be his backup. Black guy shows up on time to be his backup. Castle then says black guy isn’t coming with him and proceeds to knock him out cold. Huh? I know the counter-argument, so don’t waste the ATP necessary to type a cogent explanation. It was a forced situation, like much of the entire climax.
Still, loved it!
This movie sucked! 7 out of 10? please. I’ll take the Garth Ennis books over any of the crap Punisher movies. The Punisher and Daredevil are my favorite Marvel comics and its just sad that gritty , dramatic characters have not been given their due. The Punisher is alot more complex a character than most of you believe. Catch the storyline where him and Barracuda go at it after Barracuda kidnaps a baby that is actually a daughter of Frank he didn’t know of.
bwahahaa! Big Pun was puertorican!!!!!
Anyways, wanna have some fun? today, dec.6, 2008, there is a worst adapations of comic books on yahoo movies, and then it asks you to post what you think of the new punsher. For some reason, there is like ten i love thomas jane posts all within a fifteen minute period, then silence. Yes boys, there is A THOMAS JANE FANBOY SPAMMER OUT THERE. creating multiple accounts for rubbing thomas janes ego, or is it thommy himself? its the same thing else wear on yahoo and IGN. SOOO. lets play counter warfare!!!!! Get out there and start telling the world the truth about the thomas jane version and his crappy, gey ass version!!!!! FREEEEEEEEEDDDDOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!
Anyone remember when the Punisher was black? And Im not talking about Big Pun.
I just wanna know….is it better than GhostRyder. It has to be since it has violence.
Wow, this makes me want to dig into my limited series and my war journals!!
if i can’t have it all! GIVE ME BLOOD AND CARNAGE!
I’m just wondering, is this film gorier than Rambo and Saving Ryan’s Private-I mean Private Ryan?
First off, he didn’t KILL Vanheim, HazMat; the elements did. But he should have because (if you remember what Fury said) Frank would NEVER allow an INNOCENT girl to be murdered. C’mon.
The Vietnamese chick was the ENEMY; it was the VietNam WAR for petessakes, HazMat.
Tell me you read the bubbles and don’t just look at the pictures, buddy.
Peace
HazMat,
I’m TOTALLY with you on the “Jane was a farce of a Punisher” thing. I am in complete agreement with you on that.
But uhh…
NEVER. Never has Castle killed an innocent. NEVER. Show me the issue in War Journal. I DEFY you. NEVER.
He would eat a bullet if he ever did.
“Kills the Marvel Universe” storyline is a “What if”. And even if it weren’t, could you not tell that it was ANOTHER UNIVERSE??? Wherein his family was killed by heroes and not mobsters??? Hello?
Not only have I read EVERY Punisher EVER, I OWN most of’em, HazMat.
NEVER.
Not ONCE.
Show me.
Peace
thomas jane haters…..UNITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Punisher=Dexter. I know, its way out there but think about it. Both are sociopaths that only kill the wicked and have their own moral code.
I am really stoked about a Janeless Punisher.
I hate Thomas Jane with a passion. I don’t care what was rock solid or not he’s garbage and everybody knows it. He “walked” (In a world where walked means thrown off) off the set of this because he didn’t like where it was going.
We are all aware that The Punisher does not have feathered hair yes? We are all aware that a typical Punisher comic book does not involve any of the following…
1. Sneaking around and stealing enemies’ wives vehicles to get parking tickets.
2. Sneaking around to steal enemies’ wives earrings.
3. Sneaking around to plant earrings at enemies’ best friend’s house.
4. Enlisting the assistance of an underling to help with 1, 2, and 3.
Everything about that movie was absolute diarrhea except for the last 10 minutes of it (Although I must admit I was very fond of Harry Heck and his little ditty) That movie just didn’t work at all.
The Punisher does not turn people against each other. In fact the Punisher does quite the opposite. Frank kills so many people from rival gangs they have no choice but to team up, which in turn plays into the plan to get them all in the same place at the same time.
I expect this movie to be what it everyone who’s seen it says it is. Bloody….I want some over the top action, and acting. When it is all said and done this is a COMIC BOOK ADAPTATION not Hamlet.
And for Hazmat the girl he killed was VC (This was the Vietnam war not WW2 like you posted earlier.) Meaning she had to die, she was an enemy soldier. Frank killed the marine because he RAPED the girl, meaning he made the list. That panel was made to show that Frank has always had a line between right and wrong. There are no shades of grey to him. If you are corrupt, truly evil he will be there…..To Punish you.
God I love sounding cheesy
i agree, Rationale
First off, I love you guys (no homo), finally a place where there not worshipping the thomas jane (very homo) version. And sorry, i dont buy that he left. The script was always a reboot according to lexi alexander who wrote it, and lionsgate probably went along with thomas jane out of courtesy and to not give him any excess publicity. Fuck thomas jane, he’s a bitch. This movie is about as much as i expected considering its lionsgate. Subpar actors in all slots except the mains, and low budget production with the “use your mighty director talent” attitude to make the most of it. Long live the punisher, he will get through this.
This reviewer is wrong.. wrong wrong. This movie was awesome, the problem is that it’s not iron man. But in this style it rocked.
This review is full of biased, fanboyish B.S
CHUD gave the movie 8.5 out of 10.
http://chud.com/articles/articles/17245/1/REVIEW-PUNISHER—WAR-ZONE/Page1.html
lol he killed a marine and a vietnamise girl!
appart from all that, i think that justice goes way beyond what this guy does. and thats not a fact thats a personal opinion
The real Punisher, whose family was killed by criminals, would not kill superheros, is what I meant. The version of the Punisher who wiped out all the superheros and villains was a fictional version, a character in an alternate universe so to speak. So the true Punisher would never kill supeheros, unless they killed someone, which would make them criminals. I see what you’re saying, but what you’re referring to is a “what if” situation.
As for that issue, Punisher: Born, his reason for killing the Vietnamese woman was to prevent the soldier from raping her, which to him was better than allowing her to be raped. He couldn’t have just killed the soldier in front of all the other soldiers, or he would lose the trust of the other soldiers, so he waited until later to do it, even though one soldier witnessed it.
no, if superheros killed his family, he would have killed them. he hunts criminals because it was corruption that killed them. i am 100% sure that if a SHIELD ship killed his family and cyclops REALLY said “oops broh…accident” liek he did in the comic book…the punisher would kill heroes
and the punishers ALWAYS killed innocent people
in the ww2 one he shot a girl for BEING raped (she was japanese though…[??])
Hazmat –
You’re referring to the “What If” issue where Punisher kills the heroes because his family was killed in the middle of the crossfire in a battle between superheros and supervillains, so this is obviously not canon. The real Punisher would never kill any of those superheros.
Also, the recent War Journal series is crap, so I’m not considering it as a credible source for the Punisher.
Bugs
doesnt kill innocent people? the punisher is just as bad as his villains. he IS a bad guy
he killed spiderman, half the xmen and the hulk!
but without counting that…if you read war journal…he does kill a lot of innocent people that needent have died
I was mostly convinced when I first saw Ray’s picture and when I heard that Lexi wanted to go to the Max. (pun intended) When I saw the red-band trailers, it sealed the deal!
I agree that Castle would NEVER get an innocent killed, accidently or not, and that he surely wouldn’t prop himself upside down on a chandelier and spray lead in a dervish.
But other than that? PURE Castle. And about bloody time.
Last thing: I guess I’m the only one who thought Incredible Hulk was a pile of hooey and that Ang Lee’s film was a work of genius…
Peace
I am glad someone stepped up and ate their crow….
While I respect that, have you read a comic that features jigsaw? He is over the top rediculous…Dominic West toned it down and I thought he was fantastic…
Soap is a huge highlight to the film….fans will love him as he is better than he was in the comic…
Thomas Jane is over….people will forget he ever put on the vest…sort like dolph…he held up production and walked over what he didnt like or approve of….cant say I blame him if he isnt the fighter lexi alexander is…but cant say I support him any more either
Im so glad that it is enjoyable…i never wanted much I just wanted a kick ass punisher and some good action. i really like the way Dominic west looks and talks in the trailers.
I was at that screening last night. I had no idea what I was in for. Of course, being the corporate event it was, the 50-year-old lady next to me almost lost her lunch in the first 30 minutes. I agree with you, Ray has just elevated his presence and considering today’s announcement about his upcoming movie with Denzel Washington, he is sure to be around for some time.
I thought they could have done a litte better with the script expecially with the thugs.
I’ve got to tell you John, I was hoping this was as doomed as predicted. I really was. Now you must do an article comparing Jane & Stevenson’s movies. I knew there would be action and gore and probably an ace in the hole actor with all the buzz Ray gets. from Rome. I just didn’t think it would be good at all. So essentially this walks the Incredible Hulk road? I can see that. Doing a copy would just be stupid. I will wait for a consensus. Before I even consider going to see it. Stevenson may be a better thespian(actor) than Jane, but Jane just had that attitude and that presence of “fuck you, I don’t care if you own half the city, you’re dead.” So perhaps Jane would’ve been more suited for the role if it was 99% action rather than dialogue? I would’ve liked a few thoughts, like a rundown of people as he was spying on them.
Sounds just crappy enough to avoid…
i hope it succeeds
i have the same feeling that it wont succeed…
and…ive been picturing jane on top of the table saying “this is just the beggining” and it wouldnt have been bad…
well…sucks to be him. i mean WHAT exactly is thomas jane doing anyways? thomas jane isnt a guy with a busy schedule…unless they make a deep blue sea sequel
Hey Hazmat,
It wasn’t originally supposed to be a reboot. They just changed a couple of little details to make it a reboot after Jane left.
And I don’t know if Jane will feel dumb for leaving… even though I liked this movie, I still think it’s going to BOMB.
…
why would they want a reboot..and keep thomas jane?
and if he really did walk out of it…even better. now he can feel like the BIGGEST sucker in the world as ray stevenson gets all the props for the awsomeness that punisher war zone was…instead of jane
Hey Hazmat and BigSampson,
Actually no you’re wrong. Thomas Jane made the decision to leave the project. This was confirmed.
So he didn’t bash the project because he wasn’t in it… he left it because he thought it was worth bashing.
As a side note… I’m glad I never read the script… because it must be horrible after watching the movie.
“…and murders a mafia lackey who turns out to be an undercover FBI agent.”
This is actually the problem I have with this movie, as I read about this first in the Newsarama review…the Punisher would never kill an innocent, period. Not even by accident. Frank is too methodical, calculating, and always plans his missions out thoroughly. The idea that he would actually murder an innocent and give up his war against criminals is just rediculous, and makes me not want to see this movie. Too bad too, because I was really anticipating to see this movie.
I AGREE with hasmats last comment…fuck thomas jane…he bashed this movie cause he wasnt in it…..ok im going to be honest…I AM A MAN! THEREFORE I LOVE FAST CARS, EASY WOMEN, AND ACTION MOVIES WITH CRAPPY LINES. this movie is perfect and the best thing is there is no WWF wrestlers in it!
T-VO
lol
and who killed bucky? marvel always brings back people (aunt may was shot in the utterus in civil war!) so your facts arent wrong….its just that marvel does this shit alot
he carves a moonblade in her skull
btw:
FUCK YOU thomas jane
NOT ONCE did i believe you left, i KNEW they made you leave because they wanted a complete REBOOT and keeping you would make fans think its a sequel…rebooting and keeping the same actor is just retarded. so i KNOW that youre full of shit when you say “i only left because the script was bad”
but nice try…you had the rest of us convinced asshole
LIAR
oh this is so sweet. i just love the taste of other peoples sorrow…i can almost feel thomas jane watching this in a movie theatre and liking it in the inside….so great…
I thought Bullseye killed Electra? Well, at least the first time she died.
oh and he (thank GOD) killed electra
T-VO
a moonknight movie would be better then any superhero movie out right now…yes, even TDK or spiderman..IF done right
the guy has a jet, a boat, the car, awsome accesories he got from hawkeye, he beat dr doom, beat spiderman, beat the kingpin, and the werewolve dude
he CARVES peoples FACES off when hes done beating them…theyre left..FACELESS
and the punisher is the only character in marvel universe to have killed every single other hero and main villains (dr doom and magneeto only…but theyre one of the top villains)
the first film was crap because in almost evry acton film a guys famly is killed and he goes out on some killing spree.atleast they havent made that mistake again.
ill go see it ( if it will ever come out in england )
Punisher comics were never about story. It was about absolute revenge with no remorse, thats what makes him what he is in the Marvel U.
Well after seening the last trailer I think i would wait till DVD. I liked the last Punisher movie. It had story and good characters ( I thought). For me I love action and violence like any guy but to me I will keep watching the film over and over for the story cause the action gets old after awhile. Its kinda like my feeling towards First Blood and Rambo FBpt2. I love the story in FB and I love the action in FBpt2 but I can watch FB many more times cause it has a good story and good characters. I feel this movie and the last film will have the same effect.
Oh and who would win in a fight between Jigsaw and Joker? My money is on Joker lol.
The only way the next Punisher movie would work if John Woo did it. Imagine Frank Castle ala Hard Boiled?
Newsarama (Comic Book Site) is saying it the best of the punisher movies, which is like saying its the leper with the most amount of fingers.
http://www.newsarama.com/film/081125-punisher-war-zone-review.html
I’m not expecting citizen cane, I will go in with a “Crank” movie mentality and hopefully can keep me entertained for 1.5 hours. What other Marvel Knight movies could be made? I think a Moon Knight movie could kick ass.
Nice one John…I’ll personally hold out judgement on one of my fav. characters but things sound good and your reviews always bring the the points that I like to hear out in the open.
YES, YES, YES, YES, YEEEEEEEAAAAAH!
I always had hope it would be good (though I still have to actually see it) so you’ve made me a happy man today John.
Now could I please appeal to Lionsgate to give us a UK release date for this thing?
hells yeah.
Hey T-VO
Well… I can tell you that most of he “internet rumors” were totally 100% true. There are many things wrong with this movie… but I’m honest and I have to admit it worked for me.
And since I’m right 9 times out of 10… eating crow once in a while isn’t so bad. At least I admit it when it happens.
Is the viewer able to suspend disbelief and treat this as a sequel to the Thomas Jane version? or is it just too different and only functions as a reboot.
I was able to do that with new Hulk movie. The not from the first movie flashbacks hurt it a bit, but outside of that I was still able to see it as a sequel.
If memory serves, this site predicted this movie would suck balls after it fell for all the internet rumors and there was quite a heated discussion about it. I for one, said stop talking shit and wait until the movies comes out, so how does crow taste?
In reply to Party Marty, the PWZ shooting script is not the bad script that made Jane quit. After he left, there was a reboot.
nice to have your reviews back John!
i’m seriously wanting to see this.
oops. What I forgot to add is that if the dialog and acting are sub-par, it does hurt the overall themes of the film and what they were aiming for.
“…and murders a mafia lackey who turns out to be an undercover FBI agent.”
I always wondered about a story about a vigilante character who in a quest for payback unknowingly kills off “a good guy” and the other good guys want to give him hell for it. It was an angle that few action pictures go near- and I’m thrilled that a picture such as ‘Punisher War Zone’ apparently does. Consequences for revenge – and a bit of redemption- layer up an action film like this. If some of the acting is as crammy as you say (Doug Hutchinson from ‘Green Mile’ ? That bad as Looney Bin Jim? Hmmm…)
It’s too bad Lionsgate didn’t play up this angle a little bit in earlier promotions; the film is advertised as a brainless action picture, something to be forgotten faster than this past weekend’s “Transporter 3”.
Im pleasantly surprised. So I wonder why Thomas Jane left the project, maybe the bad dialogue looked very very bad on paper, and if Stevenson is the best thing in it well, maybe it would have sucked with Jane.
I may well go see this now.
This new installment is much more explosive than the first. Tons more action and a better acting cast. Ray Stevenson was amazing!
I Hyped The Punisher on Everhype and gave it 88% which I think is fairly accurate.
http://www.everhype.com/hyper/mikeborgia?X=M760
I wouldn’t mind getting some opinions on it . If you get on there, rate me a 5 & request friendship.
@JAFFAHUT…
I’ve known that all I want and expect from a Punisher film (EVER!) I a huge body count, massive gore and bloodshed, intense Mindless ULTRA-Violence, and a very convincingly VACANT Anti-HERO in my FRANK CASTLE… I don’t want good dialogue, I don’t want heart felt storylines, I don’t want any other crap… I Don’t even want “good” acting. I WANT over the top-cheesy-camp performances and a “Dead to Life” PUNISHER! So I would have to say that this is indeed a review that helps to push the point home that I will find what I want. It has all of the “Flaws” that I want in a Punisher films and all of the “Goods” that I want as well.
BRING ON THE SLAUGHTER-AMA!
This review is coming from what was initially a total naysayer so there are a lot of turnarounds here. What if you are not a total naysayer? I doubt that Dominic West is as bad as the reviewer claims. I also highly doubt that a Meisner-protege like Doug Hutchinson fails. Or Keram Malicki-Sanchez who has an amazing filmic pedigree. Or Steve Gainer. So I am totally jazzed by this review.
I am so happy to read this, thanks! December 5th can’t come soon enough!
I wouldn’t go jumping up and down just yet. No insult towards John, but you know it is just one review and sometimes our minds can play tricks on us :)
This sounds like everything I’ve been expecting and hoping for in and out of this film. I’m excited for it and will be seeing this weekend for sure!
Thanks for the review, John.
Woah, didn’t see that 7 coming
So…it sounds as another RAMBO movie. Pointless acting, nasty characters….and sweet bad ass action.
I´ll watch it.
Drats. I was kinda wanting this movie to be really bad. I wanted no possibility of a sequel so that the rights would revert back to Marvel and we would get a Marvel-movie-universe-integrated Punisher movie (of considerably better quality) in 5-6 years.
But I guess I’ll settle for a an acceptable Punisher-only movie universe for a while.
did anyone here read the comic book “punisher kills marvel universe”?
where he kills spiderman, captain america, cyclops, daredevil, wolverine, half of all the xmen, venom, hulk, magneeto and dr doom? good stuff. lol
and ive been sayign this for months now…thomas jane is waayy too GQ poster boy to be frank castle…ray stevenson has the face and hes touch and gugged as shit…thomas jane looks like green arrow or something…
so john in your opinion is this the best punisher film so far?