All it took was one bad day to make Frank Castle wage his personal war against crime. However, the way he goes about doing it is downright nasty and brutal. There is a reason why he calls himself the Punisher and you do not want to get on his bad side. Unfortunately, the mob boss known as Jigsaw does exactly that as he tests Castle's mettle in Marvel Comics' Punisher: War Zone, a 2008 movie starring Ray Stevenson as the Punisher, Dominic West as Jigsaw, and filmed by director Lexi Alexander.
Billy "The Beaut" Russoti is a gangster known for his charisma and handsome features. While attending a mob meeting, the Punisher attacks and kills a mob family. Billy manages to escape but the Punisher comes after him at his hideout. A gunfire battle ensues resulting in Billy falling into a glass-crushing machine. The Punisher turns on the machine that grinds Russoti around a few times and though he doesn't die, his face is permanently disfigured from the incident. In the meantime, Castle is distraught to learn that one of the thugs he first encountered and gunned down is actually an undercover FBI agent named Nicky Donatelli.
The NYPD "Punisher Task Force" meets its latest recruit as Agent Paul Budiansky joins the team to avenge his fallen partner. Meanwhile, Russoti's face is beyond restoration even with plastic surgery. He adopts the moniker "Jigsaw", breaks out his mentally unstable brother "Loony Bin Jim", and the two plan their revenge on the Punisher.
Castle, on the other, is contemplating retirement after doing this for six years. He realizes that he is becoming no better than the evil he swore to battle. But after hearing that Jigsaw is after Donatelli's family, he reconsiders his decision. Lots of bloodshed ensues before the inevitable showdown between the Punisher and Jigsaw, and only one will walk away from the confrontation. That is, of course, if both the FBI and NYPD don't get to both of them in the first place.
Punisher: War Zone is more of a reboot rather than a sequel to the 2004's The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane. This movie actually follows more in line with the actual comic book character in its brutal and graphic depiction of the violence that surrounds the character. The movie carries the Marvel Knights banner, the first to do so indicating that these films are deemed more for a mature audience, just like the comic book imprint.
The plot was thin without any meat on the matter. Don't expect any meaningful soliloquies or heavy exposition, but be prepared for a slaughterhouse. This film is quite violent from beginning to end. It had such a starting effect on me as I found myself falling asleep through the movie (yes, I actually forced myself afterwards to stay awake and watch the missing parts).
Stevenson takes over the role as Frank Castle, the Punisher. He actually looks the part with his intimidating presence and definitely modeled his look after Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's run on the book. Of course, Stevenson unsuccessfully tries to hide his Irish accent. It's not the first time the Punisher has had an accent (Dolph Lundgren had a stab at the character back in 1989). Many times throughout the movie I felt Stevenson was too wooden and stoic. I don't know if this was deliberate on his part but it made for a boring performance. Dominic West, on the other hand, was able to ham-it-up on the screen as Jigsaw, but I think he went too far over the top, ala Jack Nicholson's take on the Joker. In fact, Jigsaw's entire plight reminded me of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman with the whole Jack Napier/Joker storyline. I would have loved to have seen more of the cruel assassin Jigsaw is supposed to be rather than a caricature of the character. He is, in essence, the Punisher's opposite.
Thomas Jane's Punisher made him too sympathetic. His movie would have been great if it wasn't called "The Punisher" at all. Ray Stevenson takes the character down a darker route but the whole story gets lost in the dark. I really hate to say it but I didn't have any high hopes for Punisher: War Zone at all. One would think that taking a guy bent on revenge for the murders of his family and vowing to destroy corruption and crime would make for an easy tale. Alas, this is not the case. While I can appreciate the darker tone for the movie, the third time is not necessarily the charm.
Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. Afte...More at HotMovieSale.com
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