Punisher 2: Zona de guerra

I really enjoyed The Punisher (2004) though I don't think Thomas Jane made a good Punisher he is a competent enough actor to have pulled it off.

When I heard about this one 4yrs later I had no interest, I was frustrated that it had essentially been rebooted and that Jane was no longer playing Frank Castle.

Here we are 9yrs later I've finally given it a chance and I'm saddened I didn't earlier. Punisher: War Zone is not the brainless action flick cash grab that I expected, in fact it rivals the 2004 version.

For a start Ray Stevenson is perfectly cast as The Punisher, he looks perfect and blows Jane & even Lungren out of the water. He thoroughly takes the role and makes it his amidst a host of great actors and characters.

Extremely violent and quite loyal to the original material this is something I could have gotten behind if it had become a franchise.

I'm not an action junkie, in fact I'd say it is by far one of my least favourite genres but when its done right like it is here it makes for some great entertainment.

Ignore the critics and put the 2004 version aside for a moment, War Zone is a damn decent film.

The Good:

Remarkably violent (As it should be)

Awesome soundtrack

Very competent cast

Ray Stevenson makes a great Punisher

The Bad:

Accents are hit and miss

Recasting/Reebooting so soon after the last movie was a stupid move

Hero is a Christian, villain is an atheist. Overwhelming irony

Jigsaw monologue scene was dumb

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I would love to see this Punisher added to the Marvel Universe

R-Rated superhero movies were a thing before Deadpool

Julie Benz is ageless

I saw this a couple hours ago in Fullerton, CA. I was a reader of the comic, and am a fan of what we've seen from Marvel lately. This movie is just what I wanted, and what I expected.

Ray Stevenson is perfect as Frank Castle, and everyone else is at least good enough for an action movie. Dominic West is over the top as Jigsaw - which is what Jigsaw should be! A horribly disfigured mob boss with a vendetta is not a subtle thing to begin with.

As for the "respectable" critics' complaints: 1. Violence: Of course it's violent! What part of the title "Punisher: War Zone" implies peaceful conflict resolution? He's not the "Admonisher". The gore and violence is not at the level of a "Saw" film, but it is high. It is rated "R" for a reason.

2. Dialogue: I think the critics have been spoiled by "Dark Knight" and "Iron Man". Those were comic-book movies with extraordinarily good dialogue. "Punisher: War Zone" is no worse than a "Predator" or "Rambo: First Blood". Not great, but not awful. This is not supposed to be "Hamlet".

3. Script: The story moves along well, and when there's a break in the action (which isn't very often), the film doesn't drag- it's always going somewhere. Not perfect, but good. Much better than the critics have made it out to be.

All in all, a good time, and one that I'll buy and re-watch as soon as it comes out on DVD.

I suspect this film was victim to the old (pre-Deadpool) rule of PG13 superhero movies being the only ones to bring a profit, even if it diluted the source material so much that the character's spirit was lost.

Punisher was, and is, a violent character - I remember my dad being extremely disapproving of my teenage self reading it due to its violence, and he isn't generally a prude.

The previous Punisher movies are both watered down for a more mainstream audience, but if Punisher fans want a movie that captures the grittiness, personal torment and sheer unadulterated vengeance meated out by Frank Castle then this is it!

The movie probably also suffered from poor marketing - I for one had never heard of it, I bought it as part of a double DVD box set with it's more well known predecessor and I was sceptical of what I perceived to be a straight-to-video b-movie barrel of pants. How wrong I was. It's less "Hollywood", more realistic, more violent, darker, grittier and morally murky - everything the character deserves.

The villains do suffer from the pre-MCU superhero movie tendency towards camp over-acted hamminess and the acting credentials of those portraying them suggests to me that this was a director driven decision rather than the actors personal choice and, given the overall grittiness of the film it does seem a little incongruous but when you consider this was the norm for this genre before Iron Man came along then it can be forgiven, as can the unnecessarily inept cop that seems to have been inserted as an attempt at a comedic character to lighten the mood and it is to Dash Mihok's credit that the character still remains likeable despite the Lt. Frank Drebin/Clouseau-esque material he was given to work with.

Fans of The Punisher comics should definitely see this movie, fans of the other Punisher movies should watch it to get a truer sense of the source material and Marvel should bring Frank Castle into a Deadpool movie to bring the character into the MCU movie arena rather than relegated to the Netflix series - the potential for a successful portrayal of the darkness and violence of Punisher in a post-Deadpool superhero universe is just waiting to be tapped. In the meantime - watch this.

This is one of those films where you expect nothing from it and get pleasantly surprised. Ray Stevenson in my opinion has been the best version of Francis castellione to date - he captures his nihilism, physicality and looks.

Skipping past the origin story of why castle became the punisher and instead jumping into his eternal battle with crime and his internal struggle with himself. Action sequences are solid with some nice gore - straight from the pages of grant Morrisons comic run and it's good to see a villain like jigsaw on screen - played brilliantly by Dominic west.

All in all it's a leave your brain at the door decent actioner that you feel with the right budget and better writers could of been an 8 or 9/10.

I have to say I will remember to this movie,from this summer,it was released straight to video(DVD)here in Hungary,maybe from economical reasons,but I have to recommend this film for action,and also for horror fans,cause this is very gory,and violent.

Do not see the trailer before see the film,cause this film has a little problem,with scenery,but it will not hurt you if you see the film without see the trailer before the movie.

The acting,is just great in this movie,I have to say that Ray Steveson as punisher,and Dominic West as Jigsaw,they were just awesome as main characters in this movie.Maybe the story line of Julie Benz has some irritating elements,but still has an interesting one.

Lexi Alexanders movie was not really successful as business,against this was a very honest,and sometimes funny the smell of real world type of a film.I will keep my eyes on these artists.

Against I'am not a fan of violent films,usually I found them,this one will not disappoint most of you.

7/10