Punisher: First Round

This short fan film has high production value for a small independent project and brings to the screen a very interesting chapter in the mythology of The Punisher saga. The inventive digital effects add to the comic book feel and give an added layer of depth to the experience. Coming from the minds (and pens) of some of the independent comic world's more inventive minds sprung from the creative well of suburban New Jersey, "Punisher: First Round" brings to life a new variation on familiar characters from the comic underworld. Convincing casting choices combined with the appropriately comic book-cheesy dialogue, backed up with some great special effects by The Warped One, present an entertaining experience that promises more to come from this talented group of film makers.

Much as I liked the Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane versions of The Punisher, there was always something missing, from the first film there was a lack of dark humour that was always present in the comic character, from the second there was attempting to stuff too much into the film from the comic, meaning it swung from gritty to funny and back again without warning, unbalancing the film.

Corey Sosner's film First Round manages to significantly show up both films in a short 12 minutes. The necessarily swift pace and brutal action mirrors the comic, the Punisher's route up the ladder of the underworld needing little explanation or dialogue - they're bad guys, he's big and mean with a skull on his chest - nuff said.

The addition of the character of Wolverine, a long time/some time combatant and some time ally of the comic character, will appeal to the comic fans who thought Hugh Jackman a little too clean, tall and slender to be the sideburned one.

Sosner's short seems to scream 'look what I can and could do'. The use of comic frames showing the Punisher's origins over the credits and the slightly 'video game' look to some of the special effects illustrate effective innovation, but also show the possibilities and potential of Sosner as an actor and director, given sufficient funding.

I will be looking forward to second round, third round etc, lets hope that this fight goes the distance!

I liked the move ,it was a little short ,but Corey Sosner played a very good punisher ,better than in my opinion ,the last guy ,Tom Jane. The character who played wolverine,Eric Von Sydow , was right on the money ,he's the one that should of been in all the x-men movies. Yea, there was a little prob with some of the voice overs not matching the mouth movements ,but that all quickly went away in the movie. You have to understand ,that this is not a big budget release ,so imagine if they had a a big budget to work with,The results would be incredible. The story line went a little too fast for me. Other than that ,the effects were pretty good ,characters were good.

I saw this movie this past weekend when I acquired the DVD at Wizard World Boston. If you want to see a movie that truly catches the essence of the punisher books: SEE THIS MOVIE! It has everything any one would ever want in a Punisher film. As much as I enjoyed the Thomas Jane version, I think I'd recommend this more to my friends. Fast paced action, loads of violence, gorgeous dames, and one the best match ups in comic-film history. Sosner's portrayal as Castle is dead on and totally bad-ass. The editing makes this 15 minute thrill ride loads of fun. And like most, I was so skeptical about this movie. Most fan films are shoddily done, but this is right up there with Worlds Finest or Grayson. Check it out as soon as you can.

It's hard to judge independent movies like you would a regular feature film. Obviously, there are some issues with acting and effects, but I enjoyed it because it captured the essence of The Punisher. The two movie versions could not do that. The opening title with the comic book is awesome! I have to admit, with the two Christmas music choices I felt like I was watching Die-hard (same music used in the opening sequence). I liked some of the dialogue (what am I on mute?), but like it's been said on the boards, Punisher spoke too much. I met Cory at the Comic-con in Chicago and that's how I heard about this movie and of course bought it there. He has a genuine appreciation for the characters of Punisher and Wolverine and he's a comic fan like the rest of us who wants to see a good Punisher movie like all of us do. Basically, most Punisher fans should enjoy it for it's attempt to bring Punisher back to his rawness, even if it lacks in the acting and effects department. By the way, the women are hot!!!!