Ephemeris of the Mind (Film Review) Punisher: War Zone
Time to read: 2 min read
Movie Poster
God be with you, Frank.
Sometimes I would like to get my hands on God.
Previous Marvel film reviews:
- Spider-Man 3
- Spider-Man 2
- Spider-Man
- Morbius
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Black Widow
- Black Panther
- Venom
- The Punisher (2004)
Review
In War Zone, Ray Stevenson takes up the mantle of Frank Castle, the Punisher. Stevenson hunts down criminals who escape the justice of the courts; in one operation gone wrong, Castle accidentally kills an undercover FBI agent (Romano Orzari) while leaving crime boss Billy “The Beaut” Russoti (Dominic West) alive but horribly disfigured. Castle must protect the widow of the agent (Julie Benz) and their child (Stephanie Janusauskas) from the vengeful gang led by Russoti.
War Zone is probably the most cartoonish iteration of the live-action Punisher franchise; everything, from the action scenes to the corny dialogue feels like it’s lifted straight from the comicbooks. As a result, the film has a very superficial quality, almost like a B movie. Stevenson’s Castle is a ruthless and laconic machine whose sole character trait is killing criminals; given the lack of dialogue (similar to Punisher in the comics), Stevenson does a decent job portraying Frank's thoughts non-verbally. The supporting cast, such as West’s Russoti, Doug Hutchison’s Loony Bin Jim, and T. J. Storm’s Maginty are equally one-dimensional in their character. The cinematography had some cool shots, though.
Conclusion
Not the best live-action Punisher but fun for fans of the comics.