Punisher: War Zone (2008)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Lexi Alexander

Writers (WGA):

Nick Santora (written by) and
Art Marcum (written by) ...

Release Date:

5 December 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Vengeance has a name.

Plot:

After hunting down and killing hundreds of violent criminals, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, faces his most deadly foe yet: Jigsaw. |

Plot Keywords:

Woman's Neck Broken | One Man Army | Wall Safe | Decapitation | Fire Fight

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ray Stevenson	...	Frank Castle
Dominic West	...	Billy / Jigsaw
Doug Hutchison	...	Loony Bin Jim
Colin Salmon	...	Paul Budiansky
Wayne Knight	...	Micro
Dash Mihok	...	Martin Soap
Julie Benz	...	Angela
Stephanie Janusauskas	...	Grace
Mark Camacho	...	Pittsy
Romano Orzari	...	Nicky
Keram Malicki-Sánchez	...	Ink
Larry Day	...	Agent Miller
Ron Lea	...	Captain Ross
Tony Calabretta	...	Saffiotti
T.J. Storm	...	Maginty

Also Known As:

The Punisher 2 (USA) (working title)
The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (USA) (working title)
The Untitled Punisher Sequel (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA | Canada | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:18 | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Australia:MA | Malaysia:18SG | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Mexico:C | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 | New Zealand:R18 | Netherlands:16 | USA:R (certificate #44752)

Filming Locations:

Brossard, Québec, Canada

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

Thomas Jane was originally attached for the lead role, but he turned it down, stating that he thought the script was going in the wrong direction. He felt it was too "comic book," whereas he wanted a more gritty, realistic approach.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The patches worn by the New York City police officers that go to the Donatelli home are not actual New York City police patches.

Quotes:

Loony Bin Jim: You look fantastic, brother.

Movie Connections:

References Scarface (1983)

Soundtrack:

Butterfly Wings

The First True Punisher Film is not for People with Weak Stomachs, but Extreme Action Lovers Will have a Hell of a Good Time!

The Punisher has been portrayed twice on film so far. First in the 80's flick with Dolph Lundgren and more recently in the 2004 flick with Thomas Jane. While both were OK in parts the movies as a whole just weren't that good. Being a huge fan of the comic series I have always felt that they had never pushed the violence far enough for a Punisher film. He was always to restrained. So how did the third attempt at a Punisher film work? Lets see...

Punisher: War Zone starts a few years after the death of Frank Castle's family. Since than he has been killing mobsters at a steady rate and the police see him more as a help than a hindrance..although they won't admit it. When the Punisher fails to kill an up and coming mobster named Billy Russoti, Billy decides to start a war against the Punisher and he won't quit until the Punisher is dead.

While the story may seem fairly basic it serves its purpose perfectly. This is the ultimate Punisher movie. There are more bullets and blood in this movie the most action movies and the action never lets up.

Acting is well done by everyone. While I like Thomas Jane as an actor I think Ray Stevenson is a better Punisher. Dominic West is good as Jigsaw, but I felt he might have hammed it up a bit in a few scenes.

Lexi Alexander has made the quintessential Punisher film that dares to show you the gritty world of the Punisher without shying away from all the gore. I can only hope that a sequel will be on the way soon.

Fans of the Punisher comics and extreme action lovers will eat this up, but know that this is not a movie for kids or people who can't take a ton of gore.

*** out of ****