'Punisher: War Zone' review

Dominic West (Credit: Jonathan Wenk/Lionsgate)

Photos:

Still coping with his family's murder the only way he knows how—brutal vigilante smackdowns!—Frank Castle/The Punisher (Ray Stevenson of HBO's "Rome") sets his sights on a gangster (Dominic West of HBO's "The Wire") who renames himself Jigsaw after his face is massively disfigured. (No relation to Jigsaw of the "Saw" movies, fortunately.) Meanwhile, Russian baddies look to acquire dangerous biological material and Castle looks after the wife and daughter of an undercover cop he accidentally killed.

The buzz: It's the follow-up at least two or three people were waiting for. In 2004 the last big-screen adaptation of the Marvel Comics series was dull, stupid and featured John Travolta as a villain who wouldn't know intimidation if it bashed him in the face. "War Zone" comes courtesy of director Lexi Alexander ("Green Street Hooligans"), though the film doesn't exactly scream "woman's touch."

The verdict: Squish squish, bang bang. West's appropriately cartoonish performance redeems the movie whenever he's onscreen, but the increasingly vicious and sometimes laughable "Punisher" enjoys every drop of blood spilled a little too much—believing that there's no reason to kill an old lady politely when you can leave her head demolished, dripping and steaming. (Yes. Yuck.) There's justice, and then there's mutilation.

Did you know? A group of Jigsaw's cohorts, who prove to be proficient at murder and backflips, goes by the totally awesome tag of McGinty and His Urban Free Flow Gang. We predict this soon will also be a jam band that performs at Bonnaroo.

Add a comment