The Punisher is back, and he’s played by a different actor which is always a bad sign. However this isn’t a sequel, it’s a reboot. Which is also a very bad sign. Particularly as I liked the first one. Anyway, plot.
Frank Castle aka The Punisher has racked up a basement of files worth of kills. When going after some mafia guys he leaves one in a glass recycling pit and accident kills an FBI mole. Torn by the fact he killed a good guy, Frank is all for hanging up his guns. But the mafia guy survived, coming back as the mangled villain Jigsaw, and Frank has to protect the FBI moles family and stop him.
I whole heartedly agree with Thomas Jane, original director Jonathan Hensleigh and The Shield writer Kurt Sutter that the way to go with this was a more real world approach. The Punisher fits in to the Marvel universe just fine, but the more comic book like elements only work when there’s a comic book world. Not a more or less realistic one like features in this movie.
A villain like Jigsaw just seems ridiculous here. Particularly as he only seems to have a scarred up face and not his whole body. They didn’t go far enough. And his brother, Looney Bin Jim, would be fine if there was anything else crazy in the film. But there isn’t really, apart from some hyped up gore. Which is fine in and of itself.
Frank Castle is a very staid character. He’s extremely serious. So his world should be serious. The film is just tonally off. The main guy is serious, much of the rest isn’t except when it is.
I really can’t complain about Ray Stevenson as he’s not a bad actor, but I think Jane would have been a bit better. However, the villains at the start come across as second rate Soprano’s extras. And for some reason there’s a Jamaican looking guy with a TERRIBLE intermittent Oirish accent who does some ridiculously half assed Parkour with his friends who’s a bit of a throw away villain.
This could have been decent. With more realistic, or even possibly more outlandish if they threw in some cross references, villains, if Micro had been around more to give some levity to the situation, if the aforementioned shitty villains had been dropped, and if the tone had been consistent it would have been alright. But none of that is the case. The couple of twists in the film are predictable, and its all over the bloomin place.
I’d just skip it if I were you. Not that its HUGELY terrible, it’s just not any good…
Next up: What Just Happened?
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