Personally, I enjoyed this one. Having lived through the previous versions of The Punisher, this one was the best despite its low budget and poor script. It was a better replacement for what was almost a sequel to The Punisher (2004), but luckily Thomas Jane passed on the role to do something else. Not sure if that would've had the same lowered budget mind you, but that Punisher wouldn't have fit into the War Zone. But, it wasn't critically acclaimed nor a big box office draw. Understandably, as again low budget and weak story.With that being said, there were some definite positives from The Punisher: War Zone (2008), and they were...
Ray Stevenson as The Punisher
Ray Stevenson is one of those "chameleon" actors. Who take roles and transform themselves to where you don't quite realize that you're watching the same person in various roles. Gary Oldman is also one of those types. In this role, Stevenson delivered despite what was a poor written, low budget revamp of the The Punisher. Was hoping for a sequel, with a bigger budget and a better script for Ray to make Punisher franchise what it should be, successful. Even if you disliked him, hard to really argue that the two that came before him were any better. He's currently in the Thor franchise, who he plays I leave to you to figure out. Small example of his chameleon skills.
The Creation of Jigsaw
Cause for the creation of Jigsaw is more apt. Although I wasn't a fan of Dominic West's portrayal before or after becoming Jigsaw, I was a fan of how they went about it. Having him fall into the glass crushing machine was a very blunt way of doing things, but made more sense than to say have it be tattoos or other types of scarring. Of all the Marvel characters, Punisher is the more "real life" type of story. I also liked the post-surgery moments where he kills his surgeon a tad similar to how Joker kills his in Burton's Batman. The screams from Jigsaw were a tad cheesy, but until your in that situation how are we to know what would come out of our mouths, so it got a pass.
Truest Rendition
Maybe not a spot on version, but that is rarely the case. Give this a bigger budget and it would have been even better, but there wasn't any popsicles and blow torched steak in this one. Even the opening action sequence showed us what we were missing in previous versions. Down to how The Punisher lives, secluded, using his training to survive, and making real connections on the street. Not living in an apartment, manipulating the mob like a bad mafia movie. And of course as mentioned before, Stevens had the look down pat also, unless you are really wanting to see this portrayed in spandex with the classic white disco boot. To each his own I guess....not really.
Hope
Cheesy word to use in regards to The Punisher, but it is true. The Punisher (2004) although bad, was better than the 1989 version Dolph Lundgren starred in. Of course, this one was better than both, so there is hope that they finally have an idea of what is expected of this franchise. Hopefully, when and if the next Punisher flick hits theaters it will come with a bigger budget and a much stronger script. And hopefully, they consider Ray Stevenson to reprise his version. If Nicolas Cage can get two Ghost Rider films, anyone should.With this not being the only "dark" Marvel character, The Punisher does serve as a good base to perhaps bring other characters to life on the big screen that wouldn't likely get a spot in Marvel's Avengers universe. Daredevil maybe, Morbius, amongst others. Even if to have a team-up with say Blade, who is also due for some redemption in either a new flick or preferably a relaunched franchise. Until Marvel decides to join DC on the "dark side"...
Stay Nerdy!
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