Frank Castle, who is also the one man vigilante army known as The Punisher, makes a return the screen in this third rendition of the Marvel Comic.
The 2004 version with Thomas Jane in the title role focused on the character and how he came to be; this film focuses on what he has become. In other words it is an apt sequel, but it is not a direct continuation of the aforementioned film. The film takes place in New York and with the back-story that is provided in several brief flashbacks makes this film the technically most faithful adaptation of the source material. Visually it is also very true with the settings given a slightly surreal comic book color and tone; the look of the title character is right from artist Tim Bradstreet's sketch pad; and lastly the violence is, put simply, Hell on Earth. Scores of gruesome deaths and merciless outbursts of savagery are not for those with a weak stomach and provide a visually intense experience. There are also several scenes that amount to some interesting political satire.
However, story-wise is where this film falls short. The point of annoyance is hard to pinpoint, but this 2008 version moves much more unevenly than the 2004 rendition. Maybe it is the rushed characterization of the villain, Jigsaw... or maybe the flaky subplot of The Punisher's remorse for accidentally gunning down an undercover cop in the film's opening shootout scene. Certainly both things could have been worked on and even added to as the 1 hour 40 minutes run time is hardly too much and perhaps even too little for the adaptation of a comic book series that has been running for decades - it feels incomplete.
That said, fans of the source who can fill in the story gaps as well as those who like extreme action movies should like this film since they don't make action movies like this very often. --- 6/10
BsCDb Classification: 16+ -- violence
The 2004 version with Thomas Jane in the title role focused on the character and how he came to be; this film focuses on what he has become. In other words it is an apt sequel, but it is not a direct continuation of the aforementioned film. The film takes place in New York and with the back-story that is provided in several brief flashbacks makes this film the technically most faithful adaptation of the source material. Visually it is also very true with the settings given a slightly surreal comic book color and tone; the look of the title character is right from artist Tim Bradstreet's sketch pad; and lastly the violence is, put simply, Hell on Earth. Scores of gruesome deaths and merciless outbursts of savagery are not for those with a weak stomach and provide a visually intense experience. There are also several scenes that amount to some interesting political satire.
However, story-wise is where this film falls short. The point of annoyance is hard to pinpoint, but this 2008 version moves much more unevenly than the 2004 rendition. Maybe it is the rushed characterization of the villain, Jigsaw... or maybe the flaky subplot of The Punisher's remorse for accidentally gunning down an undercover cop in the film's opening shootout scene. Certainly both things could have been worked on and even added to as the 1 hour 40 minutes run time is hardly too much and perhaps even too little for the adaptation of a comic book series that has been running for decades - it feels incomplete.
That said, fans of the source who can fill in the story gaps as well as those who like extreme action movies should like this film since they don't make action movies like this very often. --- 6/10
BsCDb Classification: 16+ -- violence