Punisher War Zone - Discussion, Grading & Reviews ***SPOILERS****

[Captain Craig]

The latest installment of The Punisher aka Frank Castle makes his screen debut tomorrow. This time starring Ray Stevenson as the title character. Its not related at all to the 2004 effort starring Thomas Jane, think of this as "The Hulk principal". Reboot.

Punisher War Zone opening December 5, 2008.
Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss, Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the "Punisher Task Force" hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished.

This whole week we've been discussing the movie and with 5 pages of exchange its now time for talk about the actual movie.

Rottentomatoes thus far as its score at 30% and I consider that high to be honest.

Some nuggets from the praise department af SFWeekly.

Let's be very clear about what kind of movie this is: the kind where Frank Castle shooting a parkour runner out of the sky in midair with a shoulder-launched missile is played for laughs; the kind where a dreadlocked black man with an Irish accent who's on a constant meth high is one of the least bizarre characters; and the kind where torture and graphic murder are the answers to everything.

From Horror.com

My favorite thing about PWZ is its unflinching beauty, no matter what mayhem is going on in its midst. Larry Clark's fave DP Steve Gainer (pardon the pun-ishment) pulls out all the stops here, deviating from his better-known cinema-verite style to adopt and master a more studied, composed approach that's quite stunning.

From CHUD

The key performance in Punisher: War Zone, though, is Dominic West as Jigsaw. This performance is the one that will either key you in to what kind of movie you're watching or will completely alienate you. West is a great actor, and his accent work is amazing - check out The Wire and you'll see why I didn't guess he was British until I saw him in 300. Armed with that knowledge, his work as Jigsaw is all the more delightful. His accent is so over the top as to be in the stratosphere. You can see him savoring each distended, overblown vowel as it comes out of his mouth. The level of his performance is legendary - bigger than life doesn't even begin to cover it. Ham is just not enough. Throw in every other pork product and you'll maybe begin to grasp it. And it's wonderful. West is playing in the same sandbox as Cesar Romero and Frank Gorshin and he's making them proud. It's a fun performance, filled with maniacal life and glee. I loved every second of it.

So this is the place to discuss, shred, praise and exorcise your demons about this latest Marvel Comics adaption to the big screen.

 

[Thrall]

From what I have observed all the "geeky critics", like the ones on internet sites and what not, love this movie while all the "establishment, elite critics", like in newspapers and stuff hate it because they probably don't understand it. I'll see it tomorrow and see who's right.

 

[JoeZhang]

because they probably don't understand it.

Is it adapting a story by Tolstoy? I thought it was a sociopath in a rain mac blowing people away?

 

[Thrall]

because they probably don't understand it.

Is it adapting a story by Tolstoy? I thought it was a sociopath in a rain mac blowing people away?

There's a lot of subtle, but scathing at the same time, satire and parody of the action genre in the Ennis books. And from what I hear the movie is about the same. Kind of like Shoot Em Up or Last Action Hero, but not nearly as obvious.

 

[OptimusPete]

Let's be very clear about what kind of movie this is: the kind where Frank Castle shooting a parkour runner out of the sky in midair with a shoulder-launched missile is played for laughs; the kind where a dreadlocked black man with an Irish accent who's on a constant meth high is one of the least bizarre characters; and the kind where torture and graphic murder are the answers to everything.



...... I'm not seeing how any of this could possibly be seen as a bad thing?

It's Titus Pullo versus McNulty with an ungodly amount of guns and violence.

I can't wait

 

[Siwilliams]

Looking forward to Punisher - War Zone will be seeing it opening day

 

[Captain Craig]

I have tomorrow off so my current plan is to either see a 12noon show or a 3pm afternoon show.

 

[Siwilliams]

What trailers are wit this film?

 

[Aragorn]

Hey now, if you bring posters for one you must bring them for everyone.

 

[Siwilliams]

Forgot about the 1989 version

 

[Aragorn]

Maybe if this movie is successful they can have Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane as the bad guys in the next one.

 

[JacksonArcher]

It seems we both have the same thread open, Captain Craig. I didn't see yours when I posted mine -- I guess, who was first?

 

[Siwilliams]

I just saw Punisher - War Zone midnight showing and it was good. I don't understand all the criticism it is getting, it is way better than the 2004 version. Jigsaw was portrayed well in this. I hope they do another one. The new Punisher/Frank Castle was good as well.

 

[Goliath]

From what I have observed all the "geeky critics", like the ones on internet sites and what not, love this movie while all the "establishment, elite critics", like in newspapers and stuff hate it because they probably don't understand it.

Not necessarily. Roger Ebert's review is hilarious.

You used to be able to depend on a bad film being poorly made. No longer. "The Punisher: War Zone" is one of the best-made bad movies I've seen. It looks great, it hurtles through its paces and is well-acted. The soundtrack is like elevator music if the elevator were in a death plunge. The special effects are state of the art. Its only flaw is that it's disgusting.

The movie is not heavy on plot. By my Timex Indiglo, there was no meaningful exposition at all during the first 15 minutes, just men getting slaughtered.

The city, Montreal playing New York, has a small population, consisting only of good guys and bad guys and not much of anybody else. I'd get out, too. It's the kind of violence the president should fly over in Air Force One and regard sadly through the window.

Source: here.

I am definitely down for this. The school term has ended, and I'm in the right mood for some mindless violence.

 

[General Kang]

Can't wait for this movie to make $15 million, that way in another couple years we can see YET ANOTHER version of The Punisher, this time starring some other c-list actor.

Honestly, why in the world does this character keep getting a chance in a movie? We only get one Daredevil movie, but we get three tries for the fookin Punisher?

Never, ever, EVER liked the Punisher in the comics... can't grasp the attraction for the movie.

The "spoiler" warning for this thread made me wonder if there is ANYONE who doesn't know that he's going to shoot bad guys and shit.

 

[Captain Craig]

It seems we both have the same thread open, Captain Craig. I didn't see yours when I posted mine -- I guess, who was first?

Mine was up yesterday.

 

[Captain Craig]

This movie is really better than its being portrayed as being. If they were seeking to lower expectations then they succeeded.
Its the best Punisher movie bar none. It even renks high in the sub genre of vigilante justice.

My grade: B+

What trailers are with this film?

Adventureland , Underworld:Rise of the Lycans , Valkyrie , My Bloody Valentine 3D , The Spirit

The first thing I notice is this film has a Marvel Knights logo vs the Marvel Comics logo we've seen on all other Marvel films. It still has the page flipping sequence it just says Marvel Knights and in the imprint logo from the magazine. I'm wondering if its because PWZ is rated "R" and this film is a testing ground of sorts. Should there be other R rated Mavel films would they use the Knights imprint to designate a film as more mature?

I really did enjoy the film. Wayne Knight as Micro was great. Dominic West as Jigsaw was superb. I didn't think it possible for me to like Julie Benz anymore but her with dark hair(vs her normal blonde) and tough Italian-esque/NY accent were really nice. Having Frank/Punishers origin done right this time and set in NYC does so much for the film in and of itself. The casting of the Soap character was well done.

Spoiler: Character fate

Sadly Wayne Knight's Micro takes one for the team straight through the temples.

I know not everyone goes into a movie being able to differentiate something like PWZ vs say Changeling or Wall*E but they should. Its a different film geared toward a different audience therefore what it excels at and fails at should be weighted appropriately.

The plot has what it needs to move forward and despite one or two leaps it asks the viewer to make does hold up for moving you from sequence to sequence. The places where one sees "over the top" or "silly" I think can be explained away but thankfully there are only a couple of those and they do mostly fit the character and/or moment.

It'd be a shame really to see this film fail as on the 3rd time they've started down the path of having it right. If you like comic movies I do believe you'll like this. If shoot'em up out for justice films is something you like you'll like this also. If you like a movie with violence, blood and some seemingly outrageous death moments then this is the film for you.

 

[Thrall]

This movie is stupid, mindless, ridiculously violent, has no plot, has two-dimensional characters, and pretty much has no redeeming artistic value what so ever. And I loved every second of it. Eat your heart out Boondock Saints. There's a new standard bearer for comedic action-violence in town.

Now don't misunderstand me. It is not a good movie. But it knows that it is not a good movie. And it has fun with that. Lexi Alexander does a wonderful job of making scenes that would otherwise just be awful, if done seriously, into something darkly comedic and mindlessly fun. There's just something subversively hilarious about a bunch of Black Irish Methheads jumping and leaping in slow motion off of rooftops ,in beautiful cinematography, only to be blown to bits by an incoming RPG. A Dick Tracyesque deformed Italian gangster cliche giving a Patton-like speech in front of a gang of hoodlums, with an American Flag waving patriotically in the background, is all types of delicious irony.

That, more then anything, sums up what this movie is all about. This movie is not about deep character development or complex plotting or profound social commentary. If you want that, then go watch The Dark Knight again. This movie is about guns, explosions, over-the-top violence, and all the hilarity that goes with it. The violence and black humor is so over the top is just has to been seen to be believed. It literally is a Garth Ennis comic brought to life.

Sure, there are some character moments here and there, like his family issues and when he tries to protect the wife and little girl of a good guy he kills accidentally. It's touching on the surface, but underneath it's just as scathing a parody as any exploding headshot. A lot of that though is just token by nature and almost seems out of place in movie where batshit brutality is the norm. Luckily it doesn't get too bogged down with it.

The cop subplot is well done and the bad guys are just so over the top maniacal you just can't get enough. Obviously Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim eat scenery like Jaws at a kiddie pool, but Officer Soap's understated comedic performance is a really treat too.

This is a really fun, really action-packed movie that any Jason Statham shitfest couldn't match for quality if it tried. I haven't had this much fun at the movies since Iron Man.

B+ as well.

 

[Goliath]

Well, I saw it today.

It was violent. I mean, damn violent. Like, Total Recall violent.

And that was really all I expected or wanted. So I was not disappointed.

I will say, though--I finally saw Quantum of Solace right afterward, and I thought that was a much better movie.

 

[God Magnus]

This movie is stupid, mindless, ridiculously violent, has no plot, has two-dimensional characters, and pretty much has no redeeming artistic value what so ever. And I loved every second of it.

Exactly how I felt. I loved it. The audience I saw it with couldn't stop laughing. This movie is so over the top it just makes you laugh. The base jumper getting killed was freaking hilarious, and the sheer amount of gore was so silly it was great. I might go see this one again just for the sheer mindlessness of it.