Punisher: War Zone

Punisher: War Zone (2008)

26% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 99 reviews)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Lexi Alexander

Starring: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchinson, Julie Benz

From: Lionsgate

Here's a movie that I saw once on the big screen and then once at a drive-in; finally I watched it on Blu-Ray via a cheap disc I bought from Blockbuster. I haven't reviewed the highly unpleasant and just poorly made '04 Punisher movie; however I did review the original '89 Punisher with Dolph Lundgren that I say doesn't get the credit it deserves; I couldn't care less about the original comic book character and how it is accurate to the story and all that crap. I say it's a fun and entertaining movie.

As for this Punisher film, it's rather over the top and wacky, but it's unforgettable and I can't help but be entertained by it. After seeing it again, my opinion hasn't changed.

The story is that the Punisher (Stevenson) is facing doubts about his line of work as the guy who wipes out the bad guys in New York City while Jigsaw (West) and his brother Loony Bin Jim (Hutchinson) rise to power and cause headaches. Frank Castle also has to deal with a lady (Benz) and her young daughter.

Like I said, the movie is over the top and wacky; just look at the scene involving some people during parkour and how Castle deals with those sorts of people for how the tone of the movie is. Also, the scene where Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim recruit bad guys to their cause as if it was a recruitment video for the U.S. Army... pretty over the top. Yet, despite the mix of wackiness throughout and graphic violence and situations, I thought it worked and despite me not being a comic book guy, I thought it worked. The action scenes are well-done and you can make out what's going on, something that sadly isn't as common as it used to be. Plus, I liked how the movie was colored; what I mean is that there are a lot of yellow and blue lights, and they're used effectively to give things a nice look.

So of course this was something that most people did not care for, at least given the critic reviews and how poorly it did at the box office; barely making more than 10 million worldwide, that's not good for a movie with a 35 million dollar budget. It's a shame that it did poor at the box office and there were many problems between director Alexander and Lionsgate while the movie was made. It at least is already developing a cult following for being wacky yet great entertainment.

I'll be back Tuesday night.