Punisher: War Zone - Saw it last night.

[mrbook]

I have to say, I wasn't expecting much at all, and I was still disappointed.

First of all, I think Ray Stevenson is PERFECT as the Punisher. The guy is almost the spitting image of Tim Bradstreet's art. He also has that brooding intensity that I think is required for the role. As someone else mentioned, he also looks like he could snap Tom Jane and Dolph Lundgren in half. That being said, the movie didn't give him anything to do BUT brood intensely and shoot people. Funny thing is, if that's all the movie was, I'd be fine with it. If you can't make a dramatically moving, cohesive Punisher movie, just make it HARDCORE BALLS TO THE WALL ACTION. It wasn't even that. If you're going to make a Punisher movie, show him PUNISHING people! The few scenes that were in the movie were entertaining (especially a moment that involves parkour and a bazooka) but there werent enough of them.

Certain reviews that I had read, said that this was filled with gory, over-the-top action that would be perfect for drunken midnight screenings. With that in mind, my buddy and I had a few drinks, then strolled on over to the theatre, ready to see a so-bad-it's-good movie. The movie probably has three action set pieces that really don't last that long, and the rest of the flick is peppered with action moments. If you've seen the R-Rated trailer, you've pretty much seen the good stuff.

I'm still not sure about what to make of Dominic West's performance as Jigsaw. SO over the top. In an interview, he pretty much said he's doing Tony Soprano. His Bronx accent was so cartoony, I half expected him to throw in a "BADA BING, BADA BOOM! FUGGETABBOUDIT!" I like Julie Benz, but the first time she opened her mouth, the audience started laughing. The best acting probably came from Wayne Knight and Ray Stevenson.

I might like this flick better on a second viewing, which is what happened to me with the '04 version (even though I still think it's crap). But I definitely will wait for DVD.

Unless this movie makes a ton of cash this weekend, it'll probably be the nail in the coffin for any future Punisher flicks.

[wakuseibaka]

I thought it was one of the best comedies of the year. Pretty much everything was laughably bad and I did laugh a lot.

I thought the Thomas Jane one was much better although not great.

[mrbook]

I thought it was one of the best comedies of the year. Pretty much everything was laughably bad and I did laugh a lot.

I thought the Thomas Jane one was much better although not great.

See, I watched it, expecting it to be laughably bad, but I barely found it to even be that. The funniest thing was probably the violence. Maybe there ARE benefits to being sober when watching a bad movie!

[dethklokrulz]

I'm a faithful reader of the books, and I must say that this was an amazing translation of the source material. Ray was the perfect Punisher. It's as if he tapped into my imagination of the character and played it to a T. Lexi Alexander captured the look of the book, the essence of the characters, and the intensity that is the Punisher. She truly got it, where others couldn't. As a fan I would thank her for brining the world of the Punisher i've been reading about for years to life.

[esophagus]

This was awful. Good acting, some fatal writing mistakes.

[jerenisugly]

Funniest part of the movie: The Punisher shoots 25 people in the head and then tells Julie Benz that you aim for the body, not the head.

[esophagus]

Funniest part of the movie: The Punisher shoots 25 people in the head and then tells Julie Benz that you aim for the body, not the head.I beliebe you're forgetting the scenes where the punisher makes a man explode while he does parkour, and the one where the punisher punches a guy and his hand goes straight through his skull. Those were pretty funny.

Also the scenes where the emotionally void Punisher cried, where LBJ ran into mirrors for kicks, and every other scene in this terrible terrible movie.

Definite contender for worst movie of '08.

[lik]

hmm, sounds disappointing. they should've had Garth Ennis write the script or something.

[esophagus]

This had troubles even before it came out, and now it has totally flopped, so I'm guessing Lionsgate won't want a new one. Hopefully in a few years the contract will reset and maybe Marvel Studios can do something with him, since they're obviously better at doing their own movies. He won't be able to show up in his own movie after this and the Thomas Jane ones, but maybe they can give him a good cameo to ease people into accepting him as a quality character.

[scoobydiesel]

was it better then Max Payne? i hated MP. and i had some hope that this would be a bit better. but not by much.

[denmmurray]

was it better then Max Payne? i hated MP. and i had some hope that this would be a bit better. but not by much.

Think of every bad movie that's ever been made. Now, poop on that pile of movies, then light it on fire, then got get Bruce Vilanch to write a tag line for those movies...and it would still be worse than all of those.

[esophagus]

was it better then Max Payne? i hated MP. and i had some hope that this would be a bit better. but not by much.Nope. Ray Stephensen and a few other cast members deserve a full 5 stars for this film, but despite that I gave it 0 stars. The story is that bad.

[denmmurray]

Nope. Ray Stephensen and a few other cast members deserve a full 5 stars for this film, but despite that I gave it 0 stars. The story is that bad.

See, that makes me sad...I want someone to come in and get all of those actors and just remake the punisher movie with David Fincher directing.

[mrbook]

I would still rather watch PWZ than Batman & Robin. That's pretty much the bottom of the barrel for me.