Ray Stevenson Stars in Punisher: War Zone
A Fun, But Somewhat Unsatisfying New Marvel Movie
Dec 11, 2008
In a new attempt at making a Punisher film (War Zone was preceded most recently in 2004), Frank Castle returns to face his most villainous enemy yet – Jigsaw. The result is somewhat “comical,” while remaining extremely dark and violent.
The Synopsis
Frank Castle (played by Ray Stevenson) is a vigilante, a “hero” who earns his title by killing off criminals, specifically members of crime families. On a mission to rid the city of the Russoti family, he almost murders mob boss Billy Russoti (Dominic West), and in the meantime accidentally shoots and kills an undercover FBI agent.
As a result of this murder, Castle considers retirement from his career, but Billy Russoti is not dead. He is, in fact, back in action after being horribly disfigured by his near death – his face has been rebuilt using random pieces of available flesh and there are scars all over his face. He has become the comic book villain, Jigsaw, and he is seeking revenge on Frank Castle by attacking the source of his guilt – the wife and child of the mistakenly murdered FBI agent.
It is eventually revealed that Frank Castle became the Punisher after his own family – his wife and two children – were unknowingly witnesses of a mob murder, and were therefore murdered to keep them quiet. Castle was the sole survivor of this horrendous family massacre, and from that point on vowed to get revenge on mob families.
This time, the Punisher has to face his most difficult rival – Jigsaw – who has recruited not only his lunatic brother, Loony Bin Jim (Doug Hutchison), but also an entire army of gang members from various backgrounds to help him reach his goal: to kill Frank Castle.
The Verdict
While Punisher: War Zone was a fun ride, it felt more than slightly unbalanced in more than one way. The first, and most noticeable, was the movie’s extreme violence – with more blood and exploding heads than any horror movie could offer – which was oddly matched with the quite bizarre humour of Jigsaw.
Jigsaw’s blatant sarcasm and his penchant for ill-fitting, crushed velvet suits were hilarious, but didn’t seem to fit with the darkness of the rest of the film. And although his odd personality may not strike the everyday viewer as strange, it is certainly a significant shift from his persona in the original Marvel comics, which portray him as a very dark, very scheming, yet charismatic crime boss.
Also lacking from the film was a sense of completion when it came to each character’s storyline. There are so many characters introduced who seem to have much more complex and interesting histories than the audience is ever able to grasp. Even Frank Castle’s history is revealed so quickly that you barely have a chance to understand and appreciate it before the movie is coming to a close. You get the feeling, watching Punisher, that the story used for this one film could have been split in two and made much more satisfying.
Despite these shortcomings, the film is well cast. Ray Stevenson does an excellent job as Frank Castle – he is old enough to look like he has been through a hard life, but handsome enough to capture the audience’s attention. He is tough enough to be believable as a comic book hero, but also sensitive enough to be believable as a loving father with a terrible family secret. And ultimately, you can’t help but care, which is perhaps the most important achievement of any story.
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