Twilight: A Punisher Warzone Review

I saw the trailers for Punisher Warzone and thought, "maybe". Ray Stevenson definitely looked the part. It's rated 'R'? I'm listening. The shitty music on the red band trailer made me wish I hadn't listened though. Okay, I've decided, I want to see it. The Dolph Lundgren version had it's own campy appeal that I kinda' liked. The one with Travolta was unwatchable, absolutely horrible. Warzone has to better than both of these, right?



Well, I am very happy to report that this movie actually get's it right. Well, at least 90% right. But, come on, what'd you expect? The film opens strong with some wise guys going to a mob boss's party to get paid for a job. Enter Frank Castle. Just in the first 5 minutes alone we get 20-30 bodies and a decapitation and some dude getting the leg of a chair shoved through his eye-hole. FINALLY! There are some very minimal flashbacks for the mentally retarded who just happened to wander aimlessly into this theater and have no idea who this guy is and why he is pissed? The script, while also minimal, is full of cliche and it really feels like they are aware of this and move right past it to get to the next action set piece.

I haven't read a shit-ton of Punisher comics, but I read quite a few back in my day, including the Nomad crossover. [Good stuff] What always made me drool over those comics was the loving attention given to Frank's arsenal. Shit, they even make comics devoted ENTIRELY to this. Just page after page of guns and rocket launchers and knives! It's a young boy's porn. Punisher Warzone seems to understand this and there are so many brillianty framed shots of wall after wall of guns and more guns followed with more shot's of Frank loading these guns. It's great! Couple that with the fact we ACTUALLY get to see him use this shit and not just some quick flashes of gunfire and cutaways and epileptic seizures so common in film today. If he's going to shoot someone in the face with a shotgun, we actually get to see it! A concept I thought died with the 80's. I am only partly familiar with the film's nemesis "Jigsaw". I couldn't help seeing all the similarities to the Joker, but who cares? They pulled off an over-the-top comic villain with dashes of humor pretty well. The story is really simple. Frank is obsessed with setting things right after accidentally shooting an undercover agent while cleaning up some mob trash. He stalks the widow, tries to give her money and eventually is forced to protect her just as he's about to give up on the vigilante business. His new nemesis, hellbent on the Punisher's demise recruits every thug in town to make this happen. This means a body count through the roof when all is said and done. Punisher is mean and competent and doesn't flinch at pain. Imagine if Bear Gryll's family was murdered and you have a pretty good idea of Frank's killing expertise.

P:W was obviously, not without it's flaws. There are a few scenes with some really awful nu-metal music playing...so you know just how XTREME these guy's are. But those moments are thankfully, few and far between. In the end, this film does what I wanted it to: It's a fun comic romp that captures the attitude and look of Frank Castle perfectly and quickly sets up an arena for him to kill as many criminals for me, the viewer, as possible in 107 minutes.

Oh, I almost forgot. Why the title referring to Twilight? Well, as soon as my ticket was torn and I am heading to my seat, I glance down and they had actually sold me a Twilight ticket! So, not only is P:W not doing well at the box office, but now, because of some teenager not paying attention, I am somehow partly responsible! Great. Thanks Twilight, not only are you ruining Vampires but you cost me a sequel to a good movie. [yes, my ONE ticket was the key to this film's sequel]