Punisher: War Zone
Tags: neo noir, murder, violence, flashback, insanity, revenge

Plot synopsis:
Frank Castle, who has been the Punisher for five years, assaults a party for mob boss Gaitano Cesare, and kills him and the guests. Billy "The Beaut" Russotti escapes to his recycling plant hideout, and Detectives Martin Soap and Saffiotti, who were staking out the party, inform Castle. Castle infiltrates Russoti's hideout, and after a brief firefight, Russoti is thrown into a glass-crushing machine that leaves him hideously disfigured. Russoti later refers to himself as "Jigsaw" because the stitches in his face resemble puzzle pieces. Castle, who takes cover behind the body of Nicky Donatelli, discovers that Donatelli was actually an undercover agent.
Agent Paul Budiansky, the deceased agent's partner, joins the NYPD's "Punisher Task Force", partnering with Soap to help bring Castle to justice. Meanwhile, Jigsaw frees his deranged and cannibalistic brother, "Loony Bin Jim".
Distraught over killing the agent, Castle attempts to make reparations to Donatelli's wife, Angela, and daughter, Grace, to no avail. Castle threatens to retire from the vigilante business, but his armorer, Microchip, forces him to reconsider, telling him Jigsaw will go after Donatelli's family for revenge.
Jigsaw, Loony Bin Jim, and two goons, Ink and Pittsy, break into Donatelli's house and hold the family hostage. The Punisher tracks down Maginty, a known associate of Jigsaw, executing him after extracting the information before being apprehended by Budiansky and Soap. Castle tells him Jigsaw went after Donatelli's family, and Budiansky sends a police car to check on the Donatelli house, intending to turn the Punisher in. When the patrol car fails to respond, Budiansky checks on the house, where he is captured by Ink and Pittsy. Soap frees the Punisher, who kills Ink and Pittsy before leading Donatelli's wife and daughter away. Budiansky then arrests Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim after a short gunfight.
Jigsaw and his brother bargain with the FBI for their release by giving up Cristu Bulat, who was smuggling in a biological weapon destined for Arab terrorists in Queens, New York. The brothers are granted immunity, plus the US$12 million Bulat was paying to use Jigsaw's port, and a file on Micro. They take Micro hostage, killing his mother in the process. They once again take the Donatellis hostage, after critically injuring Micro's associate Carlos, whom Castle had left to protect them. Castle later arrives at the hideout, and euthanizes Carlos. Jigsaw sets himself up in the Bradstreet Hotel, putting together a small army of gangsters who want to see the Punisher dead. Castle enlists the help of Budiansky, who informs Cristu's father, Tiberiu Bulat, where Jigsaw is located. Tiberiu's goons start a shootout in the hotel lobby, affording Castle a distraction.
Castle enters through a second-floor window, leading to a firefight with Jigsaw's hired guns. Afterward, Castle engages Loony Bin Jim in hand-to-hand combat; realizing he will probably not survive the brawl, Jim runs away. Castle chases him and confronts both him and Jigsaw, who are holding Micro and Grace Donatelli at gunpoint. Jigsaw gives Castle a choice: If Frank shoots Micro, Jigsaw will let the others go free. Micro bravely offers his life to save the girl, but Castle chooses to shoot Loony Bin Jim instead. As a result, Jigsaw kills Micro. Enraged by the loss of his partner, Castle attacks Jigsaw, eventually impaling him with a metal rod and throwing him onto a fire. As Jigsaw burns to death, Castle calmly tells him, "This is just the beginning." Outside, Angela forgives Castle, who bids farewell to Budiansky and the Donatelli family. As Castle and Soap leave together, Soap tries to convince Castle to give up his vigilante status after having "killed every criminal in town." Soap changes his mind when he is held up by a murderous mugger who quickly becomes another victim of the Punisher.

Review: This movie is just what I wanted, and what I expected.Ray Stevenson is perfect as Frank Castle, and everyone else is at least good enough for an action movie.
I was a bit worried that I would be let down after reading some of the early reviews, my suspicious about the reviewers not understanding the character were confirmed though.Stevenson is a brilliant Frank Castle, the guy is a tank in this movie, shredding through his opposition just like a on screen manifestation of the character should.
The critics complaining about the gore prove them unfit in being tasked with stepping anywhere near the film with a pencil and paper, doling out stars or thumbs.While Im afraid the film will not get the critical recognition it deserves, with the majority of critics not understanding the character, I as a fan of Castle say I'm thoroughly pleased by the work the entire cast and crew have put forth.While I agree that the movie was loyal to the source material and worth my dollars, there was one main area I think should have been retooled.Jigsaw and Jim's accent is over the top, and in the end took away from the character, especially in the case of Jim.At a glancePros: Unapologetically Punisher Level Brutality Stevenson is a compelling Frank Castle Movie pacing is greatCons: Cliché accents Could have used some more dialogue from FrankOverall: 8/10Bottom Line: If you are a punisher fan, you're in for a blast.
If, however, you are in the mood for just senseless violence, blood, guts, exploding heads, and a lot of cool ways to watch people die, like in Friday the 13th, then I can PROMISE you Punisher: War Zone will NOT disappoint!
The First True Punisher Film is not for People with Weak Stomachs, but Extreme Action Lovers Will have a Hell of a Good Time!.
Dominic West is good as Jigsaw, but I felt he might have hammed it up a bit in a few scenes.Lexi Alexander has made the quintessential Punisher film that dares to show you the gritty world of the Punisher without shying away from all the gore.
I can only hope that a sequel will be on the way soon.Fans of the Punisher comics and extreme action lovers will eat this up, but know that this is not a movie for kids or people who can't take a ton of gore.*** out of ****.
A good action movie that does justice to The Punisher comic book.
That movie had its own reason to be liked in that it was a brave move to bring an ultra-violent (Punisher has even used nuclear bomb to kill an otherwise unkillable villain), gory and very dark comic, which only had a cult following, to the mainstream cinema.
While that movie did not feel like a comic book adaptation at all, the story being pretty ordinary and plot being too heavy, war zone is much closer to the source material.
I was one of these people though and I was at least hoping that more would be made of the rage and loss inside Castle  but again, a few flashbacks aside, he generally just broods around the place full of vengeful justice.What carries the film then is a series of brutal action sequences and effects shots, all full of callous violence, macho posturing and gun play that rewrites all rules of the real world.
You can see it in the excess but also in the Patton reference and other silly things; all of these imply that it should be a little bit camp with the darkness (hence making it a bit more fun and accessible) but it doesn't do this and those that play to this side of it are left just looking silly in a bad way rather than a good way.Specifically West suffers from this as his comic book villain is lost in the sea of gore.
Hutchinson matches West by overplaying but again the sense of comic book madness is taken away by the gore.Punisher War Zone is a basic genre film then.
Punisher: War Zone is not the brainless action flick cash grab that I expected, in fact it rivals the 2004 version.For a start Ray Stevenson is perfectly cast as The Punisher, he looks perfect and blows Jane & even Lungren out of the water.
He thoroughly takes the role and makes it his amidst a host of great actors and characters.Extremely violent and quite loyal to the original material this is something I could have gotten behind if it had become a franchise.I'm not an action junkie, in fact I'd say it is by far one of my least favourite genres but when its done right like it is here it makes for some great entertainment.Ignore the critics and put the 2004 version aside for a moment, War Zone is a damn decent film.The Good: Remarkably violent (As it should be) Awesome soundtrack Very competent cast Ray Stevenson makes a great Punisher The Bad: Accents are hit and miss Recasting/Reebooting so soon after the last movie was a stupid move Hero is a Christian, villain is an atheist.
For me, Ray Stevenson is THE PUNISHER!!!!I like Dolph and Tom's interpretation are good (though Tom Jane's performance is more of a Taxi Driver character then a Punisher), Stevenson was the best and showed a wider range of emotion, a great voice, fighting, guns, and all together look and feel of Frank Castle.This is one of the best adaption of a comic in a long time, the back story for Frank Castle was right on target and though Jigsaw's origin is modified its a better origin.
Everyone fit perfect.The story for the movie felt like a comic book, as The Punisher takes out criminals and how Jigsaw and his brother Looney Bin Jim wants revenge makes for great entertainment.
But I do not want to spoil anything for moviegoers, if you enjoy comics, action, or revenge movies, check this one out.For all the people who reviewed this movie and either bitch about the violence or didn't like this incarnation of The Punisher had no idea about the character nor even read the comic book or didn't start reading until after the 2004 version.
One perplexing review comes from Roger Ebert, who seems to praise the film in several ways while outright damning it to the same exact two star rating he applied to the first two (far dumber and less entertaining) Punisher movies: "The Punisher: War Zone is one of the best-made bad movies I've seen.
The superb and colorful cinematography, action choreography, sound effects, score, and editing make "Punisher: War Zone" a must for (dark) comic book fans and action film junkies..
After hunting down and killing hundreds of violent criminals, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Ray Stevenson , though Thomas Jane was originally attached for the lead role, but he turned it down, stating that he thought the script was going in the wrong direction) faces his most deadly foe yet : Jigsaw (Dominic West originally passed on the villain role , Paddy Considine was in talks to play the role, when he came back and accepted to play the part) .
The huge body count racked up by Ray Stevenson/The Punisher is 81 confirmed kills, excluding the two cases where he shoots someone "on the same side." The tale bears a remarkable resemblance with Charles Bronson films of the series 'Death wish', for the matter, the vengeance,as the starring becomes a hit man and acting as a judge, jury and executioner and no better the mobsters he's pursuing .
If all you want is blood, death, violence without purpose, a thinly threaded storyline pieced together merely to get from one lame gun battle to the next you'll love this movie.If you're looking for any of the depth of character, or rich storyline of the contemporary Punisher Max books, don't waste your time with this movie, you will not find the tightly knit story telling Enis has been spoiling Punisher fans with the past few years..
I enjoy action films as much as any other but i can't take JUNK.The only two good actors were Ray Stevenson (Punisher) and Colin Salmon (Black FBI guy; he was the commando leader in Resident Evil) after that it seems every body else was picked at the streets and it shows; and the dialog seems to have been written by an 8 years older.Jesus now I understand why Thomas Jane and the original director quit the movie.And the Jigsaw guy was a joke for a villain, he acted like a retard villain from a BAD TV show.
-worst acting ever -punisher said 3 lines in the whole movie -super anticlimactic -every set looked like a warehouse -no story at all -can't even see his SKULL!!
Not to mention Punisher isn't even half this ridicules in the comics.No matter what way I look at it, I can't think of a single thing this movie did right.0/10.
Every cliché you could possibly think of is on display here.In all, I just remember feeling embarrassed for the medium of film, Comic Book Movies, the actors, and the Punisher himself.
The acting is on target--Stevenson is very affecting in the title role and West and Hutchison go WAY over the top and are clearly enjoying themselves.So this is EXTREMELY violent but a good strong action film..
"Punisher: War Zone" is a great action movie, developed in an adequate pace and with a solid story and good acting, special effects and soundtrack.
Jigsaw was good but I think audiences will subconsciously compare him to a villain in a little movie people like call The Dark Knight and find him the inferior product.
The acting wasn't great either , it was over the top stuff that i don't mind coming from a punisher movie.The writer and director were definitely Fans of the Garth Ennis Run on The Marvel Comic Punisher MAX.
I went into this with reasonably high hopes - having heard phrases such as "sickening and pointlessly violent" bandied around by reviewers stateside.For me, this is what a punisher film SHOULD be - he's not out to win the Nobel Prize, after all.I wasn't sure, however, about the lack of Thomas Jane when I heard he'd abandoned the project - thinking that Ray Stevenson wouldn't really be up to the job.
I mean, if you're insistent on having a bad guy who smokes, at least get someone who CAN smoke (ie NOT Travolta, he looks like a kid trying to be cool = FAIL)So, to sum up, I'd recommend this to fans of the Punisher comics (who will surely enjoy it) or just any action fans in general.
(can we get a body count?).If you're at all a fan of the Punisher comics, especially the later stories, you should like this film.
Ray Stevenson's portrayal of Frank Castle would have made Thomas Jane's Frank Castle and Dolph "I Must Break You" Lundgren's Frank Castle soil themselves.Someone on this site said that Lexi Alexander killed the Punisher series with this movie.
I'll keep this Simple and Clear: First REAL Punisher movie that pays big tribute to the MAX or Marvel Knights comic series.Ray's portrayal of Frank Castle matches what I envisioned in the Comics.Story was well paced, loved it, no loop holes, comedy timing was perfect, Movie flowed in full circle without leaving you feel as though something is missing.A Man's movie made by a woman!
The brutal violet Punisher shows in this one.NOT the Thomas Jane pretty boy Punisher NOT the Dolph Lundgren no action Punisher (I enjoyed Dolph Punisher 10 times better the Thomas) Ray Stevenson is the Punisher we have been waiting for IF your a fan of the comic book you won't be disappointed.
this is for me,hands down,the best Punisher movie hands down.i liked the story and there's plenty of action.also,there's no lame dialogue in this version.in fact the dialogue is kept to a minimum.but that works here.Ray Stevenson makes for A good Punisher.he seems very natural in the role.
I have to say I will remember to this movie,from this summer,it was released straight to video(DVD)here in Hungary,maybe from economical reasons,but I have to recommend this film for action,and also for horror fans,cause this is very gory,and violent.Do not see the trailer before see the film,cause this film has a little problem,with scenery,but it will not hurt you if you see the film without see the trailer before the movie.The acting,is just great in this movie,I have to say that Ray Steveson as punisher,and Dominic West as Jigsaw,they were just awesome as main characters in this movie.Maybe the story line of Julie Benz has some irritating elements,but still has an interesting one.Lexi Alexanders movie was not really successful as business,against this was a very honest,and sometimes funny the smell of real world type of a film.I will keep my eyes on these artists.Against I'am not a fan of violent films,usually I found them,this one will not disappoint most of you.7/10.
If you want to see a good Punisher movie I suggest you watch the one that came before this starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta which wasn't really that bad compared to War Zone.
If you're looking for a good comic book movie then watch The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, or Spider-man 2 because at least they're entertaining which makes them worth your time.
Punisher War Zone is another failed attempt to justice to a popular comic book character and if they do decide to do a third film lets just hope they make it a lot better than this one..
Calling himself Jigsaw he vows to do three things 1)Kill The Punisher2) retrieve the money that the FBI agent was holding for him he's convinced the Agent's Family has it.3) take over the mobs and oh yeah one little thing KILL THE PUNISHER!!!!The Agent's family is targeted by Jigsaw and when they attack them a guilt stricken Punisher shows up and saves them.Convinced that the family is now a target of Jigsaw's Castle moves them to his HQ where his operatives Microchip and Carlos watch over them while Castle goes out on the street looking for the jigsaw gang Too Bad Jigsaw and his gang find Microchip and the agent's family Jigsaw uses them as bait while he assembles a street army with one goal in mind the death of the Punisher.The movie plays out like a Punisher comic this franchise is in good hands if they decide to do a movie series with the punisher as a hero.My advice Keep Ray Stevenson on as Frank castle because he looks like the punisher and he acts like the way he's written in the books.
Most of the stuff in Punisher War Zone has been done better in other action films, but if you are really stuck for something to watch (like I was) then I would probably recommend this.
There's plenty more to go through in this movie alone.This loose sequel, reboot or remake, whatever viewers like to call it or want to believe continues the story of the Marvel anti-hero, Frank Castle AKA The Punisher.
I do hope that Lexi Alexander does more films like this one and that Ray Stevenson decides to do another Punisher film, after all if you read the comics there still is one villain left, Barracuda, check it out.
Punisher War Zone is a good, fun adaptation of the comic series, with much awesome action..
The Punisher is one of the good guys, probably the most dynamic action hero ever portrayed in a movie and although a comic-book character he has his sensitive side too.
Comic book movies have been lacking good villains lately, so it's great to see these two play off each other and go that extra mile to be truly great, and memorable, bad guys."Punisher: War Zone" seems to me to be a rare gem; not only is it an example of a superior sequel/reboot to its predecessor, but it's also a rare distinction of being a film that critics have hated, but fans have loved.
It doesn't get bogged down by trying to be cerebral and develop the characters, and the only emotional scene, if it can be deemed that way, would be very limited flashbacks as to how Frank became the vigilante Punisher.I would like to think that the strength of any comic book movie comes from the characterization of the villain(s).
He was an almost perfect casting choice for Frank Castle, meaning that were he given a half decent script and a director/screenwriters that hadn't decided to make a ridiculous comedy, I really do think that he could have made for a great portrayal of The Punisher.That aside, pretty much every other casting decision was horrible, Jigsaw and Looney bin Jim (possibly the stupidest character I've ever seen in an action movie) made me cringe every time they were on screen, until I finally gave up trying to enjoy it as a Punisher movie and just laughed at how ridiculous and campy it was, along with most of the rest of the audience.
I am not a Punisher fan but I do watch Marvel comic movies.
Doug Hutchison's portrayal of Loony Bin Jim is spot on, hitting just the right amount of crazy needed to portray the psychopath.Despite the acting not being as good as the 2004 version (which really, beyond Thomas Jane, wasn't great), the action sequences far surpass the previous Punisher films.
Especially after the good review from my coworker.Sat down to watch it with some buddies, and half an hour into the movie we were all so turned off by the bad acting from the support cast.Ray Stevenson did a great job as the Punisher and this is probably the best comic adaptation of the character.
Being a fan of the Punisher comic books, I watched this movie knowing what to expect.