Punisher: War Zone
I should begin by saying I'm a huge fan of ultra-violence and bad guys getting shot, stabbed, burned and shot again. I saw DEATH WISH as a kid and it stuck. Some of this can be blamed on what a friend described once as a "headful of bad wiring" and the rest could possibly be caused by growing up in a crime filled cesspool like New Orleans. I don't count Westwego in that generalization. So, I love the Punisher and I loved PUNISHER: WAR ZONE. It's stupidly violent, fast paced and delivers what it promises. In other words, it's exactly what it should be. But I know I am in the minority for my love of this flick. Let's see what Mr. Canacorn had to say:
So, I watched Punisher: War Zone…I thought the acting was horrible, the story was lame, and there wasn't enough of this:
(By this he means violence, he goes on to say...)
Ray Stevenson was good, though…and he looks like Bwana…which was kind of weird.
But i'm gonna go easy on Canacorn because he's on his fourth marriage, drinks a lot but is good to his dear mother and he mows his own yard.
I get what he's saying about the acting; some is over the top but it suits the movie and is very much in the spirit of the comic book. As far as not violent enough...hmmm. By the nine minute mark the Punisher has cut a old guy in a wheelchair's throat, snapped his wife's neck, stabbed a guy through the top of his head, thrown a knife into a guy's forehead, shot an assload of guys, kicked glass shards into another guy's face, ruined a dinner and I think he broke another guy's back. A few minutes later he drops a guy into a recycling glass crusher. So there's as much violence as you're gonna get in any r-rated American flick.
Harry Knowles also didn't like the movie because it wasn't set in the "real world" whatever the hell that is. What's "real world" about the character? He debuted in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN for fuck's sake.
Ray Stevenson makes a hell of a Punisher. He's older, weary and fed up. Like me.
The story's okay for what's needed. Basically, it's vengeance. Maybe people think that since it's essentially a gritty crime story it needs to be more realistic instead of being true to its pulp crime origins. Hell, I don't know. Personally, I don't want it to be. I always hate when people make a vigilante movie than try to hammer you over the head with that "whoever kills monsters, becomes a monster" bullshit. Way to fuck up the fun, you geniuses.
I could go on but what's the point. If you like a stylized,funny, over the top, grisly comic book type movie then you'll like PUNISHER: WAR ZONE. I want to congratulate Lexi Alexander who took some undeserved shit from the douchey fan boys. You did a good job.
