Punisher: War Zone (2008)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Lexi Alexander

Writers (WGA):

Nick Santora (written by) and
Art Marcum (written by) ...

Release Date:

5 December 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Vengeance has a name.

Plot:

After hunting down and killing hundreds of violent criminals, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, faces his most deadly foe yet: Jigsaw. |

Plot Keywords:

Woman's Neck Broken | One Man Army | Wall Safe | Decapitation | Fire Fight

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ray Stevenson	...	Frank Castle
Dominic West	...	Billy / Jigsaw
Doug Hutchison	...	Loony Bin Jim
Colin Salmon	...	Paul Budiansky
Wayne Knight	...	Micro
Dash Mihok	...	Martin Soap
Julie Benz	...	Angela
Stephanie Janusauskas	...	Grace
Mark Camacho	...	Pittsy
Romano Orzari	...	Nicky
Keram Malicki-Sánchez	...	Ink
Larry Day	...	Agent Miller
Ron Lea	...	Captain Ross
Tony Calabretta	...	Saffiotti
T.J. Storm	...	Maginty

Also Known As:

The Punisher 2 (USA) (working title)
The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (USA) (working title)
The Untitled Punisher Sequel (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA | Canada | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:18 | Singapore:M18 | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Australia:MA | Malaysia:18SG | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Mexico:C | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 | New Zealand:R18 | Netherlands:16 | USA:R (certificate #44752)

Filming Locations:

Brossard, Québec, Canada

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

After the release of The Punisher (2004), a sequel came in development. Both Thomas Jane (The 2004 Punisher) and director of the 2004 version Jonathan Hensleigh had been interested in doing it. The sequel had been in writing stages for three years. By that time, both of them left the project, Jane stated, "What I won't do is spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don't believe in." After they left, Lionsgate brought in director Lexi Alexander and actor Ray Stevenson and decided to reboot the movie from the 2004 version.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The subway trains seen underground are Montreal Metro trains, not New York subway trains.

Quotes:

Loony Bin Jim: [during their fight, Jim kicks the Punisher in the groin] Won't be replacing that son of yours anytime soon.
[hits the Punisher in the kidneys]
Loony Bin Jim: Blood in the urine: an early indicator of kidney failure.
[punches the Punisher multiple times and kicks him in the face]
Loony Bin Jim: You should be seeing double right about now.
[kicks the Punisher's knee]
Loony Bin Jim: That would be a torn mensicus.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Miss March/Race to Witch Mountain/Sunshine Cleaning (#1.3)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Let's Get Away

A movie for the fans, not the critics

Just came back from watching the movie and I was definitely pleased. 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 glance

Pros: Unapologetically Punisher Level Brutality Stevenson is a compelling Frank Castle Movie pacing is great

Cons: Cliché accents Could have used some more dialogue from Frank

Overall: 8/10

Bottom Line: If you are a punisher fan, you're in for a blast