The premature death of Ray Stevenson leads us to review his recent presence in film and television and among his projects is a rarely seen sequel to the weak film version of ‘The Punisher’ (2004), which despite not to be released in theaters in Spain. ‘War Zone’ is the closest thing Marvel’s violent vigilante has ever had to his original source. Fortunately it is on Netflix to remember why even 15 years later it has been revalued
The tendency is to consider the series ‘The Punisher’, which was originally produced by Netflix, as the canonical version of the character, offering a nuanced and compelling counterpoint for aa character whose nature is brutal and remorseless, as seen in the second season of ‘Daredevil’. Jon Bernthal is the fourth actor to assume the character and, for some, the definitive one, but it is impossible not to think that he has adulterated a bit when in his first season he ends up in a meeting of “assassins anonymous”.
A key element in the essence of Frank Castle is his belief in himself as an unwavering arm of justice, the sauce of the protagonist of the comic series originating from Gerry Conway, Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. The golden era of the collection would arrive with the Max line and the tremendous reinterpretation of the screenwriter Garth Ennis, who conceived a masterpiece in his time as its screenwriter. From that moment there have been several attempts to get closer to his mix of corrosive humor, eighties macarrisma and depth of plots and character.
The Marvel character emerged as a cartoon exploitation of the figure of the vigilante and the only adaptation at the height of its best stage has been the sequel to the film by Thomas Jane, an actor who worked reasonably well, especially in the short ‘Dirty Laundry’. The one from the 80s is fun and aligns with the spirit of Cannon cinema that is implicit in the Charles Bronson films that continued the idea of an outlaw that the comic reflected. But if I had to pick one, it would have to be this little gem in Lionsgate, queen of this type of medium-sized productions that adapt with the commitment to violence first and the budget later.
The best Punisher of cinema and television
The consequence is that many of their products became very difficult to release in the cinema, although they have changed the trend with their commitment to ‘John Wick’, and with attempts such as their violent and hilarious ‘Hellboy’, they demonstrate why these proposals remained in no man’s land with bills that are well above products for the video or direct-to-vod market. ‘Punisher 2: war zone’ was one of those productions released directly on the video market, but in return he had no problems or censorship to raise the tonethe spirit is the same as the first Wick, even with some similar color palette.
The consequence were wild, hemoglobinic, amoral and hilarious movies like this Kaffir fantasy in which the least it offers us is to see Frank Castle playing skeet shooting with a bazooka and a retail dealer instead of crockery. A wild view of what Marvel can give of itself that could fit with what a Max line offered, something that under the mantle of Disney is absolutely ruled out. That is why the versions of the character that we see in his new Daredevil will be a sterilized vision of Castle, chewed up so that it does not clash on Disney +.
In this version, the Punisher is a mix of Travis Bickle and Rambo.. Castle’s barbaric ways are recreated with very, very wild gore. Face-shattering punches and gunshots, villains shredded in shredders, and of course, hundreds of tacos. In addition, he is measured against Jigsaw (Dominic West), one of the most notorious archenemies of mythology, here a very bad bad guy who seems to have come out of the Texas massacre and fits with the torture porn aesthetic that was still living its heyday in the cinema. Also, the advantage of being a “sequel” (although in any other situation it would be seen as a reboot) is that it avoids retelling Castle’s story.
Amoral, bloody and without justifications Marvel Cinema
Just a few flashbacks serve to put us back right in the middle of his bloody crusade against gangsters and criminals, although he respects the character’s origins more faithfully and uses a plot line quite in line with many comics. Ray Stevenson’s Castle may not be very nuanced, but it does achieve the most faithful recreation of certain aspects of the character, probably the most important ones. Even their promotional images are reminiscent of Tim Bradstreet’s covers.
All the general aesthetic of the film is a bloody caricature and it approaches comic book logic with exaggeration and savagery that has an implicit sense of humor, but doesn’t try to be above the material. Guys blown up in full jump, heads smashed and incredible shootings that, in general, make it one of the adaptations of the sequential medium to the cinema with less fear of being implausible or simple. She may seem campy, but she’s actually proud of her excesses and her sweeping cheekiness.
His Castle is a cartoon, a great, amoral fantasy that does not try to justify him at any time. The script by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Nick Santora reduces the dimensions of the character to his essence, and does not try to make him “evolve”. A hilarious orgy of blood and mutilation with a basic moralistic background that hides nothing when we look under the stereotypes of the snitching friend or the confronting policemen, a pure exercise in brutality that is increasingly made up with humor or aesthetic alibis and that’s it has become a bit of a cult piece to do a double bill with ‘Dreddy’ (2012). Pure magic to watch over and over again.
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