Punisher: War Zone

The best of the Punisher movies with a weak last act

The Punisher first appeared in the Spider-Man comic in February, 1974, and became a semi-regular foe/ally in that mag, but was more apt to appear in Daredevil in the 80s until the character got his own mini-series in 1986 and then his ongoing titles: The Punisher (1987), The Punisher War Journal (1988) and The Punisher War Zone (1992). The character was so popular at the time that he inspired a black & white magazine as well (1989).

The reason The Punisher was and continues to be so popular is because he's essentially an over-the-top version of "Dirty Harry" and "Deathwish": Frank Castle's family is killed by the mob while on a picnic in Central Park and so he declares war on ...

To be fair, Punisher: War Zone is the most accurate representation of the comic we've had to date. The gore, extreme violence, and borderline sadism is very much a part of the comic. Ray Stevenson is spot on as Frank Castle. Dominic West is not so good as Jigsaw but at least his gang is more competent than Travolta's.

Given that this came out in the same year as two other big comic book movies, there is one big thing that Punisher: War Zone contributes: proof that a female director can make an unforgivingly cruel but kick ass action flick, so I don't understand how more of them aren't being given the opportunity to do so.