Punisher War Zone

[preacher]

I know there is another thread relating to this somewhere, but I can't find it.

Anywho.

Well, Ray Stephenson was a great Punisher. Thomas Jane just wasn't menacing enough.

This new punisher is all about kicking *** and then more ***. There are some great scenes where the Punisher's viciousness really shines. Over the top bloodletting that hasn't been scene in a marvel movie since the first Blade.

Unfortunately, the Ying to the Punisher's Yang was rediculous. The Jigsaw was intended to be like the Joker. But Dominique West, and his stupid New York accent was just annoying. Not the least bit threatening. Jigsaw is a nasty SOB in the comics. His imagining in the movie is awful. The director is to blame. When Jigsaw is revealed he is watching an infomercial for some eco friendly cleaning product. The graphics on the commercial show the earth as jigsaw puzzle. five minutes later, Dominique is sitting in his driver's car, and his driver asks him "So eh Jimmy where youze want to go eh?" And Jimmy (aka Jigsaw) proclaims in his uber annoying New Yowka accent. "Jimmy is dead. You needs ta start coaling me Jigsaw. And we are going to get my money." I laughed at the stupidity.

I blame the director. He made some pretty stupid decisions. The tone of the movie was intense until the main villain makes an appearance. Then it just takes a nose dive into cheeseville. I can't strees enough how laughable his accent was. So fake. Stallone would have sounded better. Jigsaw and Punisher's story is personal in the comics. Here, they don't even meet each other until the very end of the movie at the moment Punisher kicks his *** skewers him in the side with a pipe shaft and kicks him into a hearth. Yawn.

[Rocketboy]

Marvel's first true bomb with a sad $4 million opening weekend (about 25% of the 2004 Punisher's opening weekend).
I am a huge Punisher fan and don't care in the slightest to see this turd. There has been absolutely nothing about this film that has piqued my interest.
And based on every review I've read, I'm glad I've skipped it. They all say the movie is beyond bad. Everything from the story to the acting to the violence is terrible, especially the acting (too much of Stevenson's Irish accent leaks out and what was mentioned above about Jigsaw).

Well, Ray Stephenson was a great Punisher. Thomas Jane just wasn't menacing enough.

I thought Jane was perfect as Castle. Stevenson looks too much like a Steven Segal type.

I blame the director. He made some pretty stupid decisions.

She. Lexi Alexander was the director. Thats what happens when you let a woman direct.

I'm one of the few (online at least) that love the '04 Punisher. One of my favorites. I see its flaws (Travolta and the Florida setting mainly), but I still think that Jane more than made up for them. I had such high hopes for this movie until Jane dropped out, saying he didn't want to be involoved in something felt was going in the wrong direction.

I really hate seeing my favorite character like this. So much potential wasted in the wrong hands has probably killed the cinematic future of Frank Castle.
I really wish/think someone like HBO could have made The Punisher into an amazing tv series with a small group of characters and storylines that could continue for a 13 episode season.

[JetsAndHeels]

I also liked the 04 Punisher...however I have to say I enjoyed War Zone also.

I'm a Superman fan first and foremost, but I also read the Punisher comics and I think War Zone did a pretty good job of capturing the raw carnage that he leaves behind.

They are both good films IMO. If you want more substance with the human side of The Punisher thrown in, the 04 version has that. If you want blood, gore, and body parts, War Zone has that.

[El Chuxter]

I bet it did poorly because the trailers simply looked bad, and all the buzz about firing the director (or whatever) at the last minute made it sound worse. You wouldn't buy a ShamWow if it were Billy Mays hawking it instead of Vince Offer, would you? And no one wanted to see moron Punisher in an armored turtleneck, either.

[Slicker]

I too enjoyed the '04 Punisher. I've only heard bad things about this one and doubt that I'll see it. I wish they would've brought Jane and Travolta back (Travolta only to keep the actor continuity going) as a sequel.

[LTBasker]

I've never read a single Punisher comic despite having access to the complete War Journal series, however I immensely enjoyed the Thomas Jane Punisher movie. I felt that it dealt very well with the psychology of the impact of his entire family being mercilessly gunned down. No one-liners, no hostages, no compromises; they were just gunned down. I felt Tom Jane and the Director seemed to have the proper mindset of how a trained special forces operative may react; cold and calculating.

The trailers alone have alienated me from that Punisher, and instead plagued my mind with a "Punisher" that gratuitously hangs upside from a chandelier to spin around while aimlessly firing more rounds than his mags are realistically capable of holding. What tactical advantage could this possibly give him? Despite technically moving he is still a stationary target.

The reports of the more gruesomeness of the movie doesn't help either. The Thomas Jane Punisher had some pretty brutal parts without requiring gore, such as the old guy getting the knife through the jaw into his brain. This happened as one would expect it to from a well-trained killer; quickly and without gratuity. War Zone's increased amount of action simply sounds what you would expect from a video game movie, not a serious movie with a true motivation.

Of course, the Thomas Jane movie wasn't without it's faults; John Travolta was the worst possible casting decision. His best villainy acting was Face/Off, and even that is quite disappointing in several scenes. One thing that could have lured me into seeing War Zone, however, would have been if it had been Saint's son to become Jigsaw. It was a very interesting and brutal (without requiring gratuity) demise, as well as Jigsaw's actual origin from what I've read.

Besides. Tom Jane just wants his kids back.

[Rocketboy]

I wish they would've brought Jane and Travolta back (Travolta only to keep the actor continuity going) as a sequel.

That would've been pretty tough, considering Howard Saint died.

I thought Saint's number two Quentin Glass (Will Patton) was the better bad guy in the movie.

[Slicker]

That would've been pretty tough, considering Howard Saint died.

For some reason I just figured that he lived through it. I guess I'm a tard.

[LTBasker]

He got through two bombs, shot, then dragged through fire and suffered yet another bomb. I suppose if he can still get work after his career went through that then his character can survive it too.

[OC47150]

I'm a Punisher fan, and enjoyed the '04 version, too. I haven't seen War Zone yet but want to.

I think War Zone was: 1) released at the wrong time of year. It should've came out in the spring or summer, which, at one time, I think it was scheduled to but was bumped back; and 2) marketed wrong. I didn't see Hulk or Batman this summer but I did see Iron Man and that would've been the perfect movie to have a PWZ trailer.

Just my two cents.