Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Genre

Action | Crime | Drama

Director

Lexi Alexander

Country

USA | Canada | Germany

Cast

Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Julie Benz, Colin Salmon, Doug Hutchison, Dash Mihok, Wayne Knight, Romano Orzari, Stephanie Janusauskas, Larry Day, Ron Lea, Tony Calabretta, T.J. Storm, Mark Camacho, Keram Malicki-Sánchez, David Vadim, Aubert Pallascio, Bjanka Murgel

Storyline

After his family was killed by criminals, ex-military man Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson) became a vigilante known as the Punisher. After hunting down and killing hundreds of criminals for the past five years, he faces his most deadly foe yet: Jigsaw (Dominic West).

Opinion

As I said three weeks ago, I am a fan of the Punisher, and as I said back then, I have been completely shocked by how bad this film turned out to be, considering Green Street's Lexi Alexander made it. 

Action packed, Punisher: War Zone is still extremely violent - apparently brutality and blood is what the audience wants -, tedious, and definitely does not justice to the great comic book.

The result is pretty much the same, and since two different version of the Punisher is what we are dealing with, it comes natural to compare the 2004 film to this one. In this one there isn't much of a backstory, but at least it is faithful to the comic book, and I really appreciated that. Besides this, I struggled to find something else good in this film.

Silly, and lacking in logic, the plot is probably the worst thing about the film. But I guess tons of people will watch this for the action, and violence, so I won't spend much time on this. 

Another major issue concerns the Punisher's character. He is portrayed as a violent and ruthless man, not an avenger, and the last scene proves it. What kind of "good" man blows up somebody's brain just because he tried to rob his friend's wallet? That's just going around killing people, not getting rid of organised crime. 

Ray Stevenson was the perfect  casting as Frank Castle aka the Punisher. He perfectly fits the role, and he definitely is a way better Punisher than Thomas Jane. Dominic West also is pretty good as Jigsaw, but he could have done better in some scenes.

Green Street (2005)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Sport

Director

Lexi Alexander

Country

USA| UK

Cast

Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Leo Gregory, Claire Forlani, Marc Warren, Ross McCall, Rafe Spall, Kieran Bew, Geoff Bell, James Allison, Terence Jay, Joel Beckett, Francis Pope, Christopher Hehir, David Alexander

Plot

Unjustly expelled from Harvard, Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) moves to London to live with his sister (Claire Forlani) and her husband Steve (Marc Warren). As he meet Pete (Charlie Hunnam), Steve's cocky brother, he is introduced to the violent underworld of football hooliganism.

Opinion

Critics have said everything bad they could possibly say about this film, from Elijah Wood being not credible as the tough guy to Charlie Hunnam's awful cockney accent. Good thing is I'm not a critic.

Green Street is a very emotional drama that deals with many themes: loyalty, honor, revenge, importance of family - The Major's decision to leave the GSE for the sake of his family -, and power economically strong people have - Matt being kicked out of Harvard.

The film does not glorify hooligans, it portrays them honestly. The violence is believable, realistic, and frightening. The direction and cinematography are flawless. The story manages to engage the audience immediately. The sad and mesmerizing final fight perfectly goes along with Terence Jay's song "One Blood".

The acting is spot-on. Elijah Wood is amazing, and maybe he wasn't the best choice to play a tough guy, but who cares? After all, his character wasn't that tough at the beginning. Charlie Hunnam gives a great performance.

Now, the film is violent, but there is much more than that, so if you didn't get it, I really suggest you to watch it again.

Quotes

Matt Buckner: You know the best part? It isn't knowing that your friends have your back. It's knowing that you have your friends' back.

Pete Dunham: You don't run, not when you're with us... You stand your ground and fight!

Matt Buckner: I've never lived closer to danger, but I've never felt safer. I've never felt more confident, and people could spot it from a mile away. And as for this, the violence? I gotta be honest - it grew on me. Once you've taken a few punches and realize you're not made of glass, you don't feel alive unless you're pushing yourself as far as you can go.