The Punisher on Netflix had two seasons to tell his story, while also originally branching off of the highly successful Daredevil series from the streaming provider. Now in anticipation of the release of the brand new Spider-Man movie, Brand New Day and his appearance within it, Disney+ has released a one-shot movie of his escapades. Have you been a big fan of his series, and two season appearances and the original Daredevil and the brand new Daredevil Born Again series? We jumped at the chance to review it.
As always, we break down our reviews into the categories of story, acting, and overall. So let’s take aim and jump on it.
Story 4/10
While the story is supposed to take place, I’m imagining, after the events of the first season of Daredevil Born Again, it feels quite disconnected from it. Within the story. Frank Castle has killed the very last member of the mob organization that murdered his family and now has nothing else to fight for, no more vengeance to seek, and just sits in wallows in his PTSD and trauma.
He is blind to the suffering of those around him as he is incredibly lost within himself. However, a figure, Ma Gnucci, comes out of the shadows and what they start off as an attempt to eliminate the anti-hero, ends up being the reason he returns to the world to help those in need.
Ma Gnucci, being the actual last survivor, but not specifically responsible for the death of Frank Castle’s family, has lost her family at the hands of the vigilante. So to enact revenge, she calls forth a huge bounty upon Frank Castle only giving the desperate and violent, of New York, the general area of Frank Castle. What befalls this neighborhood is utter chaos as murder, mayhem, and explosions rock the streets and department complex that Frank lives in.
As he makes his way through the carnage, he’s forced to turn from his anger to help those in need and it reinvigorates Frank Castle’s desire to help those in need.
It’s a short, but self-contained story, and it definitely does a lot of work to take Frank Castle from the mood and energy of the first season of Daredevil Born Again and transform him into the character he will be in the new film: Spider-Man Brand New Day.
Acting 8/10
There are a few actors of note to mention in the movie, as it is incredibly short, Dónall Ó Héalaí who plays the local bully is very good at being hated and it doesn’t hurt that his actions are incredibly heinous. Dre, who plays the father of a little girl, performed by Andre Royo, does a wonderful job at conveying his character and affection for his community. At the end of the day they’re really only two characters that are more defined and take up the most screen time. That would be Ma Gnucci and Frank Castle.
Ma Gnucci, played by Judith Light, looks a lot like the character from the comic books, and really portrays her emotions and intensity very well on the very limited amount of screentime she has within the short. Within this one shot she created a wonderful and interesting villain and in such an incredibly short amount of time.
Frank Castle, and more specifically Jon Bernthal, navigates a hellscape of emotions and PTSD. Bernthal does a pretty good job, if not in some parts a little bit over the top. But all in all a good presentation of the character in a much darker tone, then Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken with him over the years.
Overall 6/10
If you’re looking for a Punisher film, it hits a lot of the same notes that most Punisher stories do. The one thing I will say is that there’s really not that much of a story within this film. This setup is delivered, the action delivers, but it doesn’t do a very good job making us care outside of people who might have an emotional attachment or interest and Frank Castle from the prior properties of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, if you don’t want to do your homework for all the Marvel films, and you just want to see a lot of death and explosions, this will be a lot of fun for you.
Conner’s Final Thoughts
I really need to warn all viewers: The movie starts off with an incredibly disturbing scene. Although they don’t show there is a heavily presented death of a sweet and cute little dog. With all the carnage happening off screen of course, but it is still very upsetting and anyone that loves animals will have a really hard time even getting past the first 5 minutes of this film.
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