Punisher: War Zone

Punisher: War Zone is a sequel to 2004’s The Punisher, and an adaption of Marvel Comics character of the same name, although curiously not only did it make no attempt to connect to the previous movie, it even altered the origin from the original film. The plot line is simple, the punisher is a vigilante who kills criminals, however one day one of his victims escapes with his life but not his looks and seeks revenge. This film tried to mix the surreal and extraordinary with grittiness and the ordinary and although this sort of combination may work in comics, it did not come together well on the big screen. There were some very interesting visual stylings in this movie and Lexi Alexander shows promise as a young director however she must learn to pay attention to the overall movie and not just the aesthetics. Ray Stevenson was an excellent choice for the lead role and stood head and shoulders above all else in this film, however he was lumbered with a film that unravelled as it progressed, as well as a ridiculous costume with some sort of neck amour that looked like it was fresh from the catwalks of Milan. This will go down as another one of those terrible comic book adaptations that make everyone wish the character had been left in his usual three colour world.