Punisher: War Zone

Cinema has now taken three cracks at the story of Frank Castle aka the Punisher, and all three qualify as misfires. The first time featured Dolph Lundgren in 1989, and the words Dolph Lundgren basically sum up the problem. The second attempt saw Thomas Jane getting all vengeful four years ago, donning the skull shirt and shooting up bad guys. Jane sucked even more. Now we get Ray Stevenson in Marvel’s latest attempt to give this character some life. While the film stands as a small step in the right direction, it’s still pretty damn bad. Stevenson makes for a decent heavily-armed, bitter guy, but the story surrounding him is uneven at best. He looks good in the Punisher body armor, adorned with that wicked skull, but the tone of his adversaries, mainly the villainous Jigsaw (Dominic West) seems like it should be in another movie. The movie is insanely violent, so be prepared if you buy a ticket.