Marvel's the Punisher
available:
Netflix
released:
November 18, 2017
Starring:
Joe Bernthal
Amber Rose Revah
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Barnes
Jaime Ray Newman
My Score: 7.5/10
Please
keep in mind this is a SPOILER-FREE review! Want deeper insights with spoilers?
Let me know in the comments!
I'll be the first to admit, I did not follow the Punisher's
comic adventures closely. Save for a stint when Garth Ennis was writing them
and even he pushed it too far when a Russian gangster died, came back as a
woman, and attacked Frank Castle only to be stopped by a pot of boiling
spaghetti. Yes…that really happened.
However, I was a
big enough Marvel fanboy that I caught several of Punis
her's guest-starring
roles in comics like Spiderman and Ghost Rider. The general idea of the
character, his code of ethics, and his ethos were plain to see even in those
less in-your-face interactions.
So when Dolph Lundgren played the part in a 1989 shoot-fest,
and Thomas Jane took up the mantle in the better-produced 2004 adaptation, I
was aware enough of the character to know neither quite hit the mark.
2017 sees yet another remake in TV form, and Marvel no
longer makes bad TV shows, Iron Fist
be damned. This version of Punisher debuted in the second season of the stupid-successful
Daredevil show, also on Netflix, and made enough of a splash to earn his own title
on the network (do we call Netflix a
network, is that wrong?).
The show plays to the character's strengths well. Frank
Castle aka the Punisher is a loner, a former military Special Forces super-agent…but
no secret sauce to buff him up like Captain America. He's undeniably human, and
this works against him numerous times throughout the show. Tied, beat down,
left for dead, made to bleed, it all happens during the thirteen episode run.
He's also good, and comfortable, with any gun he picks up. Well except for one.
The bulk of the main story is a bit forced. Coerced into
partnering with another super-agent, this one good with computers instead of
guns, Frank is led through the sins of his own past which just so happen to
coincide with Micro's (his new partner) inability to go home to his family without
getting them killed. The bad guys are fun to watch, but their intentions tend
to get gooier than the blood splashing onto their faces.
Frank Castle is given plenty of characterization. His
self-demanding isolation is well handled, showcasing a character study worthy
of a damaged hero figure. He tries to be emotionless, and mostly succeeds until
he doesn't, and it's in these moments he exhibits the importance of not being a
simple, bullet riding monster of a man.
If there's anything to complain about Castle's
characterization, it's that he only gets a couple of chances to ride those
bullets. Very few scenes involve Frank being a total badass. Instead, the show
tries to prove how overpowered he is by a system that wants him dead. In so
doing, they almost lose the heroic aspect of the character in action. He needs
one moment, somewhere, where he is riding that wave of gunfire and blatantly
enjoying it. That is part of the character.
The acting is a mesh of average to outstanding. From Karen
Page's sadly over-applied scenes that just
Taken in its totality, Marvel's the Punisher is worth the
time sink. At times torture porn, at others almost soft core porn, the show has
a few missteps and try-hard moments. It's not as good as Daredevil, but topping
something you're already borrowing ideas from is unlikely. The skull is cool
when it shows up, and it's still a fun, dark corner of the Marvel Universe you
won't get to see in the movies.
James
Neal is on social media! So are danishes…mmm…danishes, but we digress. He is
also author of the fantasy stories below. Check em out and support an
indie-author at the same time! Thank you for joining me on American Dirt.
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