Punishment never felt so good!

This ain’t your emo cousin’s 2004 Punisher.  Punisher War Zone is the 2008 reboot of the franchise featuring the blood-soaked adventures of everyone’s favorite black clad vigilante, Frank Castle a.k.a. the Punisher.

This time, Ray Stevenson of Rome on HBO steps up to the plate to show us what Frank can do with a grudge, a couple of machine guns, and a shitload of ammunition.  Stevenson attacks the role with both barrels blazing as the film opens to the skull taking out not only a ruthless mob boss, but the guy’s friends, family, and a couple of cannon fodder henchmen to boot.  The action kicks off hard, fast, and brutal and leads us into the emotional, gritty underside of the vigilante’s bullet-proof vest.  Frank makes a terrible mistake killing an undercover FBI agent in a raid on a criminal’s hideout.  Unable to cope with the grief, he hangs up his guns and apparently decides to sit back and watch the world tear itself apart.  A horrifically scarred victim of punishment, however, refuses to make it that easy.  Billy Russoti, disfigured by Castle, resurfaces under a new name – disclaimer: Punisher fans hold your dicks so they don’t explode – JIGSAW!  That’s right, no John Travolta here.  Frank Castle’s recurring nemesis from the comics is finally brought to life on screen.  Played by Dominic West of HBO’s The Wire, Jigsaw despises Castle with almost sadistic glee.  Granted, West lays it on pretty thick with a hearty slice of cheese here and there, his performance could almost be on par with Jack Nicholson’s Joker.  Thrown into the mix is a rather eclectic and effective cast including Julie Benz as the grieving widower of the fallen FBI agent, Dash Mihok as a bumbling Soap, Doug Hutchinson as a Hannibalesque Looney Bin Jim.  Two stand above the rest, however.  Wayne Night, Newman from Seinfeld, plays an amazing Micro, though less of a tech nerd and generally more of an armorer, Night’s Micro is Frank’s guide and compass, trying to keep him on his mission when things look their darkest.  Finally, Colin Salmon plays a gritty, tough, and determined Budiansky and you really wish he got just a bit more action time in the film, because he jumps into the character with so much gusto it’s almost hard to believe he hadn’t been cast before.

While there are one or two slow parts, the whole affair builds to an amazingly destructive crescendo in which the Punisher shows everybody what he’s truly all about.  Comic fans will find much to love – and bitch about – with this installment, but love it or hate it, it is NOT to be missed.

Let the punishment begin.