7 out of 10 stars. This is certainly the best Punisher thus far. I read the reviews and they were unfair. If Based on the reviews you'd have went in expecting it to be terrible...BUT this was a pretty good film. It definetly lacks in some areas, but definetly the best effort thus far.
Whats good:
They fixed the errors from the 2004 Punisher (no action, corny romantic stuff, and utterly failing to capture the essence of Frank Castle, etc.), and managed to fix the errors from the 89 one (no budged, HORRIBLE actors, lame story, and unloyalty to the source material).
The movie definetly captures the spirit of Ennis' Punisher take--its very loyal to the source material. The ultra-violence of Punisher is there, and the action is there.
It takes place in New York and the exterior shots of New York skyline help (even if some of the interior shots feel a bit ...psudo--neon--but its forgiveable).
Its action packed yet the story (although it borders it at times) doesn't go into mindless/meathead crap. The story/plot is there, even if it lacks at times.
Ray Stevenson NAILED Frank Castle. He's a man of few words and thats okay. He's Frank freakin Castle, not Patton!!
Dominic West was entertaining as Jigsaw. He's more than a bit over the top sometimes, but thats Ennis for you. He's certainly creepy and a good villain. Totally nutts.
Speaking of which. LBJ is a great secondary villian!!
some have complained that Ray's english/irish dialect comes through...but its nothing overt..I noticed no problem. No more than Hugh Jackman's Austrlian coming out a bit in his Wolverine, or Cillian Murphy's Irish coming out a bit in his Scarecrow.
Some complained about Dominics english dialect. But it doesnt come through at all...he has a New York sound all the way through, even if its over the top at times.
Whats bad:
Quite a bit of the dialogue is reduced to one liners (granted...as I said, Frank should be a man of few words, but he's not the only one delivering a bunch of one-liners). Moreover, quite a bit of the dialogue is VERY cliche. They used a great deal of mobster schtik and sterotypical speach.
Theres a couple scenes that are so over the top that youre not sure whether to take them seriously or not, but i took them as 'dark humor/relief moments', or moments to show just how absurd and insane these guys are.
As stated before, the story lacks in a couple spots, (but its NOT just a complete mindless gorefest).
MY BIGGEST BEEF came at the very end...with the completely insulting, and totally--100% unneeded sacreligious scene. It did nothing but alienate a chunk of the movie-going audience. And as i said, it was 100% unneeded. I totally get the tension there with the whole religious element, but this just went over the top and was tasteless (and yes, i realize that its kind of ironic that i'm saying something is tasteless about a Punisher movie...seeing as to the fact that the over-the-top violence alone is, lets face it, tasteless. lol).
I certainly think that the critics were unfair with this one, but thats to be expected. This is definelty the best Punisher effort yet, and of course one can't go in expecting something on par with TDK or Spider-Man (but should one compare). Its a great movie for a select audience and thats fine. Thats NOT to say 'this is a movie for meatheads'. Like i said, the story is a little more than descent. And they nailed the spirit of the Punisher and the characters. They were very true to Ennis' material. Action, over-the-top, and dark humor.
I hope it gets a sequel with Ray. AND, more importantly, i hope it gets a better writer (or at least the dialogue improves---LOSE THE CLICHE LINES). Lastly, lose the unneeded sacreligious tones.
overall 7 out of 10. Ray rocked it! Best Punisher so far. A film deserving of a sequel with further story/character development.