Jon Bernthal first played Frank Castle in Daredevil Season 2 on Netflix way back in 2016, and immediately established himself as the definitive version of this character. From there, he went on to star in two seasons of The Punisher, a good, albeit not great, series carried by the actor's unmissable performance. After a lengthy hiatus, Bernthal returned to the MCU in Daredevil: Born Again, proving he hadn't lost a step. Now, ahead of a starring role in this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he takes centre stage in a new Special Presentation on Disney+, The Punisher: One Last Kill.
Clocking in at a mere 48 minutes, the Special is incredibly fast-paced. During that brief runtime, it effectively and thoughtfully explores the themes of grief, PTSD, and revenge. While "it should have been a movie" arguments are inevitable (and justified, to some extent), The Punisher: One Last Kill feels like a backdoor pilot for a new solo project about Frank beyond his upcoming team-up with Peter Parker. If this is a taste of what we could expect from that, then Marvel Studios needs to make it happen, regardless of whether that's on a big or small screen.
Delivering his best performance yet as this character, Bernthal is a force of nature who will break your heart in one scene, only to break someone's neck in the next. It's to his credit that he can pull off the complicated nature of a man like Frank, and it's in the opening act that he really gets to stretch his acting chops as the vigilante succumbs to his PTSD and hits his lowest, most desperate point. Bernthal makes you feel for Frank, and crucially conveys the torment he feels after losing his family so that the audience can fully understand and relate to it.
When Ma Gnucci drags him back into the fight, the rage The Punisher feels on the inside comes to the fore during a frenetic, unrelenting fight to survive and continue his mission. Instead of clunky exposition, Bernthal's performance—with little to no dialogue—is superb enough to explain why Frank is someone who will, ultimately, never stop fighting.
The Special is bolstered by solid supporting turns from Jason R. Moore, Andre Royo, and Judith Light, who plays Ma. While her role is relatively minor, the groundwork is laid for much more to come. Her hatred for Frank is palpable after he took her husband and sons away from her, and the actress's venomous reading of her lines helps tee up the madness that ensues (and establishes her as a truly hateful villain).
With every local thug closing in on his apartment building, The Punisher—sans weapons and armour—heads into battle at his most vulnerable. In a staggering series of brawls, Frank shoots, stabs, and pummels everyone he encounters in a hard-R-rated series of action scenes unlike anything we've seen from Marvel before. Writer and director Reinaldo Marcus Green manages to tell a story in the midst of so much chaos, which singles him out as someone we'd love to see return to this world. So does his wrenching exploration of what's going on in Frank's head, which helps us both understand what pushes him to fight for survival and the type of man he emerges as on the other side of this war.
Fans hoping for connections to the wider MCU will be left wanting, but as much as we'd hoped for some insights into why he didn't help Daredevil take down Mayor Fisk, The Punisher: One Last Kill makes it easy to fill in the gaps yourself. Focusing on Frank in the Special was the right decision. An extra 10, 20, or hell, 60 minutes would have been beneficial, but this works perfectly as a standalone tale that smashes open the door for this character's continued exploration in the MCU.
Marvel meets The Raid in The Punisher: One Last Kill, a relentless, no-holds-barred exploration of grief and PTSD, and an ultra-violent, pitch-perfect take on The Punisher. This is Jon Bernthal's magnum opus as Frank Castle. [⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐]