Waging his one-man war on the world of organised crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias - Jigsaw. With the "Punisher Task Force" hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished.
Didn't manage to catch this while it was screened but managed to catch it recently on DVD. Let me tell u that this movie made me squirm more then The Unborn which I caught earlier this evening. Story of how Frank Castle, an ex-cop, and his family was caught in a mob killing resulting in the demise of his wife and kids. Snapped, he became the one-man vigilante war machine against mob families. However, during one such killing spree, Punisher kills an undercover. He also maanges to throw the mob leader, Billy into an industrial machine mixer full of glass bottles whom survived and reincarnates as the Jigsaw. Seeking revenge, the Jigsaw enlists the help of his brother, Looney Bin James. Meanwhile the Punisher tries to make good to the undercover cop's family who he accidentally kills and soon they and the Punisher's friends soon becomes the Jigsaw's targets and victims. The movie starts with unadulterated violence, blood and gore which is definitely a pleaser if you are into such scenes. Decapitation and bone-breaking are also orders for the day. Ray Stevenson looks uncannily like the Punisher but I still doubt the casting choice as these marvel characters need big names to carry the franchise on (eg, Robert Downey Jr as Ironman, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine). Just see how the previous one starring Thomas Jane (which was not bad) fade into oblivion. Entertaining show but not suitable for the kids.
If you're the ardent follower of The Punisher, you might dislike this one as much as the prequel. Of similar concept and approach, "War Zone" has nothing much to offer, in fact it's rather comical compared to the first. The title would have made on think that this time we would deal with bigger issues and a better storyline, but it just doesn't escape its cheap action tendencies.
Admittedly, the action is quite well exploited. The fast pace of the scenes try to carry some emotion and drama to put some weight the story. However it was still cliche, showcasing all the common elements in a typical action hero movie - mostly, revenge and gunfire. It's also gorier this time around, perhaps trying to kick up some feel good factor in the senseless shooting.
One of the worst things about this effort is that the guy playing Punisher is rather miscast. What's it like to see a Steven Seagal clone playing the Punisher? Stocky and stiff, Ray Stevenson ends up more like a loser than a punisher.
Going back to cliches, it's rather sickening to see yet another typical depiction for underground mobs in the States - they're either black, Chinese or facially-scarred Eastern Europeans. Why can't we have the White America be baddies for a change? His hero propaganda simply adds to the monotony and predictability of the whole Punisher product.
So, what is so big about this flick? It doesn't look like it's any better than the first instalment. The movie could have well been called "The Enforcer", "The Action Hero" or "The Macho Man With A Machine Gun" and it still wouldn't escape the clutches of mediocrity. It's up to you whether you want to punish yourself with this - unless you're an action movie fan who would watch a movie called "The Man With A Machine Gun" anyway.
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