MovieChat Forums > Punisher: War Zone (2008) Discussion > Easily still the best Punisher

Easily still the best Punisher


Easily

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[deleted]

I agree this is definitely the best Punisher movie

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No it isn't

Jon Bernthal's portrayal in the 2nd season of Daredevil is the best. I'd also put Thomas Jane's take on the character above Stevenson's. Maybe even Dolph's.

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Potrayal itself was good, but Jon Bernthal definetly doesn't look the part.

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Update after Bernthal’s run (it’s a long one): Hell yes Stevenson’s version remains the best Punisher! BY FAR.

Dolph notwithstanding, the relative fan-favorite Thomas Jane? He did a solid job… I’ll always be fond of him and his film. Although, for a Punisher portrayal his take was a bit sanitized & not 100% believable. His presence itself didn’t feel threatening enough. To Jane’s credit, though, he apparently wanted to be a far more ruthless Frank than the studio did. But this was also an origin story so he might’ve made a more vicious Punisher in a sequel where he was just gonna, well, Punish. Admittedly it’s funny to say this since he was plenty of violent here, only… compared to what came after (and comics obviously), this is more like a more PG-13 Frank.

As for the big fan-favorite Bernthal…while his acting itself was good, nope, in my eyes he wasn’t the perfect Punisher like many are preaching. In his own show, as violent as he may have been, he was so incredibly over-the-top and emotional that it was hard to take seriously; the word “bombastic” comes to mind. Now I believe Jane tried a little too hard to sound intimidating in some scenes (still convincing overall), and although Bernthal brought a nice animalistic nature to the role, bro ultimately came off as cartoonish with all his roaring & shouting — YAAAAAUGH!! Lol. I did appreciate the intensity Bernthal brought to the role at first, however after Daredevil S2 it became almost parody. He was far from the cool, yet equally vicious and untouchable Frank Castle from the comics.

With that in mind, both Jane & Bernthal had their strengths (I think I’m starting to prefer Jane to Bernthal — at least to Bernthal in the series), yet neither COMPLETELY and EFFORTLESSLY nailed the role like Ray Stevenson did. In a word, Ray was the whole package! His Frank was as BRUTAL as it gets and he didn’t act like a complete madman. His presence alone was intimidating & he didn’t need to ROAR his ass off to be commanding, lol. War Zone as a whole? Yes it has enough problems, but idc… I love it! From its visual style to no-holds-barred bloody action, it’s a KILLER film. War Zone showed Punisher as the killing machine that he is and they didn’t try to humanize him more than necessary by putting him in silly melodramatic scenes (Punisher series was heavy on the melodrama).

What’s more, this film has aged significantly better than previous Punisher movies. Visually, tonally (minus the campier parts), and *bloodily* it feels closer to some modern R rated comic films & shows than the 2004 film (which always did look+feel older than it was). And compare to the tv series? Give me WAR ZONE! Now granted there isn’t one single interpretation of Frank Castle in the comics, however as much as I appreciated Jon bringing something different, some of Frank’s motives and actions in the series were just downright silly & unpunisher-like. Aside from Bernthal’s portrayal verging on cartoonish, in BOTH SEASONS his Frank wanted to leave his Punisher ways behind? Getting involved with some single mothers/widows? The whole Micro storyline? Cringeworthy. When Frank in War Zone had his more human moments, it felt organic, SINCERE and true to the character.

Anyhow, I don’t believe Bernthal owns the role like many do. Dislike him I don’t, but to me Ray Stevenson was *The Punisher* come to life. Just barbaric as fuck, methodical, incredibly savage but calm, human when he needed to be, simply looking like he stepped right out of the comics, and above all, Punishing. I get the criticism for War Zone’s villains and script (this over-the-top Jigsaw is still a proper Jigsaw compare to the joke that was boring af Billy Russo in the Punisher series), but all in all this wildly entertaining film perfectly captured the brutality and spirit of the Punisher (MAX series, yo). Hell nah, says its biggest detractors? Thank you, Lexi & Ray.

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You're absolutely right. None of the Punisher movies are particularly good, but there's two reasons why War Zone takes the cake for me: 1. Ray Stevenson and 2. Even though like you said, the movie is a bit of a mess, at least it's the most entertaining and action packed one out of all three.

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Ray Stevenson Was the Best Punisher in Marvel's Most Underrated Movie

https://www.cbr.com/ray-stevenson-best-punisher-underrated-marvel-movie/

As the world mourns the great Ray Stevenson, it's worth paying tribute to his time as Frank Castle in the underrated Marvel movie Punisher: War Zone.

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It's really hard to compare all the incarnations as they are all so incredibly different. And they all each have their own merits. To me, War Zone is the best Punisher movie. The Punisher (04) is the best movie (a really great revenge flick). Jon Bernthal's is the best performance in general (although not the best Frank Castle). If I had to give anything to the 89 movie I'd say it's just fun 80s action cheese.

War Zone is without a doubt the most faithful and perfectly captures the comic character.

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Yeah, War Zone is pretty decent. One of the things I don't like about it is that Frank kills that innocent guy. Frank is an exceptionally meticulous guy. He wouldn't make a mistake like that.

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I agree with this. At least, it's the one I enjoyed the most from the 3 Punisher movies that were made.
It was very funny in places. Ray Stevenson did well with the character.

Loved the little moments between Frank and the little girl. It was beautiful.
It was really good that learned where Frank got all his guns from. I never knew that.
Dominic West played the villain well.

I am now officially a fan of this comic book character. Will be getting some Punisher merch in the future, and will start reading some Punisher comics.

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Think it probably is, it seems closest in look/tone to those vicious Punisher graphic novels I used to see in the comic store in the 90s.. and Stevenson looks closest to the comic version

The Jane/Travolta Punisher was a fun version mainly for Travolta as the villain and some of the action scenes , but didn't feel or look like those graphic novels, more like a 'real world' Mad Max version of The Punisher (like the first half hour of XMen is like a real world version)

The Dolph Punisher could never really get into, but remember the graphic novel adaptation in the comic store

And have zero interest in the TV Marvel version

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I ENJOY ALL THE PUNISHERS...I GREW UP WITH THE COMICS AND DOLPH'S VERSIONS...I LIKE THOMAS JANE'S...I ALSO ENJOYED JON BERNTHAL'S PUNISHER...BUT RAY STEVENSON WAS MY FAVORITE PUNISHER...EASILY.

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