Punisher: War Zone [Blu-ray]

I'm very surprised at the negative reviews I've heard and read for this movie. It's based on a comic book character who, after the murder of his wife and children, has crossed a line and become a vigilante/executioner of the most murdurous of criminals. Its not a particularly new idea for an action movie, but in Punisher: Warzone everything is done nearly perfectly in my opinion.To start with, Ray Stevenson is absolutely outstanding as the Punisher. He is completely believable as a totally lethal and terrifying force of vengeance, as well as being able to show the pain underneath and the memory of the man he once was and the life he had. There are only a few moments when the Punisher flashes back to what happened to motivate him, but Stevenson clearly makes it all work.Everyone else in the cast is terrific as well. Colin Salmon is excellent as always as Budiansky, a cop determined to bring the Punisher in, and Dominic West has a blast as Jigsaw, the brutal villian. Everyone was just great, and I also was very taken with the young actress who played the daughter of a slain policeman, and who (along with her mother) is protected by the Punisher. That young girl was excellent in portraying a bit of innocence and beauty in a very rough movie.As for the action, they pulled no punches here! Decapitation, exploding heads, neck snapping, a knife through the top of the skull, etc - a very high body count! It is extreme action and was perfectly suited to the Punisher character. Definitely R rated and a total blast to watch. To be clear, I am no fan of pointless violence, but in Punisher: Warzone it was totally appropriate for the character and was fantastically well choreographed.And now my favorite part of the film: the gun handling. Again, I am as worried about gun violence as anyone, but it is the main part of this character, and in this film, it was AWESOME. This movie has the best and most exciting gun handling/reloading action scenes that I've ever seen. In watching the featurettes you see the extensive training that Stevenson went through to become proficient at it, and he and the men who trained him and choreographed the fights did a perfect job. Every scene where the Punisher uses one of his many weapons is different and incredibly exciting.I left out a good many plot points and twists, but I'll let new viewers find them out for themselves. So, to wrap up my rushed review: Punisher Warzone is an absolutely outstanding action movie, perfect for the character. Ray Stevenson is perfectly cast and MUST come back for a sequel (there MUST be a sequel). The rest of the cast is excellent, and the action is brutal and terrific. I give this one a 10 out of 10.I enjoyed this movie so much that I see I forgot to mention the quality of the actual blu-ray disc of Punisher: Warzone. To make it short and sweet: the picture quality is in the top three of the several dozen films that I've seen on blu-ray and the menu system is pretty unique here - when you access the menu while watching the movie, the film reduces in size to allow a sort of picture-in-picture layout for the extras, scene selection, etc. Very cool. I have only a 5.1 sound system and cannot process the full, hi-def sound, but what I did hear was, not surprisingly, excellent and held up well with the pristine picture.By the way, as with some other reviewers, I was shocked to find that the director was a woman. Lexi Alexander did a fantastic job with this film and also MUST come back for the sequel. If this is the way the girls make action movies, then I want them on ALL of them! hah.

First of all lets take a walk thru the progress on the screen:> i liked the '89 Punisher it kinda started the leather clad hero trend. He was mean. looked cool. the movie was average. it kinda hold its own for the decade it was shot amongst other action flicks> in 2004 T.Jane (whom i think is the new C.Lambert :D) was great in the duds...the skull looked good on him, The car was awesome (but short lived :P)the cast the overall production value was ok.it was a good origin moviehad the heart of Eye for an Eye story from the comics (yep they changed the picnic for a family gathering but it served its cause)but aside from the Russian scene it kinda lacked that Punisher intensity that we are used to from the comics.he looked like the part but T.Jane was too baby faced. kinda more like a Jim Lee version of the character. but War Zone artist John Romita Jr captured a more rugged hard look for the fave "off"er of the guilty:Doh the villain was kinda weak too. J.Travolta is a great actor but i dont know he kinda was lacking his believability in The Punisher> yep its Punisher War Zone time :Dthis time the guys with the suit decided to go with the adult series Marvel Knights: The Punisher series.the overall designs were based on Dillons rendition. and the cast were right on the spot.R.Stevenson is one cool looking guy, he is built, rough and has cold and hard edged looks.he kinda filled the costume with the skull just as good as T.Jane even better.he was not that fluent in the action scenes as opposed to T.Janes physical performance but he hold his own pretty good.the violence was right one spot.real gunfights are grittythey are not pretty.and the little exageration kinda served all its intends and purposes, Looked great!!!!the overall movie had a dark tone and shadowy settings which we all know punisher chooses for himself in the comics most commonly.we had the classic villain from the Punishers Rogue gallery :D The Jigsaw :Dall in all PWZ was a success as far as me, i fan is concerned. who cares if it sucked at the box office. i believe it was a bad release timing that kinda crashed it making better monetarilyenough talking.. if you have ever read a punisher comic or even seen him in his cameos or guest appreances in other marvel comics do see this movie.you will see for yourself why fans liked this one better than its two releases.Punisher really delivers the final shot and only then takes names after the body hit the ground dead cold in this flick.cheers