Review – Punisher: War Zone

This one’s more comic-bookish than the first two Punisher movies. That’s in part because it uses comic book stock characters such as sidekicks and super-villains. Further, the hero’s body armor functions as a bit of a super suit, though at least it didn’t come with a cape. Ray Stevenson does a solid job as mobster-slayer Frank Castle, and Dominic West is over the top as arch-criminal Jigsaw (though he falls short of a performance along similar lines: Heath Ledger as The Joker). I confess I didn’t care for some of the plot elements, particularly the dead FBI agent subplot. But overall it’s got enough graphic scumbag death to keep the target audience entertained. And if nothing else, it’s nice to see an action movie directed by a woman. Mildly amusing