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Movies / On DVD / Punisher: War Zone
Punisher: War Zone

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Punisher: War Zone (2008)

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Reviews Counted:97

Fresh:25

Rotten:72

Average Rating:4.2/10

Consensus: Punisher: War Zone recalls the excessively violent, dialogue-challenged actioners of the 1980s, and coincidentally feels two decades out of date.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Dec 5, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $7,948,159

Synopsis: PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, the third screen appearance from Marvel Comics' angel of death, continues the saga of Frank Castle, normal New York City citizen turned Mafia-slaying vigilante following the... PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, the third screen appearance from Marvel Comics' angel of death, continues the saga of Frank Castle, normal New York City citizen turned Mafia-slaying vigilante following the murder of his wife and daughter. Upping the violence level to the intensity of a horror film, this outing requires no prior knowledge of the character's screen antics and features an appealingly stoic performance from Ray Stevenson, who cuts an imposing physical presence, and is a more-than-worthy successor to previous Punishers Dolph Lundgren (1990) and Thomas Jane (2004). Six years after the death of his family, Frank Castle is still waging war against organized crime in New York. After he ambushes a party for an aging mob boss and turns it into a bloodbath, the battle moves to a recycling warehouse where Castle pushes gangster Billy Russoti (Dominic West) into a swirling vat of broken glass. During his escape, Castle accidentally shoots one of the FBI men who have arrived on the scene. Russoti undergoes plastic surgery, but after seeing his badly disfigured face for the first time, he shoots his surgeon and dubs himself "Jigsaw." While a deeply regretful Castle attempts to make amends with the widow (Julie Benz) of the agent he has slain, Jigsaw rallies an army of criminals in an attempt to take down the seemingly indestructible Punisher. Though there are plenty of tongue-in-cheek moments to lighten its impact, the graphic bloodshed in PUNISHER: WARZONE is often startling and is sure to satisfy the bloodlust of any fan of violent action cinema. Directed by former karate and kickboxing champion Lexi Alexander (GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS), the film is frenetically paced and retains a true comic book feel, mostly due to a colorful lighting scheme and a particularly hammy performance by West, who seems to be having a blast. [More]

Starring: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchison, Colin Salmon

Starring: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchison, Colin Salmon, Wayne Knight, Dash Mihok, Julie Benz

Director: Lexi Alexander

Director: Lexi Alexander
Screenwriter: Matthew Holloway, Art Marcum, Nick Santora, Kurt Sutter, Lexi Alexander
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd, Avi Arad
Composer: Christopher Franke
Studio: Lions Gate Films

[See More Credits]

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    SDCC 2008: Ray Stevenson as The Punisher
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    SDCC 2008: Return to Rome?
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  • SDCC 2008: Stories Behind The Punisher
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    Trailer #2
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    Meet Jigsaw
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  • TV Spot #2
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Release:

Mar 17, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • NTSC
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary: Lexi Alexander - Director, Steve Gainer - Director Of Photography

Featurette:

  • 1. Making of PUNISHER: WAR ZONE
  • 2. Training to become The Punisher
  • 3. Weapons of The Punisher
  • 4. Meet Jigsaw
  • 5. Creative the look of The Punisher
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Punisher: War Zone

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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One can assume another reboot will be in the offing after this monstrosity tanks at the box office.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
08/30/09
Sonny Bunch
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times

Part '80s action movie, part gross-out horror, this guilty pleasure is Saw meets Rambo . . .

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
04/23/09
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

God I love my revenge films...

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment 1 Comment
03/18/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Unlike more high-powered Marvel heroes like Spider-Man and X-Men, The Punisher has never enjoyed much box office success and this excruciatingly terrible film certainly won’t change that.

Full Review Source: SFX Magazine | comment 2 Comments
02/12/09
Stephen Jewell
Stephen Jewell
SFX Magazine

Earning an 18 certificate with its violence, the film is kids’ stuff in all other respects: over-the-top shootouts, monstrous and barking-mad villains, a bumbling sidekick and so on. Highly enjoyable tosh.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment Comment
02/12/09
Edward Porter
Edward Porter
Sunday Times (UK)

The IQ is as low as the body count is high and the uncharismatic Ray Stevenson might as well have been wearing a mask for all the emotion he shows.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment 1 Comment
02/12/09
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

It's a good old-fashioned guns-andaction romp - and I love it.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mail [UK] | comment Comment
02/10/09
Mickey McMonagle
Mickey McMonagle
Sunday Mail [UK]

You couldn't call it shoddy, exactly, and the actors take it painfully seriously; it's just dispiriting to see all this endeavour in the service of something so humourless and disgusting.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/06/09
Andrew Pulver
Andrew Pulver
Guardian [UK]

The punishment doesn’t end there, with anyone who hands over good money to watch this dreck also likely to feel the pain.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
02/06/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Another violently unsuccessful attempt to bring this comic book character to screen.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/05/09
Tom Ambrose
Tom Ambrose
Empire Magazine

‘Oh God, now I’ve got brains spattered all over me,’ exclaims The Punisher’s slippery inside man, Detective Soap. You may feel the same at the end of this messy, sadistic reboot of the Marvel comic-book series.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/05/09
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out

Pleasantly surprising - providing you're not put off by all the gore and dismemberment.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/05/09
Richard Luck
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film

Castle/the Punisher is not the most charismatic comic book hero at the best of times but Stevenson’s jowly pallor and oil slick of hair makes him look more like an Eastern European abattoir worker than a vigilante to be reckoned with.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
02/05/09
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]

The franchise simply can't compete with better written and directed comic book offerings out there. This includes Howard The Duck...

Full Review Source: Digital Spy | comment 1 Comment
02/05/09
Ben Rawson-Jones
Ben Rawson-Jones
Digital Spy

Marvel, stop punishing yourselves and put this unworkable franchise out of our misery.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment 2 Comments
02/05/09
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

As entertaining as Punisher: War Zone is, there’s no real depth, the plot is obvious and it’s a wee bit charmless.

Full Review Source: FHM [UK] | comment Comment
02/05/09
Tom Howard
Tom Howard
FHM [UK]

This is as true to a Marvel comic tale as I've ever seen - gory, serious, intense, dark and utterly psychotic.

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
02/05/09
Victor Olliver
Victor Olliver
Teletext

If you can stomach the gore and pick up on the underlying humor, you'll likely have a good time.

Full Review Source: The Cinema Source | comment Comment
01/06/09
Michael Dance
Michael Dance
The Cinema Source

Once in a while someone will come up to me and ask why movies are so violent. Generally, they're talking about a war movie or a horror movie such as 'Saw.' In the future, I will throw out 'The Punisher: War Zone' as a comparison.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
12/20/08
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Once in a while someone will come up to me and ask why movies are so violent. Generally, they're talking about a war movie or a horror movie such as 'Saw.' In the future, I will throw out 'The Punisher: War Zone' as a comparison.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
12/20/08
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
 
 
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Latest News for Punisher: War Zone

March 16, 2009: RT on DVD: Exclusive Clips From Twilight, Punisher: War Zone
It's a big week for fans of Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance Twilight, which was adapted into the biggest movie phenomenon of 2008 and is headed to shelves this Saturday, March... More...

December 05, 2008: Female Directors Challenge Status Quo Opens in new window
Hollywood directors have always been a bit of a boys' club, but as the $70 million opening of Catherine Hardwicke's "Twilight" attests, that's slowly changing. More...

December 04, 2008: Critics Consensus: Cadillac Records Rocks, Punisher Hurts
This week at the movies, we've got red-hot rhythm and blues (Cadillac Records, starring Adrien Brody and Beyonce Knowles), vigilante justice (Punisher: War Zone, starring Ray... More...

December 04, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Punisher Heads Into Weak Frame
Following the Thanksgiving holiday frame, the North American box office should hit the brakes and see sharp declines in ticket sales. The action offering Punisher: War Zone is... More...

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