Punisher: War Zone

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Punisher: War Zone

R

2008

1h 47m

Action

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

29%

Tomatometer

110 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Ray Stevenson), turns the streets of New York City red as he wages a one-man war against the crime syndicate responsible for the death of his wife and two kids. Aided by his trusted sidekick, Microchip (Wayne Knight), he almost kills Billy Russoti (Dominic West) and leaves him horribly disfigured. Billy renames himself Jigsaw and with the help of his crazed brother Loony Bin Jim, recruits criminals from every corner of the city to do battle with Frank.

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Critics Consensus

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Zone recalls the excessively violent, dialogue-challenged actioners of the 1980s, and coincidentally feels two decades out of date.

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Andrew Pulver

Guardian

02/06/2009

1/5

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.

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Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

Metro Newspaper (UK)

02/06/2009

3/5

As its absurdly macho title hints, this action film is on a mission: not to delight or beguile so much as to club you over the head.

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Tom Ambrose

Empire Magazine

02/05/2009

2/5

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

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/07/2024

2.5/4

This movie has its moments, and most of them involve cheap thrills.

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Joseph Garcia

Dynamic Duel Podcast

07/11/2023

2.5/5

The film adapts the fun violence and dark humor of the comics but neglects the nuance, making it more of a guilty pleasure than a satisfying experience.

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Emilie Black

Cinema Crazed

07/26/2022

4.5/5

Punisher: War Zone is a colorful, violent, almost perfect comic book adaptation which seems to be forgotten by some fans of the genre.

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Brandon T.

@Brandonklye Dec 26

The movie feel like a comic book just came to life usually feels like that this version looks more like from the max comics came out of the book of the punisher

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Peadar W

@Pedgekins Dec 23

This is definitely a 65% film. Great action, all thriller, no filler! Great Punisher, great supporting actors. I can't say if it's accurate compared to the comics but it's a great action revenge film. Bad ass killings, wow! Reminds me bit of Dredd. Enjoy!

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Declan D.

@filmbuffkid Nov 29

Love this movie, as an introduction to the punisher for me it was very good and accurate to the comics, as a fan of the punisher for a while I like this movie

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adam s

Aug 13

I cannot understand the poor ratings for this movie. It is the most true to comics Punisher movie ever made. The Netflix series has been great, but I would argue that this movie is even truer to the source material than even the Netflix series is.

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RezaTech R

Jul 23

Punisher: War Zone is an absolute mess—and I love every second of it. This movie is so over-the-top, so absurdly violent and ridiculous, that it loops back around and becomes entertaining in all the wrong ways. The plot is paper-thin, the acting is cartoonish, and the characters feel like they came straight out of a 90s video game cutscene. But that’s exactly why it’s fun. From Frank Castle blowing up parkour criminals mid-flip to the completely unhinged villain performances, this movie never tries to be subtle or grounded. It’s full chaos, all the time. The dialogue? Hilariously bad. The logic? Non-existent. But somehow, it all just works—not as a great film, but as peak “so bad it’s good” cinema. I can’t defend it as a well-made movie, but I can say it’s become one of my favorite bad movies of all time. It's dumb, loud, and wildly entertaining in the worst best way possible. If you're into outrageous action and unintentional comedy, Punisher: War Zone is a hidden gem of glorious trash.

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Robert J

Jul 22

Its a Punisher movie. Not just that its THE Punisher movie. Its perfect. If you don't like it I don't understand why you sat down and watched a movie called "Punisher War Zone". The director was not embarrassed to make a comic book movie. James Gunn is very much standing on her shoulders.

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Lexi Alexander

Director

Ray Stevenson

Frank Castle

Dominic West

Billy Russoti

Doug Hutchison

Looney Bin Jim

Colin Salmon

Agent Paul Budiansky

Wayne Knight

Linus Lieberman

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Synopsis

Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Ray Stevenson), turns the streets of New York City red as he wages a one-man war against the crime syndicate responsible for the death of his wife and two kids. Aided by his trusted sidekick, Microchip (Wayne Knight), he almost kills Billy Russoti (Dominic West) and leaves him horribly disfigured. Billy renames himself Jigsaw and with the help of his crazed brother Loony Bin Jim, recruits criminals from every corner of the city to do battle with Frank.

Director: Lexi Alexander
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
Screenwriter: Matt Holloway, Art Marcum, Nick Santora
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: MHF Zweite Academy Film, Lionsgate Films, Valhalla Motion Pictures, Marvel Studios Inc., Lions Gate Films
Rating: R (Pervasive Strong Brutal Violen|Language|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 5, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.9M
Runtime: 1h 47m

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