Punisher: War Zone

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Punisher: War Zone

R

Released Dec 5, 2008

1h 47m

Action

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

29%

Tomatometer

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Zone recalls the excessively violent, dialogue-challenged actioners of the 1980s, and coincidentally feels two decades out of date.

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Stephen Garrett

Time Out

Rated: 1/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Cole Haddon

Film.com

Rated: D-

May 6, 2011

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Andrew Pulver

Guardian

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.

Rated: 1/5

Feb 6, 2009

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

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

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 7, 2024

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Joseph Garcia

Dynamic Duel Podcast

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.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jul 11, 2023

Full Review

Emilie Black

Cinema Crazed

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

Rated: 4.5/5

Jul 26, 2022

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Alexander S

I acknowledge the film’s distinctive style, which closely resembles the comic book source material. The portrayal of the villain, Jigsaw, is particularly noteworthy. While Punisher: War Zone exhibited occasional moments of disjointedness and darkness, I commend its adherence to the gritty and violent action sequences characteristic of the comics. Ray Stevenson’s performance as Punisher remains commendable. (RIP) Grading: C-

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/08/25

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Audience Member

Decent film full of great action and revenge from Punisher and Jigsaw, it also got dark humour and brutal violence right just like in comics

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/25

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James Y

This movie gets the Punisher nearly perfect. Not insanely deep but Ray Stevenson's performance as Frank Castle is one of my favorite portrayls of the character. He's brutal, merciless, but not entirely immoral or heartless. While the punishers idealogy and methods may make some uncomfortable, this movies villians are people who make you believe they deserve it. It's a bit cheesy but works best as a mindless action movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/25

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Obi-wan K

Destroyed everything possible about this sequel

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/03/25

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Audience Member

It's fine. Ray Stevenson absolutely nails it as the titular character.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/27/24

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Kevin D

It;s a pretyy good comic book movie with overstated characters. Basically 1960's Batman gone Dark. The Baddies are Baddies and the goodies well not all good. I don't think I could ever criticise something with Ray Stevenson in it. It is what it is, love it or hate it. If you watch this with the right mindset then you can enjoy. Some of the acting is over the top. I think that is deliberate Just like 60's Batman. Think of a modern Batman vs an outrageous Dark sixties Egghead. One last thing if you think about the whole premise and how real it is. Why do people count bullets er it is fiction

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/23/24

Full Review

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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, Marvel Studios Inc., Valhalla Motion Pictures, Lionsgate Films, 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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