Review: The Punisher
With little fanfare, Marvel and Netflix have released The Punisher series. In keeping with the dark mood of Daredevil and Luke Cage, the Punisher is a heavy show to watch. But it gets a little tedious and tends to drag as well as ask the question, "How much blood can one man loose and still not require major surgery?"
Of course this is still a comic book character and things don't have to work like they might in, say, a Jason Bourne movie. A great example of that would be the inept federal agents that repeatedly can't seem to comprehend that a building might have more than one exit (they might want to apply for a job with the FBI on The Blacklist).
The character of the Punisher was better in Daredevil. The juxtaposition of the two characters made for some really interesting dialogue as well as prompting the ideological debate about violence and justice. Without that foil, the Punisher comes across rather wooden.
The first episode was the best, in that it picks up after the events of the Daredevil plotline. It has Castle as a recluse construction worker who ends up saving a young man's life (mostly with the use of a sledgehammer). It looks like the setup will be Punisher = Equalizer with more brooding. But that plot template goes out the window pretty fast. And that's where the puzzle begins.
In the first episode, Frank Castle aka the Punisher burns his signature skull emblazoned body armor. Which means that we have another case of Superman 2. Punisher doesn't want to be the Punisher any more (like the movies Wolverine and Ghost Rider:Spirit of Vengeance - did anyone see that one besides me?). And we have a long series of episodes that pull Castle back into the action via a military conspiracy.
And this drags on.
The comic characters of Micro and Jigsaw (who doesn't show up until the last few minutes of the season as a set up villain for the next season most likely) appear, but not like the comics. There is action, but most of it involves Castle grunting (a lot) and being outnumbered.
And here is why this probably doesn't work. The show can't decide what to be. Is it a realistic actions show? Is it a commentary on PTSD? Is it part of the Marvel comic universe? Because when it becomes an action show, it stops being a comic. When it goes back to being a comic (Castle can walk off a few bullet wounds; the villain can survive a tremendous loss of blood and 11 hour surgeries to survive; the lead Federal agent can take a shot to the head and bleed and bleed but come out okay at the end) it doesn't hold up with the action genre.
And as a comic character, it doesn't need to have Thor pop in, but it missed some chances to tie in to the larger Marvel universe.
Of course, the Punisher is a difficult character to have in the Marvel Universe. Like Vigilante in the DC Comics, Punisher, like Tony Stark, has no actual powers. Unlike stark, his powers are his incredible marksmanship and his will to wipe out the dregs of society. There are some parallels, but it is the method of the Punisher that makes him problematic. He debuted as a villain and underwent several different iterations over the years.
The problem with the show is that you only see Castle as the Punisher a few times. The rest he is bickering with Micro, brooding, or trying to overcome the guilt of his lost family. It ends with a positive message about support groups, but it also ends so out of character for the Punisher that I felt as if the show was setting up the idea that there will be no more Punisher.
Actually, what I thought was that the show is going to try to rehabilitate Frank Castle then, next season, Jigsaw comes back out of the hospital and wants revenge on Frank who didn't kill him forcing him into an angst laden season of decision to be or not to be the Punisher.
Perhaps not, but we will see.
Anyway, the show was ok. It lacked the power that the character had in Daredevil. It could have been better, but I felt it tried to deal too much with his inner demons without keeping the source material in front of the lens. The Punisher needed more of the Punisher.
Of course this is still a comic book character and things don't have to work like they might in, say, a Jason Bourne movie. A great example of that would be the inept federal agents that repeatedly can't seem to comprehend that a building might have more than one exit (they might want to apply for a job with the FBI on The Blacklist).
The character of the Punisher was better in Daredevil. The juxtaposition of the two characters made for some really interesting dialogue as well as prompting the ideological debate about violence and justice. Without that foil, the Punisher comes across rather wooden.
The first episode was the best, in that it picks up after the events of the Daredevil plotline. It has Castle as a recluse construction worker who ends up saving a young man's life (mostly with the use of a sledgehammer). It looks like the setup will be Punisher = Equalizer with more brooding. But that plot template goes out the window pretty fast. And that's where the puzzle begins.
In the first episode, Frank Castle aka the Punisher burns his signature skull emblazoned body armor. Which means that we have another case of Superman 2. Punisher doesn't want to be the Punisher any more (like the movies Wolverine and Ghost Rider:Spirit of Vengeance - did anyone see that one besides me?). And we have a long series of episodes that pull Castle back into the action via a military conspiracy.
And this drags on.
The comic characters of Micro and Jigsaw (who doesn't show up until the last few minutes of the season as a set up villain for the next season most likely) appear, but not like the comics. There is action, but most of it involves Castle grunting (a lot) and being outnumbered.
And here is why this probably doesn't work. The show can't decide what to be. Is it a realistic actions show? Is it a commentary on PTSD? Is it part of the Marvel comic universe? Because when it becomes an action show, it stops being a comic. When it goes back to being a comic (Castle can walk off a few bullet wounds; the villain can survive a tremendous loss of blood and 11 hour surgeries to survive; the lead Federal agent can take a shot to the head and bleed and bleed but come out okay at the end) it doesn't hold up with the action genre.
And as a comic character, it doesn't need to have Thor pop in, but it missed some chances to tie in to the larger Marvel universe.
Of course, the Punisher is a difficult character to have in the Marvel Universe. Like Vigilante in the DC Comics, Punisher, like Tony Stark, has no actual powers. Unlike stark, his powers are his incredible marksmanship and his will to wipe out the dregs of society. There are some parallels, but it is the method of the Punisher that makes him problematic. He debuted as a villain and underwent several different iterations over the years.
The problem with the show is that you only see Castle as the Punisher a few times. The rest he is bickering with Micro, brooding, or trying to overcome the guilt of his lost family. It ends with a positive message about support groups, but it also ends so out of character for the Punisher that I felt as if the show was setting up the idea that there will be no more Punisher.
Actually, what I thought was that the show is going to try to rehabilitate Frank Castle then, next season, Jigsaw comes back out of the hospital and wants revenge on Frank who didn't kill him forcing him into an angst laden season of decision to be or not to be the Punisher.
Perhaps not, but we will see.
Anyway, the show was ok. It lacked the power that the character had in Daredevil. It could have been better, but I felt it tried to deal too much with his inner demons without keeping the source material in front of the lens. The Punisher needed more of the Punisher.
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