Punisher: War Zone 4K/Blu Ray Review (Lionsgate)

Punisher: War Zone is a 2008 comic book action film directed by Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans, Lifted, Arrow, & Supergirl). This was originally supposed to be a sequel to 2004’s The Punisher. Both Jonathan Hensleigh & Thomas Jane were attached to the project for a few years until they both left due to creative differences. Sons of Anarchy creator & The Shield writer/producer/director Kurt Sutter wrote the first draft for this feature. It had a much more serious tone to it like the previous film. The producers decided that they wanted to go a different direction so Sutter also left the production. This reboot is mainly based off the “Punisher Vol. 6″ comic. This is the first movie by Marvel to be released under the ”Marvel Knights” banner. 120 different guns were used in the feature. The film has 81 confirmed kills during it’s running time. It flopped at the box office & it only made $10 million from a $35 million budget. It’s the lowest grossing Marvel film in the theaters so far….

Frank Castle (played by: Ray Stevenson from Thor Trilogy, Rome, Dexter, & Kill the Irishman) has been “the Punisher” for five years. He is out for revenge for the tragic loss of his entire family. He decides to crash a party for mob boss Gaitano Cesare (played by: John Dunn-Hill from Highlander: The Final Dimension, Omerta, la loi du silence, One Eyed King, & Secret Window). Detectives Martin Soap (played by: Dash Mihok from Ray Donovan, 10th & Wolf, Dark Blue, & Basic) & Saffiotti (played by: Tony Calabretta from Waking the Dead & View of Terror) are at the scene waiting for The Punisher. The vengeful Castle murders everyone in sight & leaves a massacre to never be forgotten. During all the chaos, Castle accidentally kills undercover agent Nicky Donatelli. Capo Billy “The Beaut” Russotti (played by: Dominic West from The Wire, 300, Tomb Raider, Hannibal Rising, & The Affair) manages to escape with his associates Pittsy (played by: Mark Camacho from The Howling: Reborn, Arrival, Snake Eyes, & Arthur) & Ink (played by: Keram Malicki-Sánchez from Friday the 13th: The Series, Texas Chainsaw 3D, American History X, & Cherry Falls).

Castle finds Russotti’s hideout. He throws him into a glass crushing machine that leaves him hideously disfigured. Russotti becomes the new mob boss but his life is changed forever due his recent change of appearance. He only wants to be called “Jigsaw” from now on. Donatelli’s partner Agent Paul Budiansky (played by: Colin Salmon from The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Resident Evil, & AVP: Alien vs. Predator) joins the “Punisher Task Force” to get his vengeance on Frank Castle! Jigsaw frees his criminally insane brother Loony Bin Jim (played by: Doug Hutchison from The Green Mile, The Salton Sea, Lost, & Con Air) from the asylum. Castle tries to give Donatelli’s wife Angela (played by: Julie Benz from Dexter, Rambo, Jawbreaker, & Saw V) money to make up for his mistake. She gets angry & refuses help from her husband’s killer. Microchip (played by: Wayne Knight from Seinfeld, Jurassic Park, Basic Instinct, & 3rd Rock from the Sun) supplies Castle with new weapons & tells him that Russotti is still alive. The psychotic brothers are granted immunity after giving up Cristu Bulat who was about to commit an act of terrorism. Jigsaw gathers up an army of misfits to take over the city. They kidnap the Donatellis & Microchip to get Castle’s immediate attention. This leads to the final deadly confrontation between the rivals!!!!

Punisher: War Zone is a completely different film than 2004’s The Punisher. This reboot took away most of the serious tone from that & it just went crazy with everything else! It’s a live action cartoon, it’s loaded with bullets, chaos, & violence. It definitely has that Frank Castle comic book vibe to it when it comes to all those elements. Jigsaw & Loony Bin Jim were two of the most over the top villains I’ve ever seen in cinema. Both Dominic West & Doug Hutchison really hammed up their performances for this. It’s like they were competing the most ridiculous outcome here. It actually works for this & it’s always enjoyable to watch. Ray Stevenson wasn’t as good as Thomas Jane as The Punisher but he had a strong presence & he fit the look of Frank Castle. The rest of the supporting cast were really good here & it boosted the overall production quality. Speaking of that, this feature actually had a bigger budget than the previous adaption but it felt more like a direct to video release. It had an attention grabbing visual style to it & the special effects were great here. At the end of the day, there’s no doubt that War Zone is the most entertaining version of the character but it’s not the best one for sure when it comes to the final product. I am always curious how “The Punisher 2” would have been if the original people didn’t leave due to creative issues. This has so much replay value & it’s a blast to watch with a group of friends while drinking so it comes RECOMMENDED just for how much fun it is & the experience of it!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Lionsgate! This 2160p (2.40:1) transfer really shines on 4K! The unique cinematography here gives it’s a nice overall visual style & it’s fun to watch. It goes with the cartoon & live action comic book tone that the feature has. It has 3 different audio options which include  English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, & French: Dolby Digital 5.1 on this UHD release. These tracks sound awesome in my home set up & the action just roars through the speakers! Lots of that in War Zone so be ready for it. It’s a fun experience & it almost feels like you are there. It has English, English SDH, & Spanish subtitles. Both picture & sound are huge improvements over the previous home video releases!!!! It’s definitely worth the upgrade if you are a fan of this film or the Frank “The Punisher” Castle character.

Let’s discuss the special features from Lionsgate on this 4K/UHD release! “Audio Commentary” with director Lexi Alexander & DP Steve Gainer. They chat about their experience on the project. They talk about the cast & crew. Lexi defends all kinds of issues with the feature. She says she knew exactly what she was doing with this. She wanted it to be cartoony & over the top. She tells the story of her convincing Doug Hutchison to do this film after originally turning her down for it. They talk about it doing bad at the box office. Both participants do a scene by scene track for the most part. They had fun making this & you can tell. “The Making of Punisher: War Zone” is a little over 9 minutes. It has interviews with director Lexi Alexander, actors Julie Benz, Wayne Knight, Doug Hutchison, Colin Salmon, Dominic West, Ray Stevenson, & various members of the production. They talk about doing a more authentic version closer to the comics. They bring up that Ray Stevenson resembles the Tim Bradstreet illustrations & being perfect for the role. They chat about the rest of the cast & their experience on the feature. They mention that it’s more violent & takes direct scenes from the previous comics. “Meet Jigsaw” is a little over 3 minutes. It has interviews with Jigsaw himself Dominic West, actors from War Zone, & various members of the production. Dominic West says he will never do make up effects again after this & chats about his experience. They talk about the character & how his look is different from the comic books. They chat about Dominic West & his performance in the feature. “Weapons of The Punisher” is almost 5 minutes. They talk about & highlight the variety of artillery used in the film. It has some training & behind the scenes footage also. “Training to Become The Punisher” is almost 6 minutes. It shows actor Ray Stevenson training & preparing for the role of Frank “The Punisher” Castle. It has all kinds of behind the scenes footage. “Creating the Look of the Film” is almost 3 minutes. Various members of the production crew discuss the visual style of the feature. They talk about the unique color scheme for certain sets & characters. It also has a “Theatrical Trailer”. It also comes with a slipcover, digital code, & a blu ray copy. It’s available everywhere right now, check it out!!!!