Punisher: War Zone is a 2008 comic book action film directed by Lexi Alexander; based on the fictional Marvel Comics vigilante/anti-hero the Punisher. It is the third film to depict the Marvel character Frank Castle (the Punisher). The film is a reboot that follows the original telling of Castle's war on crime and corruption rather than a sequel to 2004's The Punisher or 1989's The Punisher, and is the first film to be produced under the Marvel Studios and Marvel Knights production banner, which focuses on films for mature audiences. Northern Irish actor Ray Stevenson replaced Thomas Jane as Castle. In the film, Castle wages a one-man war against a horribly disfigured mob boss known as Jigsaw (Dominic West). Punisher: War Zone was released in North America by Lionsgate on December 5, 2008, and was released in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2009.

I haven't had this much fun in the theater since I saw Rambo earlier this year.

Stop the presses. That's all I needed to hear. I'm definitely skipping this one now!

Awesome! Pretty much nonstop action, beautifully shot and excessively gory. Heads get blown off, shoved in spikes, a man is eaten alive, another is stabbed with a spear and then burned to death, the list goes on. This may be the most nihilistic film I've ever seen, even moreso than the Saw films and certainly among action movies. Stevenson and West are great with Doug Hutchinson lending psychotic support as West's even more deranged brother.

This review sounds so... fake.

You'll regret it. This is brilliant action cinema. [b]No shaky cam to be found,[/] for one thing!

And no fluidity either, it was just one box shot after another. The camera never moved with any of the action, it was just locked down all the time. This film would've better served by the camera in a paint shaker style cinematography over the amateurish directing 101 style served up by Lexi. If it wasn't for the over-the-top kill shots this would've been a total waste of time.

Glad you liked it though

I was starting to think it might not be all that bad... but not anymore. That's no way to shoot an action film.

Except it's not like that. Pink just hates it so he's saying whatever fits his view.

This is one of the funniest movies of the year.

One thing I'll definitely say in favor of this movie over a whole slew of other recent action flicks: I could actually follow the action. Lexi Alexander is one of the few action movie directors these days not obsessed with the split second, hyper edited, shaky cam crap that's become a staple of darn near every action flick these days. There was no sense of motion sickness during the action. Some viewers might still get a little sick to their stomach due to the degree of violence she displays, but at least you'll be able to tell who's blowing whose head off.

I..........liked it? Dominic West was pure shit doing some sort of hybrid of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro and almost singlehandedly brings down the film all by himself, but I was entertained?

This I know for sure though. It blows the 2004 film right out of the water. That's not exactly a hard feat but considering how the film looked in the trailer, I think that's an accomplishment of some sort. The film also might have worked a little better if Jane were still in the role but Stevenson worked just fine.

**1/2

What did you think of Hutchinson as Looney Bin Jim?