After getting introduced in Daredevil season 2, Frank Castle a.k.a.
the Punisher stars in his own solo Netflix series. And I found it partly good and partly disappointing.
The Punisher is quite a
fascinating fictional character. He’s an uber-badass. He’s a non-powered individual existing in a world of superpowers, but not only has he held his own, he has made himself among the deadliest and most intimidating. In his hands, guns become more terrifying and
potent than superpowers.
He has a code of honor, occasionally teams up with good guys, and is often moved to stand up for the weak and oppressed. But this does not necessarily make him one of the good guys. He’s a psychopathic, cold-blooded mass murder. Yes, he primarily targets bad guys. But he’s a psychopathic, cold-blooded mass murderer nonetheless. Thus, he has built a reputation of infamy that strikes fear in the hearts of criminals, something that most superheroes don’t elicit from them.
He finds a sick sense of fulfillment from what he does, but he doesn’t consider his vigilantism a righteous crusade. He doesn’t make any justifications. He acknowledges that he’s as bad as the criminals he kills, and also deserves to be punished – to be put to death – in the end.
He has a code of honor, occasionally teams up with good guys, and is often moved to stand up for the weak and oppressed. But this does not necessarily make him one of the good guys. He’s a psychopathic, cold-blooded mass murder. Yes, he primarily targets bad guys. But he’s a psychopathic, cold-blooded mass murderer nonetheless. Thus, he has built a reputation of infamy that strikes fear in the hearts of criminals, something that most superheroes don’t elicit from them.
He finds a sick sense of fulfillment from what he does, but he doesn’t consider his vigilantism a righteous crusade. He doesn’t make any justifications. He acknowledges that he’s as bad as the criminals he kills, and also deserves to be punished – to be put to death – in the end.
These things about the character are
reflected in his comics through perpetual display of over-the-top
violence. Oftentimes, the carnage he generates
gets too extreme that it turns into a black comedy. This
is what the Punisher is all about – dark, cynical, and very violent, to the extent that it’s almost comical.
So after getting an origin arc
out of the way in Daredevil season 2 –
culminating in him finally wearing the iconic skull emblem on his chest – I was
expecting that his solo series would now focus on him going on a murder-spree against
terrorists, predators, serial killers, traffickers, mobsters, and other banes
of society. But this wasn’t the
direction that the 13-episode debut season of The Punisher took.
Very early during the very first episode, after tracking down and killing the remaining gangsters involved in the death of his family, Frank Castle retires as the Punisher and takes on the identity of “Pete Castiglione.” Heck, he even burns his vest that has the skull emblem on it. At the very least, I assumed he was going to wear it all throughout the series, whenever he goes on a mission. It would take until episode 11 before Frank wears his Punisher costume again.
Very early during the very first episode, after tracking down and killing the remaining gangsters involved in the death of his family, Frank Castle retires as the Punisher and takes on the identity of “Pete Castiglione.” Heck, he even burns his vest that has the skull emblem on it. At the very least, I assumed he was going to wear it all throughout the series, whenever he goes on a mission. It would take until episode 11 before Frank wears his Punisher costume again.
Moreover, the storyline is once
again tied up with Frank Castle’s past. Instead
of finally taking on bad guys completely unrelated to the death of his family,
he’s once again all about seeking vengeance against people who had a hand on
that tragedy. Though it has a different
approach, I found it somewhat stale. Instead
of having a character study of him being a vigilante, and exploring his thought
process and his insane obsession of purging society of criminals, it was like having another “origin arc” once
again, when I thought that was already taken care of in Daredevil season two. On top
of this, it even offers somewhat of a “happy ending” for Frank Castle – an
inkling of becoming reformed – which I felt was out-of-character (again, based
on the comic book characterization).
There are a couple gratifying, brutal
action scenes. The best ones are when “Pete”
wields a sledgehammer to take on a bunch of thugs, the Punisher sets a trap to
an assault team in Micro’s hideout, and the final duel. It gets graphic and gory. But nowhere is it ever within the same hyper
levels shown in the comics. In a way, I understand
this. The Marvel Netflix shows have all
been about having a “grounded and realistic” feel, and if The Punisher shows the same quantity and quality of stuff that the
comics have in such a context, either it might have come off as if it’s
celebrating violence or it might have come off as a cheap, hokey exploitation
production.
Lastly, just like in Daredevil, Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of
the character is great, though Tom Jane is still the best live-action Punisher
in my book. I also liked Ben Barnes’
performance and character. As for the
rest of the cast, the acting from everyone is mostly strong.
In the end, I really would have
preferred if it had been more faithful to the comics in its tone, execution, and
characterization. But I nonetheless find
the show’s take worthwhile. The action
may have been toned down, but it was the cost it paid for having a more thoughtful
drama with themes that are different from the comics. In this sense, this show is a fresh interpretation
of the character and his mythos. The
story is gripping, and it has several notable moments.
Ignoring the comicbook source material, this is an objectively well-made show. I would welcome another season.
Ignoring the comicbook source material, this is an objectively well-made show. I would welcome another season.
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