BLOOD WORK: BLOODY GOOD TELEVISION: NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES ~ THE PUNISHER (2017)

I can't state this fact enough that this year has been absolutely incredible for comic book fans in regards to the number of movies and television series based on super hero properties that have come out! Some of them have been great and, yeah... some of them were not what I hoped they'd be. But all in all, just the fact that these things are being made in such quantity is mind blowing. One of the last of these properties to be released this year is the Netflix original series THE PUNISHER.

The Punisher has always been a controversial character in comic books and media. He's less a super hero and more an action hero melding of Rambo and Paul Kersey (DEATH WISH). Frank Castle is a completely normal person dealing with an incredible tragedy and post-war trauma. He's what a real life vigilante might look like. And he kills his enemies. With extreme prejudice. These are the aspects of the character that make him so compelling and so enduring.

I'll admit that I haven't read a whole lot of Punisher comics. While I think he's a great character and beyond cool, I personally was getting my fix of this type of character elsewhere, like in the Rambo movies or the action movies in general that I was watching growing up. I tend to gravitate more towards the super-powers in the comic books I read than the human vigilantes (with obvious exceptions of course i.e. Batman). I guess I look for a bit more theatricality in super-heroes like a fiery-skulled biker from Hell or a cosmic chrome surfer dude or an angry green giant.

All of this is to say that I am no Punisher expert whatsoever. Not even close. I was lucky enough to know who Micro and Billy Russo were before going in.

That being said, I loved this new Punisher series.

THE PLOT

After having avenged his family's murders, eliminating the gangs responsible and his former Marine commander, Frank Castle has disappeared living a shadow of a life. Still haunted by the things he'd done in Afghanistan and the feeling that those events led directly to his family's deaths, Frank wonders if his vengeance is finished or not. When a mysterious figure named Micro contacts Frank, revealing a web of government corruption and deceit tying back to Frank's military unit, Castle is forced out of hiding once more.With Micro as the eyes and ears and Castle as the trigger finger, the Punisher sets out to kill all those responsible for his family's death once and for all.

WHAT I LIKED

Jon Bernthal. The Punisher is one of those characters whose been done many times and many times by great actors. I personally thought both Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson were great Punishers. And a part of me even enjoys Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle too. Jon Bernthal contributes another wonderful portrayal of the Punisher worthy of the greats. I thought he stole the show when Punisher was introduced in Daredevil Season 2 and he delivers the goods here too. The jailhouse hallway scene in Daredevil is still one of the greatest onscreen moments the Punisher has ever had (or any hero for that matter) and as the Punisher's own show reaches its finale there is a scene nearly as incredible if not moreso.

Heavy stuff. Wow, if anything has ever made me feel sympathy for our soldiers and what they have to go through, this show drove that message home. As you'd might expect this series has a major focus on ex-military soldiers and doesn't mince words when it comes to PTSD. The series approaches the subject matter very seriously and never makes light of what soldiers endure, both on and off the battlefield. This subject matter is the grounding rod for series. Of all Netflix's Marvel series this one feels the most real and serious of them. In many ways it touches on the same pulse that the original Rambo film, FIRST BLOOD, touched on (by the way, this storyline would make for an epic Rambo movie). The series is very tragic but by the end it manages to send a message of hope.

The Punisher/Micro Relationship. Now I don't know the comics as well as I would like but I believe this show took some liberties with Micro's character, giving him a different background and motivation. Punisher and Micro both end up wanting the same thing but believe in going about it differently. As a result they have some entertaining interactions and one of the best relationships in the show. It develops naturally and feels genuine. You want to root for these characters as the show progresses.

Episode Highlights. The episodes in the series that I found particularly good were Episode 5: Gunner, Episode 10: Virtue of the Vicious (a Rashoman style episode where the same story is told from several perspectives), and of course the final two episodes, 12 and 13, a brutal, bloody, and intense duo of episodes.

NITPICKS

Not as kill crazy. After the incredibly violent spectacles with Punisher in Daredevil Season 2, I was kinda hoping for more similar intensity in this series. What they gave me was intensity of a different kind, that of former soldiers dealing with their PTSD. We do receive several action heavy episodes and two extremely bloody episodes at the end, but overall there was more character study and drama than I was expecting. These aspects of the show were very well done but in hindsight I just didn't feel the action level was as high as Daredevil Season 2.

Lackluster Villains. Aside from Billy Russo, I thought the central villains were lacking a bit in comparison to Kingpin, Kilgrave, Nobu, or even Madame Gao. Given, those characters were far more fantastic in scope. The villains of this series are all too human which adds a level of reality to them that those more outrageous villains don't have (with the obvious exception of Kingpin). They are appropriate for this series but as far as the bar set for the villains by the previous Netflix series I felt these villains didn't measure up as well. Billy Russo I thought was done very well though and wonderfully setup for his super villain alias: Jigsaw.

The Agent Madani plot thread also takes a while to get going and feels sluggish for several episodes. Ultimately though, I really enjoyed this series and feel it might be the best of the three series to come out of 2017 from Netflix.

THE VERDICT

The Punisher picks up where Daredevil Season 2 left off and takes Frank Castle through the last leg of his mission against those responsible for the death of his family. The subject matter of this series is far heavier than any of the other Netflix Marvel shows (Jessica Jones coming close though), more serious, and far more grounded in reality. There's a brutal truth to the series just like in Jessica Jones and the filmmakers handle it with respect. The characters are portrayed very well by the actors and writers and the series is easily the bloodiest of them all as would befit the Punisher. It's as if the film First Blood had been turned into a television series. I loved it.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10