Prepare yourself for creative uses of shrimp forks and chair legs, because Punisher: War Zone is the Greatest Movie EVER!
Review in a Nutshell: Punisher: War Zone is undeniably the definitive Punisher film. It distills the best elements of Garth Ennis’s writing into film form, in the process capturing the elusive quality that can only be described as “the comic book feel”.
This movie contains:
Loony Bin Jim.
Jigsaw.
Um…overcompensating, maybe?
CAUTION!
This podcast may contain High Levels of Daryl Surat.
The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast 
I will check out Punisher: War Zone based on your review. However, I disagree with you guys on Death Race and Doomsday. They were not good, mainly because the way they were done (at least to me) left no surprises. So when anything cool happened, I saw it coming from a mile away.
Also, Terminator Salvation will rock! despite the pg-13 rating.
God bless you Paul. GOD BLESS YOU for saying that Wanted was fucking terrible. I am the sort of person who watches a movie, and takes in everything, but mostly the plot. I like witty writing, I don’t mind a little winking at the camera, as long as it is not in excess. I can appreciate awesome action scenes, and I know how to turn my mind off when I know the movie is meant to be stupid fuel…but Wanted was just so bad.
Spoilers for anyone who wants to see Wanted, but had the movie ended on that train, with the main character having the realization that the guy he was trying to kill wasn’t the guy who killed his father but was actually his father, and then he died, I would have bought it. I mean, I had to deal with Morgan Freeman telling his minions to go out and kill because the 500-thread count egyption cotton told him to, and I had to deal with the supremely lame and artificial main character, who is the physicial manifestation of every fantasy a 12-year-old boy ever had. But now I have to sit here and swallow some bogus ass plot twist too? EXPLODING RATS! What the hell! Exploding rats, man! FUCK that movie!
I am also a fan of some of the recent Marvel movies, well, mainly Iron Man, so I can give Warzone a chance.
having talked with Paul in the past, he kind of comes off as pretentious. He has this tone of voice that makes him sound more intelligent than he actually is, although I’m not calling him stupid… this time. Although I still enjoy the podcast.
and my mom says he sounds like a rapist
Thank you for saying pretty much everything I wanted to talk about/hear said about Punisher: Warzone. I’ve been trying to get people to see this since I saw it in the theatres… alone. The basically silent Punisher makes this movie work for me so much, really allows my to connect with the Punisher, and, although “that” scene made me very happy, I think the “GODAMIT FRANK” scene lit my fire even more. However to try a pick a single gem out of the sea of diamonds this movie is, would be a disservice.
Wanted: Someone summed this up to me after I told him to go see it with, “After 15 minutes I thought this is the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen. Then after 1 more minute I realized it was also the best movie I’ve ever seen!” This sums this up properly. Wanted is a godamned great bad movie.
Although Paul is indeed a pretentious, stupid rapist, I agree with him and Daryl about this movie. I despised the Thomas Jayne Punisher movie, and I don’t like the Punisher as a character anyway. I went into this with really low expectations and came out very happy. It was exactly what it needed to be, and unlike the last Punisher movie, knew to keep its running time well shy of two hours.
Daryl, it’s up to you to write that Punisher/Golgo 13 crossover.
I liked Wanted – it was so absurd to the point of being sublime. I actually like some of Mark Millar’s stuff though, but agree that comics and movies should be kept separate. I can’t make a judgment on Garth Ennis because I haven’t read enough of his stuff.
– Zac
Punisher War Zone was an awesome film and while I did enjoy Doomsday, it didn’t have the same type of oomf that it did because I saw it after hearing the excellent review that you and Daryl did. Having said that though, I probably would have totally skipped Doomsday until finding it for $4 for sale.
I think that Punisher War Zone is one of the best reviews you’ve ever done Paul. Between this and last week’s excellent eXistenZ podcast you’re hitting a real strong streak. Follow this up with a few Arnold reviews, maybe a review of you and Sean fighting about Daredevil, perhaps even breaking into some of the more bizzare Italian giallo or maybe even Miike.
I wanted Wanted to be good, and would have taken it as an awesomely bad movie had the movie ended with the death of the main character on the train. I was perfectly fine with the rest of the movie, and was honestly loving it. Then post-fake-train-death happens, and the movie goes straight to hell. The only good thing after that was Morgan Freeman saying ‘Motherfucker’ in his Morgan Freeman voice. Everytime I think about March of the Penguins, I hear him say ‘Motherfucker’ and smile.
And Paul doesn’t seem any more pretentious then every other geek who knows something about something out there. In fact, he comes across as a lot more likeable than most geeks I know, who just seem awkward, and kind of talk in a too loud voice about the subjects they are well versed in. Paul is awesome, and I *heart* him. Severely.
It is nice to know other people do not like Garth Ennis writing.
Thank You Daryl and Paul
I’m surprised that I’m finding myself agreeing with Daryl on several counts on this podcast. I liked Wanted the movie more than Wanted the comic, because it had less of the main character waving his genitalia at the reader.
And we also share pretty much the same opinion with Garth Ennis and Mark Millar, too! What is this madness?
It is about time you did Punisher:WarZone. You now Have to do crank and transporter.
I always thought Paul sounded like he was a DJ for a lite rock FM station. “And next up we have Journey”.
Also, I love that marine “he can f’ing do it cause he is the f’ing punisher”
First off, I did not die. So there’s that.
Second, after thinking over the matter, while I said that I enjoyed Thomas Jane as Punisher but thought Ray Stevenson was a better fit, there is at least one thing I think Jane managed substantially better than Stevenson: the voice. Granted, Punisher shouldn’t talk a whole lot and is the type of hero whose monologues are best handled internally via voiceover, but the voice I hear delivering Punisher’s lines when reading the comics is always closer to Thomas Jane / James McCaffrey (aka the real Max Payne).
If you combined Thomas Jane’s voice with Ray Stevenson’s physicality you’d have pretty much the best Punisher. Incidentally, the old 2004 Punisher game for Xbox, PC, and such pretty much did exactly this. I recommend it, even though it is also very much in keeping with Ennis’ initial Punisher run as far as what you’re doing is concerned. Just be sure to apply the third party patch so that it shows the full violence of the executions.
And now that I think about it, my first introduction to Wayne Knight was on the short-lived Fox sketch comedy show The Edge in which he was probably the best cast member. I think I might have been the only person to have bothered watching that show, but as such I don’t by default hate him the second he shows up in something the way people who first and foremost remember him for Jurassic Park and Seinfeld are inclined to.
Hey Goob, was there an episode where you guys came up with the idea to create a service where you deliver kittens and replace them with new kittens when the old ones grow up and aren’t cute anymore?
I ask because I just saw a video sketch using the same idea and couldn’t remember which podcast its was STOLEN from!
I completely agree that War Zone is an awesome movie. Honestly, I hate when I watch movies that apologize for being what they are. I don’t need a long drawn out explanation about why Frank Castle kicks ass, he just does.
I have to disagree about Jigsaw and Looney Bin Jim. I really thought those two characters were awful. I mean any person who suddenly decides to give himself a nickname ought to be taken out into the street and shot. Although, I thought the individual characters were ok. I just thought the chemistry between them didn’t work. I really couldn’t believe they were supposed to be brothers. All of their protestations of love were just a little flimsy for me.
I actually really liked the police procedural parts though. (But then again I like just about any police procedural.) And I didn’t have a problem with the FBI agent’s wife. I thought the scene on the porch was actually pretty good and she wasn’t in enough of the rest of the movie to really bug me.
The end though is really awesome.
I have been waiting for this one you guys. I have weaited and you have delivered. You have said everything i have ever told anyone else about this film and for that i am so so grateful.
The best Punisher movie was “Man on Fire” with Denzel Washington.
Go Gators!!!
Garth Ennis…half of his career has been a satire that his fans just haven’t recognized yet.
Mark Millar, on the other hand, has never done anything BUT satire.
*****
Part of the issue, I think, is that people are still not willing to just embrace the direct-to-video concept. There’s no reason that movies like “Punisher: War Zone” needed to be in the theater at all! Except, possibly, as a form of advertising for the video release. Heck, DTV stuff doesn’t need to have any rating at all!
Nice review. I’m surprised at how poorly this film did theatrically, but then Rambo didn’t pull in big numbers either. Why aren’t the rest of the R-rated action fans seeing these movies in the theaters? Of course, Lionsgate didn’t really give some of us a chance this time around. I would have seen Punisher: War Zone theatrically if it had been there for more than a week.
Also, which scene is it that you didn’t want to spoil? Hints, please.
I have to disagree with Daryl about Doug Hutchison. Hutchison’s pretty famous playing intense or strange characters, like Eugene Tombs, the liver-eating mutant on the X-Files, and Percy in The Green Mile. Horace the hippy scientist on LOST is the exception, not the rule.
Jimmy “F’in'” McNulty as Jigsaw I’m assuming you can’t go wrong?