New Punisher: War Zone Trailer Insists on Shooting at You

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 13, 2008

Punisher: War Zone

If you are anything like me — and I hope that you are, because being like me is awesome in a can — then your loyalty to Thomas Jane as The Punisher is going to probably prevent you from being at all interested in this new incarnation, Lionsgate’s Punisher: War Zone. Directed by kickboxer turned Oscar nominated short filmmaker Lexi Alexander and starring Ray Stevenson of “Rome” fame as Frank Castle, War Zone picks up where the last film left off, following the infamous vigilante as he racks up the body count.

And putting aside from my loyalty to Mr. Jane and his very solid depiction of Castle in 2004’s The Punisher, I will say that this trailer isn’t doing much of anything for me. The dialogue seems forced and the action is very run-of-the-mill. As well, Stevenson does not have that Punisher feel to him.

In its defense though, this is only 1 minute of mixed clips from a film that will end up being at least 90 minutes long, so it is by no means a complete picture. The good news is that the film also stars Dominic West, who was very good in 300, it was written in part by the same guys (Matt Holloway and Arthur Marcum) who wrote Iron Man and it is under the watchful eye of producers Gale Ann Hurd and Avi Arad, who are two for two this summer with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. It should be noted, however, that while Punisher is a Marvel property, this film is not being produced by Marvel Studios. It is under the often up and down guidance of Lionsgate — and aside from the Saw franchise and the Crank franchise, they have not been really knocking off our collective socks in the past few years.

So as you can see, I am back and forth, up and down, totally not interested yet curious at the same time about Punisher: War Zone. Such a conflicted state should be reserved for more interesting films, I know, but this is all I have at the moment. I am, by all measures, interested to see what all of you have to say about the trailer, which can be seen below thanks to the folks over at IGN.

Watch the teaser for Punisher: War Zone:

Sound Off: What do you think of this new incarnation of the Punisher?


Read more articles by Neil Miller

« Previous Article | Next Article »

Related Topics:

First Look, Movie News, Movie Trailers, Previews, Coming Soon, , , , , ,

Related Reading:

Your Ad Here

Comment Policy: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Film School Rejects reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. We also reserve the right to modify any curse words in your comments and make you look like an idiot. Thank You!

  • 8LeggedFreak
    I think it looks insane. Looking forward to it for sure.
  • Chris
    Even though Jane was a great Frank Castle (don't even get me started on Dolph Lundgren), his non-involvement won't stop me from being interested. I'm a HUGE Punisher fan, and I'm dyin' to check this one out.
  • Is this movie really a sequel to the Thomas Jane movie? Or is this movie to "The Punisher" as "The Incredible Hulk" is to Ang Lees "Hulk". Is this movie another "Oh, just ignore that last film" type of situation? - I ask because at the 8 second mark, you see Frank Castle holding the body of, I assume, his child. They, and two other bodies, are on a blanket, on green grass. This was how the Punishers family was gunned down in the comic, while having a picnic in Central Park. In "The Punisher", they were gunned down in Florida, right? I havent seen "The Punisher" in a while, maybe the bodies of his family did fall on a blanket on the grass, and yes, I do understand that they have green grass in Florida, but the this split second from the trailer put the comic version of that event in my mind, not the first movie. Just curious if anyone knew if they were "reworking" the Punisher in this film, the same way they did the Hulk in his new film. - Any thoughts? --Senseless Babble
  • Chris
    In the Jane film, the family was gunned down off the coast of Florida (I forget if it was Cuba or some other island). But to answer your question Babble, this is more of a "reboot" of the series, taking place in New York.
  • Stevenson is a better presence than Jane. And I love Jane, especially in Homeless Daddy (Arrested Development reference!), but this looks much more exciting and Travolta-less. I'm in.
  • Wow. This looks like a pile of poo and a half. The film didnt need rebooted. The first was a great intro to the character and the last 20 minutes were PERFECT. This looks like a fine action movie, but a horrible Punisher movie. The Punisher these days is written very professionally, and would behave like Tom Jane at the end of the first - methodical, calculating. The Punisher does not hang from chandaliers, spinning in circles, firing a gun in each hand.

    This looks like The Transporter + Boondock Saints + Mediocre Acting. This new Punisher does nothing for me. And that line about "Get my hands on God." HOLY CRAP THAT IS TERRIBLE. Punisher long ago stopped blaming God and now blames only criminals.

    Remember - This script was so bad Thomas Jane, a huge fan of the Punisher and comics (and presumably a fan of being paid lots of money) walked off. Looks fine for action, looks crap for Punisher fans. And I forgot to mention, his new turtleneck armor looks ridiculous.
  • Nish
    I agree with Robert, this looks like a steaming turd of a movie. I am thoroughly disappointed in Marvel, the last Punisher movie was great (although a little light on violence) and I was hoping this one would be more violent with some really cool deaths.
  • 8LeggedFreak
    The script has been rewritten multiple times since Jane's departure, giving a new, more MAX series-esque angle. And the "Get my hands on God" line is from the comic anyway (Widowmaker, part 2).
  • Have you read the new script, 8Legged?

    And just BTW, Widowmaker is the worst, by far, of all the MAX storylines, so while I dont remember the line, it makes sense it would come from there.
  • I am So Pumped For this movie, almost as much as neil after he orders papa johns.
blog comments powered by Disqus