Netflix November: The Punisher Misses The Point
- Nov 18, 2017
- 2 min read
Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, is maybe my all time favourite comic book character. So when Netflix, fresh off the resounding success that was Daredevil Season 1, announced that he would be making his mark in their corner of the MCU, I was excited. Turns out Netflix has no idea what they're doing.
Following the events of Daredevil Season 2, Frank Castle (John Bernthal) has left The Punisher behind, at least for a little while. But when ghosts from his past return to haunt him, Castle takes the war to them. Throw in a dogged Homeland investigator, old friends and a private military and you've got a recipe for a quality thriller, but not a quality Punisher.
In terms of an espionage thriller in the vein of Bourne or Reacher, The Punisher is good, really good. But there's just one thing, the name, and all that it implies. What we have here is very far from The Punisher I have come to know. Within the comics he's a hard man taking war to streets of New York as he battles various gangs and psychotic villains. He has a unique relationship with both the NYPD and the everyman. He doesn't uncover elaborate government plots involving the CIA or try to expose the truth. But in the mind of whoever made the show, that's who he is. During his stint in the second season of Daredevil, the character of a rage fuelled man hunting down the filth on the streets was executed to near perfection, but that's gone now.
The action, pacing and acting is all solid with a number of standout scenes. Be it Frank turning into a modern day Rambo against a crack team of assassins or quiet discussions between him and his friends, the quality on display is top notch. But it isn't what it claims to be.
I both can and cannot recommend The Punisher. If you don't know much about the character or are willing to ignore what it isn't, then you'll enjoy it. But if the misrepresentation of a popular character will kill the mood, then you probably won't. Treat it like Bourne and it's good, watch it for Frank, and it's not.
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