The Punisher (Netflix) (2017)

The Punisher hit all the right notes typical of a ronin of the American military machine. It blends in. I did not get any comic book feels even with Karen Page and that Detective who owes his promotion to Daredevil were on hand.

What isn’t explored of such ronins in books, TV, or cinema? Ronins are the bread and butter of the action genre. The A-Team, Jack Reacher, and even Jason Bourne all had their military beginnings before living out of the system. I've watched a lot of them.

Netflix MCU consistency

There is a consistency issue if you overthink it. The story has more pop than most Netflix Marvel stories which is to say it had explosions and people died. And that somehow it did not draw in any Defender. 

The last shot of Danny Rand in the Defenders meant that he would take over from Daredevil so where was he? Being associated now with a cinematic universe is more a distraction I think, or shall I say overthink.

Ron Bernthal as the Punisher

I liked Ron Bernthal more in the second season of Daredevil. The Punisher wanted people dead and Matt Murdock didn’t despite having a devil outfit. It was that simple. In his own series the Punisher needs to be more than a killer and Ron is not doing it for me.

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He does not come off as a sympathetic figure. I don’t feel myself connecting with Frank's pain and longing and that lessens payoff when he gets his target.  

Not that there was any lacking in dramatic setup. There were dream sequences and daydreaming ones of Frank Castle’s murdered family and still something felt missing despite all visuals pointing to a broken man.

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I did enjoy the angry sometimes wild man but there are some distractions. Ron tens to have this kind of growl or a grunt, a kind of a war cry. He reminds me of Wolverine that way. 

Maybe that’s why I not buying the grieving husband role. I enjoy Wolverine for what he is and not for his losses and baggage because he doesn’t have much of a history.

Healing factor

Which brings me to the story’s biggest problem, sometimes Frank Castle can heal like Wolverine. Let me rephrase, the story’s idea of tension is not the chase, the clues, the whodunit; it’s the injuries resulting from enemy encounters.

I think the creators of the show just really want to be realistic so in order not to look super Frank always gets injured. Two times in the series he required extensive medical attention that surprisingly still worked even without a hospital. 

What made it look bad is that the story has to retain movement it almost appears like Frank Castle heals like Wolverine - well not as instantaneous at least.

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If I had a collapse lung (which I’ve never had) I can’t imagine myself standing up in less than a month much less be in combat condition. 

Based on the dialogue for this particular injury (I can’t recall ever seeing any time cards to know how much time has passed) Frank couldn’t have been down for more than a week, maybe not even more than 3 days, and then he was fighting again. Maybe a trained soldier can do it I don’t know.

Consider also that the collapse lung was the result of torture so there are unmentioned amounts of other injuries albeit not as pronounced as a collapse lung – bruising, muscle pain or cramps, swollen eyes. 

The torture is his second major injury during that required a doctor and we still haven’t even mentioned the headshot that grazed him. He wasn’t even knocked out with that. 

Ok he can stand up but should he be able to fight every few days much less the following morning of treatment?

No Finesse

Is Frank Castle such a brute in the comics? Like his war cry I have a problem with this side of him. He always seems to be in a rush. Certainly getting beat up more than once so that adds to the impression.

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Frank is a trained sniper. I’ve watched enough sniper documentaries to see the patience required in that kind of warfare. 

The movie Enemy at the Gates – a sniper vs. sniper movie – was more a hunt, requiring clues along the way, rather than a violent encounter after another until eventually the top villain. Jason Bourne has enough action and some semblance of patience the way he circles his target. 

Frank and Micro may have scenes where they plan their moves they had little air of strategic contemplation like an Enemy of the Gates or Jason Bourne.

The Man to Watch

The man to watch is Micro at least if you're looking for that emotional payoff. What else can you wish for Frank who has a death wish except that he gets his man before he does get his wish?

Micro at least has more range and depth. An NSA analyst who had to pretend to be dead; Frank was meant to be guns partnered with his keyboards – Micro is the tech guy. He longs for his family and we get a payoff in the end. He is wronged by the system and still sees a wide spectrum of solutions from legal to helping Frank get his way. He’s the guy.

It helps to actually have a living family to fight for compared to Frank, not that Frank never had his in the series. Dream sequences which initially meant to show a broken man eventually lead to a letting go.

Frank said after it all that he’s scared in having no war to fight. He’s the Punisher, how can you believe that?

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