Bosco685 Posted November 25, 2017 Author Share Posted November 25, 2017 Why 'The Punisher' Creates the Best Version of Frank Castle Ever Quote With a longer format of a TV series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Castle was never going to be able to be the same kind of stoic killer we know from the comics. However, in tackling that challenge, Bernthal and Co. manage to create one of (if not the) best versions of The Punisher we've ever seen. Cycle of Hell The first thing that's uniquely different (and utterly affecting) about Jon Bernthal's Punisher is that he's more like a rabid dog just itching to deal out pain and punishment, either always in a manic rage, or trying to hold himself back from one. What's great about The Punisher Netflix series is that it delves deep beneath the surface of Frank Castle's anger and violent actions, to examine what fuels that raging fire inside him. No Marvel Comic in memory has used the memory of Castle's family as effectively as the Netflix series does, with its repeated motif of Frank being stuck in the nightmare of his family's murder. Punish With Feeling In Marvel Comics, Frank Castle has all the emotion of a Terminator robot. He's mostly stoic and quiet, only showing emotion when gleefully slaughtering scum. That characterization works in comic fantasy, but less so with character who is the center of an entire seasonal arc on a television show. As stated, Bernthal excels at infusing The Punisher with real emotion, without turning him into a sappy dramatic character who doesn't feel in step with the character. If anything, Bernthal nails what kind of man a real, human, version of Frank Castle would be. The Hero We Deserve Using The Punisher as a metaphor for social debate has been going on about as long as the character has existed. In the comics, that debate about the Punisher and his actions has been revisited from any number of different angles; however, one thing the comics don't do that this Netflix series does, is actually add a distinctly noble (even "heroic") shine to The Punisher. This idea is explored very well in episode 8, "Virtue of the Vicious", which mimics the classic Kurosawa film Rashomon by having a terrorist attack thwarted by The Punisher described in different ways, by different eyewitness. Each witness has a different depiction of The Punisher in mind, but it's only Karen Page who knows the truth of Frank's heroic bravery and sense of self-sacrifice. wormboy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan510 Posted November 25, 2017 Share Posted November 25, 2017 11 hours ago, wormboy said: Finished this series. Easily the best depiction of the Punisher to date. Hands down the best Marvel Netflix show yet. (I should add “In my opinion” here to avoid the wrath of Logan510 ) No wrath here, we're all allowed to have our own opinions I preferred season 1 of Daredevil, but even that had issues. wormboy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzilla43 Posted November 25, 2017 Share Posted November 25, 2017 Great show but it seemed to end with ep12. They had to do ep13 just to turn Russo to Jigsaw. Russo escaped with the money but he came back to fight the Punisher? CIA gave the Punisher clean slate? If you have not watched the show skip ep13 it is pointless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jking3437 Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 I enjoyed it , I liked the play between frank and micro might be a dumb question but is there any reveleance to the marvel universe when the deputy director of the cia says she is in New York in reference to the Nypd commsioners son being a hacker ? Just asking seems like something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdoginohio Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Would be funny if the had Carl wearing a Punisher shirt on TWD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted November 26, 2017 Author Share Posted November 26, 2017 12 minutes ago, kdoginohio said: Would be funny if the had Carl wearing a Punisher shirt on TWD. "Dad, how do I look in this shirt?" "Take that off. RIGHT NOW!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skypinkblu Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 On 11/25/2017 at 3:09 PM, godzilla43 said: Great show but it seemed to end with ep12. They had to do ep13 just to turn Russo to Jigsaw. Russo escaped with the money but he came back to fight the Punisher? CIA gave the Punisher clean slate? If you have not watched the show skip ep13 it is pointless. We just finished watching and I said the same thing to my husband. It was great up to episode 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian48 Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Maybe they needed EP 13 as a setup for season 2 (if they decide to spend the $$$ for season 2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Cataldo Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Still don't know if I'll be able to watch this. I don't like excessive gore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justafan Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 just finished. I was surprised there was even an ep13 but happy to have 1 more. I understand why it is there but the execution leaves a bit to be desired. it also seems a bit disjointed and rushed as if they shot it not sure if they were going to include it. one scene that seemed off was when micro was nervous about finally having dinner with his family at their home when they all just finished spending a couple of days confined to a safe house apt with the fbi and micro having a quickie with his wife. Figured when he didn't kill Russo that was the birth of a new villian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisco37 Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Made it thru Episode 4 this weekend. I'm not really digging it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Marino Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 finished episode 6 last night. The fact that this show is supposed to take place in the same world as Spider-Man homecoming really took me out of it of late. Why does this elite group of soldiers not have any super-high tec stuff? I get this is a sandbox show, and it's fun for what it is, but to say it's part of a larger universe where Iron Man, Thor, and a giant alien invasion destroyed NYC is a stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewWorldOrder Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) Punisher is one of my all time favorite anti-heroes and a huge reason I kept reading comics when I was a kid in the late 90's. My g/f and I are 6 episodes in we & are bored to death. This is coming from a guy who loves a slow burn, and also had high hopes after DD S2 which was amazing. I'd like to see Frank Castle do more "Punisher" things. The show has a weird tone to him. One episode he is a recluse who cant even talk to anyone, then he's a step father/child therapist. I felt at times, the show focused to much on Micro's family. I am not interested in his son stealing skateboards etc. This whole military backstory origin is so lackluster. I feel like I am watching a more advanced CSI NYC. Jon Bernthal is a fine Punisher, but I'm hoping the ending episodes grab my attention, however I struggled to get through episodes 5 and 6. I am tired of this military boring PTSD BullS***. Punisher is supposed to be a psychopath that kills thousands of people over his lifetime. I feel like Karen is 2 seconds away from wanting to have Frank's babies and turn him back into a family man again. I understand that we can't have 13 episodes on nonsensical violence 24/7, but is the actual Punisher coming to screen because right now I just feel I am watching a show about a ex-marine with terrible PTSD Punisher needs the mafia, a real jigsaw, or Barracuda cause what I am getting so far is a who cares war back story with a police detective that no ones cares about and a creepy millennial whiny micro who is now a voyeur of his ex-family. IMO the only show that Marvel/Netflix did right for both the comic community and the casual viewers was Daredevil by leaps & bounds. I am glad so many of you enjoyed this season, but as I HUGE Punisher fan so far I am highly bored & disappointed. I am going to finish the season, and I hope my opinion changes. I really do............... Edited December 5, 2017 by NewWorldOrder october and Logan510 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameIsLegion Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 I like the fact that the Netflix portrayal gave Frank's character a little more depth, without sacrificing or softening the gritty quality that make the Punisher unique. Of all the Netflix Series I put this in the top 4 for all seasons. (easily above IF & Defenders, and maybe LC, which bogged down towards the end) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan510 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 8 hours ago, MYNAMEISLEGION said: I like the fact that the Netflix portrayal gave Frank's character a little more depth, without sacrificing or softening the gritty quality that make the Punisher unique. Of all the Netflix Series I put this in the top 4 for all seasons. (easily above IF & Defenders, and maybe LC, which bogged down towards the end) Thank goodness for Hollywood... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted December 12, 2017 Author Share Posted December 12, 2017 Someone is going to be happy today. 'The Punisher' Season 2 Officially Announced Quote Marvel has officially announced a second season of The Punisher. The Punisher was the sixth title and seventh overall season of Marvel characters on Netflix. Prior to the violent revenge tale, Netflix released two seasons of Daredevil, single seasons of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, and the ensemble series The Defenders. STORMSHADOW_80 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 Just finished. I enjoyed it overall. I thought JB was a great Punisher and had all the depths with his acting.. I thought the action was especially good, and the directing on the action shots was incredible. I enjoyed the majority of the cast, with my favorites being Curtis and Madani's mom. It wasn't perfect, especially some of the contrived smaller plot lines, but I don't mind that he was investigating some sort of conspiracy. BUT I would have appreciated some more actual PUNISHING, like in the comics. OR if in the end there was some type of dramatic event that made him realize he had to go back to PUNISHING. I didn't mind the PTSD angle for Frank, though the kid terrorist angle felt preachy and drawn out. I enjoyed it, but I didn't like it as much as DD or JJ. I liked it about as much as Luke Cage, which is quite a bit, but not quite the upper echelon. My least favorite part was the actor who played Micro. Not even a bad actor or anything, just didn't feel 'Micro' to me. If they do a season 2, I hope there's more 'Punishing' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco685 Posted December 12, 2017 Author Share Posted December 12, 2017 4 minutes ago, revat said: If they do a season 2, I hope there's more 'Punishing' Look up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewWorldOrder Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 http://ew.com/tv/2017/11/13/the-punisher-is-sensitive-thoughtful-and-boring-ew-review/ Totally agree with this guy's review. This season might be worse than Defenders and Iron Fist. At least Iron Fist made me laugh with the brother & sister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 16 hours ago, NewWorldOrder said: http://ew.com/tv/2017/11/13/the-punisher-is-sensitive-thoughtful-and-boring-ew-review/ Totally agree with this guy's review. This season might be worse than Defenders and Iron Fist. At least Iron Fist made me laugh with the brother & sister. I think the MUCH better action set pieces and MUCH better acting kept this well above Iron Fist, even if this version was too sensitive and occasionally slow/boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
