a5c7b9f00b After the murder of his family, Marine veteran Frank Castle became a vigilante known as "The Punisher" with only one goal in mind, to avenge them.
After exacting revenge on those responsible for the death of his wife and children, Frank Castle uncovers a conspiracy that runs far deeper than New York's criminal underworld. Now known throughout the city as The Punisher, he must discover the truth about injustices that affect more than his family alone.
**Spoiler alert**<br/><br/>What you have here is an action show that mixes in suburban drama, bro bonding, office politics and some weird sex scenes. All in all, I'd say it's a good direction for the Marvel drama show universe, but it still lacks the polish and focus that we got from the first season of Daredevil. <br/><br/>I have trouble not comparing any show that Marvel puts out to Daredevil, because that was an amazing show. The pacing, strong characters and the creative filming set the tone for what I was expecting from Marvel. They have delivered on that plateau about 50% of the time. <br/><br/>Back to Punisher...<br/><br/>Pros: <br/><br/>1. Bernthal extends his acting potential with this show. I was expecting a steady stream of action violence where Jon simply screams and shoots, but I was pleasantly surprised. We see his character laugh, cry, crack jokes and even discipline a child. Bernthal pushed himself with this show, and it translates to the screen well. <br/><br/>2. Creative violence is an achievement in this show that will stay with me long after the credits roll. I loved the wooded scene where Punisher is searching for Gunner. That brought me back to paramount moments from No Country for Old Men and some of Tarantino's films with it's tension. Seeing Bernthal pop out of the leaves to murder a government goon was satisfying to the fullest. In addition, the way that bullet proof glass was used to create a twist (and ultimately extend the show's run time quite a bit) was extremely clever, and I didn't see it coming. <br/><br/>3.The strong supporting cast of this show makes use of the run time in a way I didn't expect. I did not think that Daniel Webber's character (serial bomber) would have such an impact on the story. His arch came way out of left field, and it led to some clever story telling that hooked me instantly. His tragic life ended in a very controversial scene where Punisher kept telling him, "do it, do it." Of course, he was prompting him to pull the trigger that would detonate the bomb, and end his own life.I liked Sam Stein a lot. He was like a place of pure black on a big painting. A place for our eyes to rest. He was a point of realism that we could relate to. His death was all the more painful, and I did not expect it because of the family friendly ethics of Iron Fist. Lieberman was great, always entertaining and pitiful in his own way. <br/><br/>Cons:<br/><br/>1. There is far too much screen time for Bernthal and Lieberman. While I understand that there was a lot of tension between these two characters because one caused the other's suffering, the point was drawn way out. I would have rather liked to see their hideout been raided halfway through the show. This would have forced them to regroup, and we would have gotten a glimpse of the hysteria that Punisher really is. I don't like their bonding moments, the college age antics seem really childish in a show that is meant for an adult crowd.<br/><br/>2. Madani's role in this show is completely bewildering. I was paying close attention to what was being said and done in her office, and I still can't decide whether I want to root for her, or boo her. Is she good for Punisher? Is she bad for Punisher? I feel as though her position on the antics happening in the city is never really fleshed out. She is hard to relate to. <br/><br/>3. There really should be more action in this show. There's a little too much build up to the action, and it sets our expectations way high as an audience. After seeing Punisher in Daredevil season 2, I was hoping for more of that, and we actually got very little of his gory destruction. There are some creative moments, just not enough. <br/><br/>4. The first episodes of this show could be completely left out. They have little to do with the rest of the story. They simply provide context for Punisher and whatever is explored in them is abandoned.<br/><br/>7/10. Good show, not bad, great moments. It's very entertaining, it just lacks polish. Marvel needs to ignore internet politics and just make good shows and we will have more masterpieces like Daredevil.
Acting, story line and pretty much everything else is top notch. After seeing first trailer my hopes were high for this show. It is true to the original comic book in a way of portraying Frank Castle and shows complicated reasoning behind his brutal behavior. Really good show, probably best since Breaking Bad.