Non-Spoiler Review
Ten days have passed and two times I've watched the Marvel's the Punisher and my opinion didn't change at all since the first time... It was brilliant.
I've been waiting years, hoping for a good depiction of the Punisher and it's finally here. I can official say that Jon Bernthal is my Punisher.
Jon Bernthal's portrayal of the character is my favorite of all the movies we know ( Punisher 89', The Punisher 04' and The Punisher War-Zone 08') but it's tricky and might not be likable by Punisher fans from Grant, Dixon and Ennis.
Frank Castle in this series is a violent man. But as a character, if we compare to the comics written by the previous authors I mentioned, he's more sociable in the way he relates to other characters, remembering me a lot of the early runs from Mike Baron and Carl Potts. But make no mistake, the violence of this show can be almost on par with Punisher MAX.
There are details that I didn't like. Sometimes Jon Bernthal portrayed a Frank Castle too emotional in certain circumstances, we get it he's more human but sometimes he needed to be a little tougher. But it's a minor detail and only in two times at most that we have seen him behaving like this.
This series doesn't have non-stop action. Like if we compare to Punisher: War-Zone. But we will have Frank Castle kicking ass for eleven episodes out of thirteen. This series, unlike the movies, had the time to develop Frank's story and the other two subplots.
I felt that it should be space for one episode to show us Frank's family being assassinated and Frank waking up from the coma and trying to fix things using the legal system. It would be important for the audience to understand that he was failed by the system like it was showed in Punisher: Year One.
Marvel's the Punisher wouldn't be good without all the actors and actress that paved the way for its success. Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Micro, Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani, Ben Barnes as Billy Russo and Deborah Ann Woll as Karen were the main foundation of these series.
It's unforgettable the moments we had between Frank and Micro, starting with torture and ending with friendship, Dinah Madani a Homeland agent who fought against the system to get the truth, Karen Page who was great help to Frank in providing intel about Micro and of course, Billy Russo who was amazingly played by Ben Barnes. With 25 years of reading Punisher comics, THIS Billy Russo is my favorite portrayal of the character in any media. Take this from a guy who didn't like Billy Russo/Jigsaw as a character in comics.
I have to mentioned and give a shout out to the filming quality image, great colors and it wasn't as dark as Daredevil season 2. Fantastic panorama shots and filmmaking.
Tyler Bates did the score for this series and it's superb! Great fit for the series and those like me who love to appreciate scores, you will get goosebumps when you hear some of them and relate to specific scenes.
The most notorious characters in the series.
Micro - Amazing cast. Just as good as Barnes for Billy Russo. This Micro is an updated version of our days modern ex-NSA analyst going rogue, with a Snowden-ish style. Nowadays the usual nerd isn't the "fat guy" behind the computer who eats trash food.
Micro was the main foundation to help Frank achieving his objectives and primarily while he was doing that he helped Micro achieving his. The bromance between both characters was really good to see. A relationship that began with torture end up like a good friendship. It's impossible not to laugh between the rants of these two characters on many occasions.
Billy Russo - What a role... and cast. Ben Barnes fit perfectly to the role. Not to mention the twist Netflix give this classic Punisher character. He isn't some hitman from the mafia. like he is portrayed in the comics, he is Frank's friend and possesses the same skillset as Frank due to his experience in the Marines corp. Finally Frank might have a true nemesis.
OVERALL RATE: 9 out of 10
Now let's go into the easter eggs and watch OUT for the SPOILERS!!
Easter Eggs & Punisher references
Some easter eggs you will see featured in this article you won't see it anywhere. I will only mention the easter eggs that are related to the Punisher source material. References or things outside this won't be mentioned. There are some references I did in a previous
article.
In the episodes list we have two references to the comics...
Ep.9 Front Toward the Enemy
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| Name of the Punisher MAX comic book written by Ennis |
Ep.13 Memento Mori
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| The name of the first issue of Edmondson's and Gerads run. |
In the first episode, we get some references to the comics.
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| Frank's look in the series just like the Punisher run from Greg Rucka |
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| The Sledgehammer fight is a clear homage to PunisherMAX 11. |
The Gnuccis
Was a gang led by Ma Gnucci in the comics. Ma didn't appear in the series but the door was left open to a possible plot in the upcoming Punisher season ( If we have one) when she can avenge the death of her own member or maybe he has some with familial ties.
"Welcome Back, Frank"
During the end of the first episode, when Micro is trying to track down Frank and spot him. He says "Welcome Back, Frank". That's a reference from the first Punisher miniseries written by Garth Ennis.
Kandahar scenes / Punisher: BORN
On episode 3 we got an amazing scene when certainly is an homage to Punisher: Born. Frank's platoon is being cornered and Frank goes alone into a warehouse in "one man army" mode and wastes all the hostiles by himself.
Pinball Machine
Seen on episode four when Frank kills the mook and put him above a pinball machine, a clear easter from this classic figure.
Flamethrower
We continue on episode four and Frank gets into a van full of weapons of the Homeland Security, he scares the agents with a flamethrower.
Frank used a similar maneuver in the comics by Ennis but he did actually burn the criminals to a crisp.
Curtis Hoyle
The same name, different characters. Both knew Frank in the war. The MCU version is one of the most trustable people Frank know and a good friend. The comics version cross paths with Frank in the Vietnam but he started working with a crooked general Van Tran's, tried to kill Frank, but Frank threw him out of the helicopter.
Battlevan
After a long absence from comics and the movies, the Battlevan is back. In the comics, it was literally a walking tank. Equipped by Microchip with all sorts of guns and gadgets to aid the Punisher in his missions.
The MCU version is a regular van where they use only for mobility.
Senator Ori
Ori appeared in the Punisher comics back into the 90's in the War Journal run. Ori was a senator with ties with the mob and he began a quest for vengeance because Frank killed his crooked nephew. In the series, Ori is a senator who defends gun control and tries to frame Frank accusing him of being attacking the hotel with Lewis.
Pete Castiglione
In the comics, Castiglione is the original of Frank Castle. He changed his name to Frank Castle just to make another tour in Vietnam. In the series, Frank Castle was known to the public as a dead man, he adopted the name of Pete Castiglione and tried to live a normal life... for a while.
Fight Ali vs Foreman
This fight was mentioned in episode 5. Where the father of Lewis emphasizes the date (1974) give us a hint of the first appearance of the Punisher in the comics. In Amazing Spider-Man #129.
Barracuda Reference
On the seventh episode after Frank Castle took the data from Bennet's cell phone. Billy Russo said to Bennet that if it wasn't for himself, Frank Castle would probably have Bennet's testicles hooked up to a car battery. Pretty much what Frank did to Barracuda.
Painted Face
Another reference to the comics when Frank is prepping himself to face ANVIL he paints the face just like in the YEAR ONE comics when he was ready to hit Billy Russo's headquarters.
Shooting the Head
Another reference but now for Punisher MAX. In comics version, this scene is when he's killing Microchip, they used the same shot when he's executing one of the ANVIL's agents.
Billy Russo / Jigsaw
The final fight between Frank and Russo was superb. In the final scenes, we saw the same scenes from the panels of PUNISHER: YEAR ONE comic. When Frank puts Russo in front of the mirror and smashes his face into it.
Finally I could complete this review, almost two weeks after the show. A bit late but didn't want to spoil anyone. I hope you enjoy it.
