PUNISHER: WAR ZONE

(A.k.a. THE PUNISHER 2; THE PUNISHER: WELCOME BACK, FRANK)

The film opens with a highly stylish montage of comic strip-type sequences (which look very similar to the animation scheme applied to the cover of REPO! A GENETIC OPERA) played over newsreel narration describing how notorious gangster Billy The Beaut (Dominic West) has avoided a prison sentence despite having killed countless people. It turns out the case against Billy fell through when the lead witness was mysteriously killed ...

In his secret lair, Frank Castle - a.k.a. The Punisher (Ray Stevenson) - watches the TV news footage with grim interest.

Shortly afterwards, the incredibly vain Billy turns up at his Mafioso boss uncle's plush mansion with his henchmen Pittsy (Mark Camacho) and Ink (Keram Malicki-Sanchez) for a celebratory law-dodging bash. The atmosphere turns frosty when Billy announces plans to buy some "biological" product due to be shipped into New York by Russian gangster Cristu (David Vadim).

But any animosity between Billy and his uncle is swiftly overshadowed by the arrival of Castle, who makes good of his vigilante status in the city by bloodily massacring the majority of the gathered criminals.

Billy and his stooges manage to flee, but Castle follows a police tip-off which leads him to their hideaway on the docks. Another gory confrontation ensues, culminating in Billy being thrown by Castle into a pit of broken bottles. Unfortunately, Castle also manages to accidentally kill undercover FBI agent Nicky (Romano Orzari) - much to the bitter resentment of the FBI, and especially Nicky's former partner Budiansky (Colin Salmon) ... who vows to put Castle behind bars for good.

Castle retreats to his gloomy hideout where he licks his wounds over this accidental slaying, and reminisces over how he lost his family a few years back when they witnessed a mob killing. Aah, revenge is the man's motive ...

But now, Billy has revenge in mind too. His looks have been hideously disfigured (truly - he looks like the lovechild of SIN CITY's Marv and HANNIBAL's Mason Verger), and he wants Castle's blood as a result. That, and to rule New York City by way of carrying out his deal with Cristu and to recover Mob money that he believes to be in the possession of Nicky's widow Angela (Julie Benz).

Billy, or Jigsaw as he prefers to be called beneath his new cut-and-paste deformed visage, promptly rushes to the local asylum where he frees his homicidal brother Loony Bin Jim (Doug Hutchison), and hatches a plan to enlist every small troupe of criminals in the city to build an army fit to rid their crimewave of The Punisher once and for all.

Meanwhile, Budiansky teams up with regular cop Soap (Dash Mihok) in a bid to bring The Punisher to justice. But they soon discover The Punisher is better use to them as an ally ...

I never read much of the "Punisher" comic series and must admit that although I get the feeling I may have seen the original 1989 film version starring Dolph Lundgren, I don't remember anything of it other than it's video cover. I have it on good authority though that it's a piece of dogshit, and falls far short of what the source material is all about. 2004's revision, co-starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta, was generally regarded as a step forward.

And now, we have the latest celluloid interpretation. Originally conceived as a sequel to director Jonathan Hensleigh's 2004 vehicle, this film spent three years in scriptwriting limbo that resulted in Hensleigh and star Jane jumping ship (Jane's famous quote is that he refused to "spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don't believe in" - apparently he wanted this film to go down the route of TAXI DRIVER!). So, rather than abandon the project, Lionsgate instead recruited GREEN STREET helmer Lexi Alexander.

It was a shrewd move. Alexander has made a film of non-stop garish, comic book-style action. A former karate and kickboxing champion herself, Alexander has fashioned a film of little logic but considerable adrenaline: precisely, I'd wager, what the fans want. It's dark, it's bloody and it's absolutely ludicrous. Just like many Marvel Knights comic books are.

Alexander also brought Stevenson to the project. Best known to genre fans as the lead in Nazi zombie flick OUTPOST, Stevenson lacks charm as a lead actor but does fit the bill physically. His antihero is arguably more faceless than even Christian Bale's miserly Bruce Wayne, but as the film progresses this dowdy nature becomes not only more understandable, but it's also something the viewer can curiously warm to. For all the Punisher's "kill first, ask questions later" front, what impresses most about Stevenson's take on the character is the emotional pain conveyed through expression alone during the film's latter half. It's not an Oscar-worthy performance, but it's a little more than you'd expect from your average action film frontman.

The script is hokum, performances beyond the lead ones are strictly so-so (although it's always nice to see Wayne Knight, who here turns up as Castle's gadget sidekick Micro) and morally the film is bankrupt. But this is a blow-'em-apart ballbuster - concessions must be made!

The real star of the show therefore is the film's bone-crunching violence. Set to William Yeh's sharp editing and the frequently amazing cinematography from Steve Gainer, the set-pieces here don't shy away from the excesses of bloody shoot-outs and face-pummelling fist-fights. The Punisher literally takes no prisoners as he blows villains' heads to smithereens, punches a hole right through one's face and slashes throats - slicing one adversary's head clean off. Kudos to FX artist Serge Lavigneur for providing the splatter, and to Alexander for pushing him that far.

Somewhere between THE DARK KNIGHT and THE STORY OF RICKY lies PUNISHER: WAR ZONE. Don't expect high art - this is trash, and unabashedly so. Embrace it for what it is, and there's little not to enjoy.

PUNISHER: WAR ZONE is presented uncut in a sterling 2.35:1 transfer, anamorphically enhanced for 16x9 TV sets. Images are pin-sharp while colours and blacks hold up remarkably well. For such a stylised, visually bold film, the transfer thankfully does PUNISHER: WAR ZONE complete justice.

Audio is provided in English and Spanish 5.1 mixes. I concentrated on the former, which was a suitably raucous offering - clear, clean and loud throughout. Filled with explosions, blaring music and bone-crunching sound effects, the film relies heavily on its soundtrack to pump up the action ... and the DVD's audio mix never lets the side down.

Optional subtitles are given in English, English for the Hard of Hearing, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish.

The animated main menu is as striking and bombastic as the film, and leads into a colourful static scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 28 chapters.

Of the extras, the best by far is an audio commentary track from Alexander and cinematographer Gainer. The two bounce off each other quite well, keeping what is at times a highly technical chat light and entertaining.

It's also an enormously informative track, even taking time out from discussing stunts and FX to mull over even the most peripheral cast members and the media's less than enthusiastic response to the film. Alexander clearly has a genuine passion for her craft and it's difficult not to share her excitement when she's pointing out moments in the film that have been lifted painstakingly from the original comics. Intriguingly, she also suggests that a lengthier director's cut may follow at some point.

The commentary track is also equipped with optional English and Spanish subtitles.

A "Making Of" documentary follows, offering a tightly edited and polished studio look at behind the scenes of the film. The very attractive Alexander reinforces here on her desire to remain faithful to the source material, while casting chores and the discomfort of shooting on cold nights are also probed. Cast and crew speak to the camera talking head-style, while Stevenson explains why he portrayed Castle in such a dour manner. This featurette runs for 9 minutes.

"Meet Jigsaw" is brief and brisk at 3 minutes in length, focussing less on the character and more on the making of the villain's grisly facial make-up.

"Training To Become The Punisher" is 5-and-a-half-minutes detailing the training Stevenson went through for his role, at a 'classified' location.

"Weapons Of The Punisher" is a further 4 minutes of cast and crew members addressing the screen, interspersed with behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the completed film. As the title suggests, this featurette focuses on the artillery utilised in the film.

"Creating The Look Of The Punisher" delves into the production design, costumes and cinematography of the film, the relevant crewmembers explaining how they went to great pains to make a film that would satisfy fans of the comic book series. Again, it's brief at 2-and-a-half-minutes in length.

Each of the above featurettes is graced with optional subtitles in English and Spanish.

Finally, we get trailers for TERMINATOR SALVATION, ANGELS AND DEMONS, THE INTERNATIONAL, QUARANTINE and a 2-minute showcase for Sony Blu-ray discs.

Roger Ebert reckons PUNISHER: WAR ZONE is "one of the best-made bad movies ...". The back cover of the DVD suggests that if you didn't think THE DARK KNIGHT was dark enough, this film should satiate your whims. Both are fair summations. PUNISHER: WAR ZONE is ultimately entertaining. And extremely violent.

Highly recommended for lovers of violent B-movie action madness (like me). Also available on Blu-ray.

Review by Stuart Willis