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PUNISHER: WAR ZONE Post Release - Page 8

post #351 of 598
2/13/09 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti View Post
Man, sackley. Down on TAKEN, dislike John Wayne and Chuck Heston, and now dumping on WAR ZONE?

I don't know what to make of that. I surely don't.
Sorry, dude. I feel like i'm letting you down. I did quantify it by saying that it was entertaining, in a way, but it sure was bad.

And Taken. Well, its got Liam Neeson kicking Euroass - how do you fuck that up? I'm not sure, but knife fight and wife shooting aside, they kinda did. Again, I guess I just want a little more. Like excitement.

These aren't films that are hard to get right.
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post #352 of 598
2/13/09 at 6:00pm
After all the awful action films that came out last year I'm of the belief that it's very easy to get them wrong. But WAR ZONE is just pure unbridled lunacy. It may not aim high, but it sure hit the target.
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post #353 of 598
2/14/09 at 3:01am
War Zone is just flat out a bad movie, but the action is good enough (though the violence could have gone farther) that it makes it entertaining enough.
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post #354 of 598
2/16/09 at 8:32pm
The somersaulting goon being annihilated by the rocket launcher validates the entry fee and, possibly, Blu-ray too.
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post #355 of 598
2/21/09 at 1:00am
This movie was amazingly bad. Just hilarious.
I had a blast with it.

Stevenson was great. Everybody else was just worse than cancer.
The rocket launcher to the parkour guy made me literally choke on an apple. So great.
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post #356 of 598
2/21/09 at 7:04am
Finally saw it tonight and loved every OTT moment of it. I loved alot of the guy's comments on the SHH boards about West being "too hammy", etc etc . . . like it's not deliberate. Sure, Dominic West is a bad actor and that was him trying to play the character legit. Morons. Molti put it perfectly - it ain't trying to be high art, and it checks off damn near every box on it's To-Do list.

A couple of great subtle moments in a film that didn't care much for subtlety -

- Goon's reaction to the grenade in the tin.
- Castle listening for signs and snapping back into action when he hears the "Quiet, fool!"
- Holstering and keeping every spent gun in the movie. A first for the genre?
- The broken mirror in the interrogation room before the FBI guys turn up.

That last one in particular I thought was a real nice touch.
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post #357 of 598
2/21/09 at 4:24pm
The right actor hamming it up a bit could be fun, but I wasn't digging West dialing it up to 11 level of ham. And yeah it was deliberate, but I gotta say I wasn't digging it.

And honestly thinking back on it, I didn't find the movie to be that much over the top (well outside of West's acting).
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post #358 of 598
2/21/09 at 10:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BubWilliams View Post
The right actor hamming it up a bit could be fun, but I wasn't digging West dialing it up to 11 level of ham. And yeah it was deliberate, but I gotta say I wasn't digging it.

And honestly thinking back on it, I didn't find the movie to be that much over the top (well outside of West's acting).
Oh, I wasn't having a dig at you, mate - I was referring to the guys over on the Superherohype boards who clearly missed the entire point by a mile. Most of them were going on about how they finally got Jigsaw onscreen, like it was the second coming, and when they finally got it, he was hammy, OTT and should have been more "scary" and "terrifying". I'm sitting there thinking "what fucking Jigsaw did THEY read all these years?!" - the character has always been a ham-fisted, OTT caricacture . . . it's why Frank never killed him (besides the Marvel Edge run - let's just forget about that for now) . . . he viewed him as more of a joke than a serious threat.
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post #359 of 598
2/21/09 at 11:05pm
I had a blast with this one! Some pretty phenomenal kills and what an outrageous sound design, when Castle misses a punch it sounds like a jumbo passing by.

It was one fuck ugly movie though, the lighting made it look like some cheap TV production.
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post #360 of 598
2/21/09 at 11:38pm
I am not sure how you could not have fun with this. It was a blast of a movie, over the top violence and acting. If you were expecting some new corner turned in action movies, this was not it. If you were looking for entertainment in a genre that only offers that, then here it was. Fun, crazy movie.
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post #361 of 598
2/21/09 at 11:42pm
The beginning and the end have some great fun action, but for most of the middle of it it is pretty fucking boring (comically stereotypical accents for every character aside).
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post #362 of 598
2/22/09 at 12:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitches Leave View Post
It was one fuck ugly movie though, the lighting made it look like some cheap TV production.
Really? Cos I actually thought the set design - and in particular, the lighting - in most cases was quite stunning.
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post #363 of 598
2/22/09 at 12:21am
The church scene looked nice, everything else not so much
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post #364 of 598
2/22/09 at 2:55am
Oh, also. For me, the best thing about the Parkour/rocket launcher scene was actually the shot directly after it of McGinty looking over in surprise, CUT TO this fantastic show of Frank just standing there casual as you like. Places the rocket launcher down, picks up the rifle and takes out the rest, all without any emotion, sense of urgency or . . . well, anything else.

That first shot of Frank as McGinty spots him was just iconic.
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post #365 of 598
2/22/09 at 8:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint G View Post
I am not sure how you could not have fun with this. It was a blast of a movie, over the top violence and acting. If you were expecting some new corner turned in action movies, this was not it. If you were looking for entertainment in a genre that only offers that, then here it was. Fun, crazy movie.
I had fun with it. But I won't be buying it. It was more like I enjoyed it depite the complete lack of good filmmaking, and because of the occasional burst of hilarity (Parkourblaster, face/off etc.).

Thing is, if they'd kept those things and added in a) decent lighting b) any kind of urgency or drama to any of it c) anyone ANYONE other than Doug Hutchison and Dash Mihok in their roles (I could change out Stevenson too, Frankly) it would have been something akin to Crank. Instead, it was completely forgettable and actually pretty ugly.
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post #366 of 598
2/22/09 at 12:14pm
Punisher War Zone was my favorite film of 2008 and it definitely is a must buy for me. What better way to celebrate St. Patricks Day, than to go to the parade in NYC, and watch...Punisher War Zone, celebrating Marvel's favorite supervigilante...Frank Castle.
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post #367 of 598
2/22/09 at 12:51pm
I take the points about it occasionally looking a little trashy, but, for the most part, the sheer O.T.T. fun of the thing won out over that.
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post #368 of 598
2/22/09 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by duke fleed View Post
Punisher War Zone was my favorite film of 2008
No comment has ever validated my opinion as much as this.
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post #369 of 598
2/22/09 at 7:19pm
Sackley, Dash Mihok as...Det. Martin Soap was just as clueless as his comic counterpart. This is the best Punisher film that will be made. The action was top notch, there were tons of bad guys for Frank Castle to punish, and Ray Stevenson is great as...The Punisher.

If the rights revert to Marvel, and they are still interested in the character of Frank Castle, the next film will probably be a PG-13. The only way...To Me, for a PG-13 Punisher film to work, is if he is included in the rest of the Marvel Universe, fighting Kingpin, DD, The Hand etc.
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post #370 of 598
2/22/09 at 8:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by duke fleed View Post
This is the best Punisher film that will be made.
It might be the LAST Punisher film made, but if not, its sooo much easier to do one better than this. Low expectation-having motherfucker.
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post #371 of 598
2/22/09 at 8:35pm
It raked in around $8 million and I've heard it's been bombing in England, so it's safe to say it's the last one
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post #372 of 598
2/22/09 at 8:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BubWilliams View Post
It raked in around $8 million and I've heard it's been bombing in England, so it's safe to say it's the last one
That's because they didn't put it on anywhere. I waited and waited and waited to see this film, it finally came out, and the nearest cinema to me that was showing it was a two hour drive away.

Bastards.
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post #373 of 598
2/22/09 at 8:56pm
The look rarely bugged me, the fact that it actually did have some sort of conscious visual style was a nice change of pace from the fairly generic look of the '04 version.
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post #374 of 598
2/22/09 at 8:59pm
It was too goddamn yellow in most of the outside scenes.
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post #375 of 598
2/22/09 at 10:11pm
Sackley, Low expectations and I are not friends. I always have...High Expectations!!!, for whatever I like, and it was no different with the excellent...Punisher War Zone. Ray Stevenson is the first actor (sorry Dolph) to properly portray Frank Castle on screen. To me, a...Punisher film should have tons on graphic kills of bad guys, a smorgesborg of weaponry, Frank Castle aka...The Punisher in a kevlar vest with painted on skull and tons of action. Lexi Alexander is the first director that made a great film based on Marvel's vigilante Frank Castle. It is a shame that there will not be a sequel, or a trilogy, off of the best film of 2008.
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post #376 of 598
2/23/09 at 12:56am
Duke Fleed... bullshit.

A cursory glance over the films that you most love and are most excited about shows you have... very fucking low expectations.
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post #377 of 598
2/23/09 at 2:02am
Sackley, No...it shows that we do not agree, about film or much at all, and that is fine.
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post #378 of 598
2/28/09 at 9:13pm
didn't see any advertisement for this film- no TV spots or anything which was a shame over here ...saw it with a friend after a couple of drinks, and was enjoyable 90+ mins of film and did have elements of the MAX issues in it but felt that soap was wasted compared to the comics where bad luck happened to him..also seeing Colin salmon doing an american accent just felt abit weird after seeing him in james bond films..
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post #379 of 598
3/4/09 at 5:37am
Just watched the Blu-ray. Holy Jesus. Does anyone know if there's a gif of that RPG kill yet, cause I don't know how to make one.
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post #380 of 598
3/17/09 at 6:29pm
So I haven't watched this yet but I plan to tonight. I just dropped in to say that for a film that apparently made nothing at the box office it sure sold out quickly. I hit Target about 4:30 this afternoon and the Blu ray was sold out as were the DVDs. I then went over to the dreaded Wal-mart. There was only one Blu ray left which I promptly scooped up and only about five DVDs left. I usually don't blind but but from what I read......I can't wait.
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post #381 of 598
3/17/09 at 6:33pm
My local Target didn't have the 2-disc this morning. I've gone into more detail about this calamity in another thread but in short I really hope I find it easily available at another fine retailer so I can enjoy Lexi's sweet musings.
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post #382 of 598
3/17/09 at 7:47pm
Ehh 2 disc my ass. Hey we have a standard definition digital copy that people rarely use!
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post #383 of 598
3/17/09 at 8:48pm
Yeah, Netflix just let me know they're shipping it today on Blu-ray. If it's as entertaining as I'm hoping I'll be buying it and it'll assume its rightful place on the shelf next to Doomsday and Rambo.
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post #384 of 598
3/17/09 at 10:31pm
Moltisanti, It is surprising that a store named...Target, would run out of copies of...Punisher War Zone. I bought my copy today, of the single disk, as the 2 disk set doesn't have anything I desire to see. Eventually there might even be a...Punishing 3 disk set.
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post #385 of 598
3/18/09 at 1:19am
So I just got done watching it and uh...........what the fuck?
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post #386 of 598
3/18/09 at 1:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Waaaaaaaalt View Post
So I just got done watching it and uh...........what the fuck?
so..you are thinking the same thing I did when I saw it in theaters...the film sucks
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post #387 of 598
3/18/09 at 2:18am
Well ya know I don't know what to think. On one hand it was pure crazy roller coaster fun and I loved that. On the other hand there is a big part of me who wanted the punisher to be a little more......serious and dramatic I guess. As it stands it was Shoote Em Up/Crank fun. I jsut don't know if it was how a punisher film should be, but still fun.
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post #388 of 598
3/18/09 at 4:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
I only wish his and West's deaths could have gone Miike over the top.
I was kind of hoping he'd pop back up while on fire, almost a Bennett in Commando moment after his electrocution. Then his eyeball caught on fire, and all was well. Really? His EYEBALL is the most flammable part of his face?!
I didn't like Loony Bin Jim at all, except in the scenes where he and Jigsaw just cracked up for virtually no reason.

I hated how the Punisher was on the verge of quitting after offing one FBI agent(or cop? can't remember). Considering all the people he'd killed he never made a slip up before? C'mon.

The shitty music playing really helps sell the parkour death. It's like a fucking Mountain Dew commercial... then BOOMSPLAT.

Anyways. I liked it. Didn't love it like a lot of you, but it's easily the best Punisher flick. I really enjoyed the look, and the color, even though the way everything seemed really over-lit threw me for a loop for a good while.
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post #389 of 598
3/18/09 at 5:35am
It warmed my heart to see Pat ("The money, Roper, or we gotta break somethin'!") Johnson in the training featurette. The man's now a dead ringer for Hume Cronyn (circa Batteries Not Included), and can still withstand Ray Stevenson kicking the shit out of him in numerous sparring sessions. Mad props.
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post #390 of 598
3/18/09 at 8:19pm
The violence didn't hold up for me the second time, and really since the story and characterizations were basically shit that's all there was to this movie.
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post #391 of 598
3/18/09 at 8:24pm
I knew that any future viewing of this movie could never compare to the fun of seeing it the first time with a like-minded audience. Once that and the element of surprise is gone, the movie doesn't seem like it'd be all that much fun.

I only hope that the movie becomes one of those flicks that theaters do midnight showings of on the weekends. I think it would play great in that context.
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post #392 of 598
3/19/09 at 4:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Isao Kanemasa View Post
Pat ("The money, Roper, or we gotta break somethin'!") Johnson
(looks right, looks left)

"You GOTTA love him".
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post #393 of 598
3/19/09 at 11:21am
Watched the blu-ray Tuesday night (which looks and sounds fantastic). I had forgotten how they somehow got a really great fight scene out of Doug Hutchinson and Ray Stevenson. Not much in the way of extras, but I'll probably buy a used rental copy for $15 for the commentary, which is supposed to be great.
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post #394 of 598
3/19/09 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disciple_72 View Post
(looks right, looks left)

"You GOTTA love him".
It's "dough", isn't it? I feel like that henchman that tried to rush Dr. Han, and got a face full of bear claw.
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post #395 of 598
3/19/09 at 6:23pm
Man this movie was utter shit, and not in the good kind of way a retarded Steven Segal movie might be, just an absolute waste of time. Although Punisher inexpilcably saying, "sometimes I'd like to get my hands on God" in a church was pretty damned funny.
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post #396 of 598
3/20/09 at 2:15am
Nah, this is pretty damn good. I just finished it, and loved it to bits. I thought the tone was just right, brutal violence tipped with some great humorous touches, it's an absurd blast.

I especially liked Doug Hutchison's Loony Bin Jim, but Dominic West was great as well. I'm not sure where I stand on Ray Stevenson here, seemed a bit slight, think I'll watch it again, see what I'm missing.

Julie Benz continues her streak of being completely unappealing to me, in movies anyway. I always found her fine in Dexter, but first Rambo and now this, she's barely there.

The opening was perfect, in five minutes wiping the floor with the other two pussified versions of the character. Dolph Lundgren is prettier, I'll give you that, but this variation is not fucking around.
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post #397 of 598
3/20/09 at 2:21am
Slightly disappointed by this. There was some good stuff but the premise of Frank Castle destroying an entire abandoned hotel filled with various ethnic thugs did not pay off enough.

It will not be getting a spot on the shelf next to Doomsday or Rambo.
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post #398 of 598
3/20/09 at 2:29am
I really do not get disappointment for this movie. Sure it was not the greatest action movie ever, but it is the freakin Punisher ! It was crazy, violent, over the top, and loaded with good kills. Calling it worse than Seagal movie is some silly crap.
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post #399 of 598
3/20/09 at 2:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dontEATnachos View Post
Slightly disappointed by this. There was some good stuff but the premise of Frank Castle destroying an entire abandoned hotel filled with various ethnic thugs did not pay off enough.
I'm not sure what kind of payoff you were expecting, but Castle destroying an entire abandoned hotel filled with various ethnic thugs seems like the perfect ending for a Punisher movie. That's what he do.

With guns blazing, he worked through a small army to get to Jigsaw and save the day. I'm no expert on the character, I read a good chunk of the mid to late 80's stuff, but it seems to capture basically what I remember- unflinching, murderous vigilante. I don't give a rat's ass about literal comic book translations, but with something like the Punisher, there's no need to tinker. This time Lexi Alexander and whoever was repsonsible knew that you keep the simple framework, Punisher kills various criminals, and you have fun from inside there. I thought they did a fantastic job on the look and production values, considering I've heard the budget wasn't all that impressive.
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post #400 of 598
3/20/09 at 2:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith F View Post
I'm not sure what kind of payoff you were expecting, but Castle destroying an entire abandoned hotel filled with various ethnic thugs seems like the perfect ending for a Punisher movie. That's what he do.

With guns blazing, he worked through a small army to get to Jigsaw and save the day. I'm no expert on the character, I read a good chunk of the mid to late 80's stuff, but it seems to capture basically what I remember- unflinching, murderous vigilante. I don't give a rat's ass about literal comic book translations, but with something like the Punisher, there's no need to tinker. This time Lexi Alexander and whoever was repsonsible knew that you keep the simple framework, Punisher kills various criminals, and you have fun from inside there. I thought they did a fantastic job on the look and production values, considering I've heard the budget wasn't all that impressive.
I completely agree with this. The movie delivered more than I hoped for. It was as ggod as one could hope for a Punisher movie.
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