MOVIE OF THE DAY: PUNISHER WAR ZONE

These captions are the best thing ever created with the English language.

And for a fitting movie. I don't care how many people call this movie bad, I still love it.

Carnage should never be this silly and get away with it. I do like parkour assholes getting exploded. This one is a mayhem must absolutely.

Movie's ok. Stevenson made for a really boring punisher.

Stevenson was the best movie Punisher ever. Faint praise maybe but there you go.

And I never before noticed that other guy flapping his arms in protest when Castle shotguns that guy at the table. Very funny.

It's a bad movie, but it's fun to watch. Great pizza and beer movie on a saturday afternoon.

This is a fairly enjoyable action flick ramped up to the next level by the presence of Ray 'Titus Pullo' Stevenson. His effortless charisma and ability to command the screen help make this a film worth the repeat viewings I've given it. I am forever grateful that it gave a wider audience a look at the second coolest Brit alive today, and I salute CHUD for highlighting it with this MOD entry

PS The best sequence in the film? The 'quiet foo!' stuff, where Stevenson's shark like approach to bad guy take down brought me to giddy laughter in the theater (I went opening night!). Unfortunately for the film/fortunately for me it was a nearly empty screening

PPS My favorite bit of press I ever read on the film? Devin's tale of meeting Stevenson at a gala party only to discover that he still wears a gold ring with XIII engraved on the band!

EDIT: BTW, I refer to this movie on the board and in real life as "WAR ZONE PUNISHER", because of the arrangement of the wording on the one sheet

The movie wasn't up to snuff, but I thought Tom Jane was better. Stevenson is like a real-life version of Arnold's Terminator.

That's an understatement. Unless you mean that the movie was worse than actual snuff. Then you'd be a bit hyperbolic.

I adore this film unreservedly. I don't adore in an ironic way, I honestly think it's brilliant. It's all about intent and it completely succeeds at what it set out to do.

A friend of mine to this day tells me it's awful and that Wolverine is the better film. He's wrong yes? I'm right aren't I?

I'm dying to know where Marvel take The Punisher now they have the rights back. Stevenson was fantastic as Castle, I'd want to see him again. If I can't have Stevenson though I think they should cast Bobby Bear, I think he'd tear the place apart.

Best Buy is selling this for something like $7.99 on blu ray.

You're so right you're Sarah Palin.

That's a hell of a compliment (sorta, kinda)

Wolverine isn't fit to pick up War Zone's old lady head-parts off the floor.

If you could take Kevin Durand and his fatsuit out of WOLVERINE and put him in WAR ZONE to get his guts sprayed everywhere then you could pretty much wipe that piece-of-shit film from existence and do justice to its one good element all in one.

But the Punisher is supposed to be this grim killing machine, unconcerned with fire hydrant pranks, and definitely not one for moping around the apartment until the bad guys come looking for him. Jane is probably the superior actor (my apologies, Kate) but Stevenson was the better representation.

Also Stevenson was clearly not a gym rat like Dolph Lundgren or Tom Jane, but what Stevenson had over both those guys is that when in the zone his face/demeanour screamed "somebody bout to get fucked up". Rare, and wholly appropriate for the role.

I said it in the comments section, and I'll say it again. Nick's prose, stripped down to essentials, is a truly wonderful thing. It's the soul of Chud.com. Bravo.

Agree on the flick too.

'tis OK. I'd only say to see HBO'S ROME if you have not done so already. He broke my heart -- and stole it away -- with his iconic turn as the Hero of the XIIIth. His subtle, layered acting manages to stand out in an already amazing cast of performers turning in the best work of their careers

And who wouldn't when they're removed from the equation as entertainingly as they are in Punisher: War Zone?

Every second Our Ray nullifies villainy in this film, we're seeing the essence an Ulsterman shining through.

This sums up exactly how I feel about the movie; everyone not joining in the love in this thread needs to read it carefully.

You truly are a king amongst men!

If cast, I promise to play FIFA online before shooting to ensure I'm in the correct, Stevensonian frame of mind. That being the "destroy first, potentially ask questions later" frame of mind.

Yeah, I'm confused at what else people would expect from a Punisher movie. I got exactly what I expected of this, and it satisfied me to no end. And there sure as hell aren't enough movies like this getting made.

This movie is absolutely amazing. It knows what it is, knows what it wants to do, and does not fail at all in delivering almost non-stop chump-killing. This is sort of an anti-slasher, the kind of movie that does away with any moral dilemmas we might experience rooting for the killer hunting and murdering down annoying but ultimately innocent kids by replacing "the killer" with Frank Castle and "kids" with "irredeemable criminal fuckshits". Hey, I don't mind seeing Jason mow down obnoxious and stupid teens but after a while I want him to get what's coming to him. Here, I want to see Frank introduce bad dudes to a number of inventive paths from this life to the next, and then after a while, I want to see him do it some more.

The cool calm with which Stevenson turns bad guys limbs, faces, and entire bodies into lumpy spaghetti sauce is almost comical, like he's just doing his fucking laundry or filing his nails. I can't imagine a better portrayal of the character. I just can't. And I can't imagine a movie that better celebrates the kind of unblinking mayhem that the Punisher visits on bad guys everywhere. Thumbs up.

This is a midnight movie just waiting to happen.

I want to add my name to the list of people who love Punisher: War Zone. I like the Thomas Jane Punisher movie, but PWZ blows it out of the water. Ray Stevenson was born to play Frank Castle, IMO, and I hope if Marvel does make a Punisher TV series that he gets the gig. I wish all action movies kicked as much ass as Punisher: War Zone. I know there are some that match PWZ's intensity and a few that surpass it, but the level of violence in the movie should be the rule and not the exception in today's action movies.

Ray Stevenson is...Perfectly Cast as, Frank Castle in the best adaption of Marvel Comic's...The Punisher yet. Filmmakers finally got Castle's Kevlar/Skull suit, Correct. It makes him seem as a Tank, Just like in the comics. The villains were properly...EEEEEEEEvil, Lexi Alexander's Direction was terrific. In a year featuring...Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, Wanted, The Incredible Hulk...The Punisher emerged as the top...Superhero Film/Comic Adaption of the year. Punisher War Zone was also...The Best Film of 2008! Wayne Knight was great as Microchip too. I do miss...The Battlevan, but maybe in a future Punisher film or series.

A great movie to watch with like minded friends and a lot of beer.

Just like Nick's review is great to read with like minded friends and a lot of beer.

But what, no shout out to McNulty? He was the MVP of the film! The scenes where he and his batshit insane brother are strutting around town is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

I thought Dominic West and Doug Hutchison were great as Jigsaw and Looney-Bin Jim. It may be just me, but I thought West's accent reminded me of a psychotic version of Stan ' The Man ' Lee.

I totally would've skipped this one if it weren't for Chud. I don't think this kind of gleeful hostility for the human form (not to mention human speech patterns) should be the norm for action flicks, but it's goddamn delicious here.

He's on a constant
METH HIGHHHHHHHHH

Sad that "Latin King" hasn't gotten more roles since his work in PWZ.

I had to watch it again, after this article. McGinty's accent cocktail never fails to amuse me.

The breaking of mirrors scenes floored me.

Yeah, I definetely need to throw this on again sometime,

Reading the article and then this thread has made me want to see the awesomeness of P:WZ again. I've only seen it once and I wasn't sober, but I remember thinking "THIS IS FUCKING AMAZING".

I watched Punisher: War Zone and The Punisher (Tom Jane version) back to back, and there really is no comparison. One is completely awesome, and the other one features John Travolta as the bad guy. War Zone all the way.

See it again for Momma.

I love that it's now almost impossible to hear Jane's version mentioned without immediately thinking of Justin's "he's from Tampa" comment from The CHUD Show. The little amazed inflection in the way he says it gets me every time.

Saw this opening night in a barely attended theater with some friends. The moment Ray Stevenson crashes the dinner party and breaks that lady's neck about a dozen times, we knew we were gonna have a great time.

AND WE DID.

I love War Zone, but I maintain that Jane's Punisher has the superior secondary-villain fight. The Russian fight in the 2004 film had me laughing to a degree that I'm sure I annoyed other patrons in the theater. War Zone on the other hand teased something nasty happening to Jim, but in the end, he just got shot. Maybe I was expecting too much, but given the ramp-up of violence leading towards their fight in the bathroom, I was thinking that Castle was going to piledrive him into the ground with a bloody squirt or else tear him in half. Maybe that's just too over the top, though.

Like I said, though, I love me some War Zone. The Punisher-as-slasher-villain thing really worked for me. The villains have absolutely horrendous accents, but in a stroke of brilliance, they're all the same horrendous accent. The weirdly dense population of characters from the comics amused me. The parkour rocket launcher gag gets the most press, but I think the real star is the neck-stomp when McGinty is impaled on the fence.

I like Goldblatt and Lundgren's version best (sue me) but this entry has so many charms and Stevenson was fine the less said about Jane's version the better.

Smells like hand beautiful Nick beautiful.