The Punisher (Netflix)

Variety likes it quite a bit.

In all, “The Punisher” is not just satisfying but surprising — an interpretation of Netflix and Marvel’s tried-and-true partnership that offers more depth and challenges to the audience than even the gritty world of “Marvel’s Jessica Jones.”


I can’t seem to find anywhere if its neccesary to have seen Defenders to watch this? I’d much rather watch this than having to see Defenders.

I am on EP 3 and defenders so far is not related at all.

The last time you see this character is in Daredevil Season 2, I don’t remember if he’s even mentioned in Defenders.

But Defendrs is worth watching, it’s not nearly as bad as Iron Fist.

Thanks!

Saw a couple of eps, I like it so far. There’s good acting, writing seems decent, and nobody is acting stupid. It doesn’t even seem like a comic book.

For what it’s worth, I liked Jessica Jones, disliked/hated the rest.

Blitzed this on a few sick days.

Some good bits, some mediocre set pieces. Some good characters, some pretty laughable treatments of law enforcement.

Solid 7.5 on a scale of 1 to Daredevil.

Watched and finished it over the weekend. Really liked it, although I’d say the last two episodes dragged a bit compared to the earlier ones. That’s pretty much in line with the other Netflix Marvel shows though.

While I enjoyed it, I also found the show to be utterly predictable. Even if it wasn’t clear where exactly the plot is going after the second episode, I could see where each character arc is heading.

Lewis doing some kind of amok/terrorist thing, Billy being one of the antagonists. The whole “cop hunting our hero just to realize that they’re ultimately on the same page” bit is also very, very familiar ground. The second David’s family is introduced you know they’ll be held hostage by the baddies at some point. Also every Netflix Marvel* show boils down to the hero getting captured and tortured in the penultimate episode just so they can overcome the odds.
Also, I’m not sure what to make of the point that Punisher tackles topics like gun control or how country fails to take care of the people it sends into war without really following through on any of them. On the one hand, it’s better than a ham-handed on-the-nose message, on the other hand it feels like oversight.

I get it that shows/movies rely on plot archetypes and the source material, but with 2-3 shows of the same kind per year it becomes a bit more obvious. (It’s the same for movies, but a movie is not a 10+ hours investment.) That said, kudos for each show having its distinct own tone.

* I haven’t watched Iron Fist and Defenders.

Totally agree. The plotting didn’t take a single chance anywhere.

Boy the lead is fun, though. He almost lifts this out of mediocrity on his own.

Do yourself a favor and skip Iron Fist and maybe Defenders too. Bleh.

It’s Jon Berthal. and this is definitely his best work thus far.

Also, the dialog writing seems to be a grade above normal, and some of the supporting character scenes are very good.

I think I’m six episodes in, and yeah, I’ll agree about the dialogue and supporting characters. It’s a nice recovery from Iron Fist and (to a lesser extent) The Defenders- it’s a show with a point and a theme again, like the first three Netflix Marvel shows. My biggest problem with it is that it doesn’t feel like a superhero show- it’s almost too grounded.

8 episodes in and I do agree with this. I feel like I’m watching a particularly grimdark ultraviolent police procedural half the time. The closest we get to superhuman heroics is how all the lead characters (thus far) seem able to bounce easily back from repeated stabbings, small-to-medium-caliber gunshot wounds, merciless beatings, explosions/fire, etc. I’m surprised any of these people have any amount of surviving muscle mass or unshattered bone left in their shoulders after all the standard main character gunshot wounds they take.

Well, the Punisher doesn’t really have any explicit superpowers, just the usual suspension-of-disbelief-requiring action movie protagonist abilities. And I haven’t read much of the comics (because grim gun-toting dude with no powers doesn’t really do much for me as a concept in a superhero-filled universe), just the Garth Ennis ones, but it seemed like a lot of the enemies he was fighting were basically just dudes too. More so in the MAX run that I think has more closely inspired this show than in the goofier regular Marvel run he did. Which isn’t to say that Punisher’s always been grounded…

https://images.moviepilot.com/images/c_limit,q_auto:good,w_600/p4z4z2o9ilgpm4pp2q6m/8-facts-about-the-punisher-i-bet-you-didn-t-know.jpg

Based on a Comic doesn’t automatically mean ‘Superhero’.

Yeah, I get that, but he’s always actually been in the superhero stable. Anyway. I’ll finish for sure.

I watched the first episode - was disliking it for the first 30 minutes or so, other than Bernthal’s performance: he really brings a lot to the character. Just too heavy-handed and the standard silly Hollywood stereotyping.

Then when the violence kicked in, and I started liking the show a lot more - this is really the first adaptation of the Punisher (I’m including S2 of Daredevil here) that seems to really get the character, and Bernthal pulls off the simmering rage ultimately leading to explosive, cruel (even if just) and savage violence. I already have gotten more out of the series than I did out of Iron Fist.

I haven’t watched The Defenders yet though, so I’ll probably go back and watch that first even though it doesn’t seem to matter (I was hoping the Punisher might have had a cameo in it, but presume not based upon the comments above). Even though the quality has declined a lot since the first 3 series, I still am probably in for the duration with the Netflix Marvel shows (despite having completely lost faith in the ABC stuff) - probably because I want to support the more adult content, and the fact that it is 4K Dolbyvision definitely helps, and I just like the Netflix format of releasing complete seasons.

Man, I can’t believe how much content Netflix is pumping out these days, and it’s generally at least decent. I’m way behind - haven’t finished Bloodline (2 episodes left), or seen any of Defenders or Stranger Things 2 yet, and now Punisher - and there’s other stuff I was at least kinda interested in like the OA and Ozark.

Tbf, I got more out of my cat misjudging a jump and landing full force right in the junk the other day than I did out of Iron Fist.

And no tie between Punisher and Defenders, no. Karen shows up but I think mostly to remind us that this ostensibly shares a universe with those other shows.

I got more out of this anecdote than I did out of Iron Fist.

Wrapped this up today. That was super fuckin’ good.

Still processing a lot. But yeah, I’m onboard with all of this.