MOVIES: Third time not the charm for 'Punisher'

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By Sonny Bunch

There's a serious film to be made about the Punisher, Marvel Comics' avenging angel. A meditation on ends, means and operating outside the law. A questioning glimpse into the morality of raining vengeance upon your enemies' heads while bypassing the court system, perhaps. A cautionary tale about the cost of collateral damage in pursuit of a higher goal wouldn't be out of the question.

Then there's the Punisher film that ends with a half-wit Keystone Kop muttering, "Oh ..., now I've got brains splattered all over me."

Guess which one "Punisher: War Zone" is.

This is the third time out of the gate for Marvel Comics' Punisher and the first time Ray Stevenson has donned the vigilante's garb. (Previous incarnations were portrayed by Thomas Jane and Dolph Lundgren.) One can assume another reboot will be in the offing after this monstrosity tanks at the box office.

Mr. Stevenson plays Frank Castle, a former Special Forces something-or-other whose family was gunned down by the mob; in the years since their untimely passing, Castle has taken it upon himself to kill anyone involved in organized crime. This list of ne'er-do-wells includes Billy the Beaut (Dominic West), whom Castle turns into the horribly disfigured Jigsaw after tossing him into a giant container of broken glass.

The real stars, however, are brutality and violence. Director Lexi Alexander revels in exploding heads, dismembering limbs and breaking necks to an extent that might disturb zombie auteur George Romero.

Mr. Stevenson is actually pretty good as Frank Castle, though the character does little more than grimace and shoot everything in sight. Mr. West, however, is terrible; he plays his character with an intentional campiness that is overwrought and unbecoming of a serious actor. Dash Mihok also embarrasses himself as the aforementioned Kop, Detective Soap.

Though "War Zone" delivers blood and guts, the action sequences are shot in the least imaginative manner possible, oftentimes consisting of little more than the Punisher running down a hallway firing rounds into rooms as he passes.

★

TITLE: "Punisher: War Zone"

RATING: R (Pervasive strong, brutal violence; language; and some drug use)

CREDITS: Directed by Lexi Alexander

RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes

WEB SITE: www.punishermovie.com"

MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS