Marvel: The Punisher

Marvel put their heads together and finally made something that takes itself very seriously most of the time and looks serious, too. The King is dead, long live the King, I guess that's how you could describe Jon Bernthal's arrival in the role of the Punisher. Nothing against the way Thomas Jane leaned into it 13 years ago – written off by many right from the start, he wasn't bad in my opinion, but the people around him created a "mass" that didn’t work. The Punisher series is aware of this, and has learned from the mistakes and criticisms that were levelled at the original film. The creators put the kettle on and made Bernthal a badass passionate whose rage and screaming are as intense as his tears and bleeding from all the stabbing, slashing and gunshot wounds he sustains over 13 episodes. The whole thing is dramatic, intense, extremely bloody and deftly shot. Maybe 2 or 3 episodes are unnecessary and we can think the same about at least one storyline, but the whole thing is still pretty damn good and has everything you can expect from a top product: good characters, family values, criticism of the US and questioning the military system, terrorism, etc. The second season, if there is one, will have it very hard. (03.12.2017)

Today, an already legendary series featuring the best (anti)hero Marvel has in it’s repertoire. Bernthal was born for the role. He handles the action fantastically and doesn't miss a beat even in the more subtle scenes that require emotion. The ending is great, but there’s not a single weak episode. (05.09.2020)

Solid opening. It's too early to make an overall assessment, but it's already clear that the Punisher in the series will be different than the movie one, much more grounded and raw. Bernthal goes at it all in and after five minutes you are already cheering for him The pacing of the first episode is brilliant, crowned by the final ten minutes. (26.11.2017)

The plot is starting to thicken and it's clear that The Punisher will have a dense story foundation and not just nonstop kick-ass action. This episode has almost nothing of it, with the exception of one decent fight. (26.11.2017)

A flashback to the event that got the story started. Thematically important for connecting all the key parts and determining who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. The military action in the Middle East may be poorly executed, but it finally takes the persona of Frank Castle a step further in the present while giving the viewer one more piece of the puzzle. (28.11.2017)

Perhaps a bit of a tedious episode, leading through various digressions and not very revelatory and currently unimportant scenes leading to the first face to face encounter between Punisher and the ambitious policewoman Madani. It’s about 50 minutes long and the important events happen in the last 20, including the car chase, of course. (28.11.2017)

A brilliant episode highlighted by the Gunner scene. An inventive FPS action set-piece in the woods in the style of Castle vs anti-terrorist squad; riveting, uncompromising and properly bloody. At the same time, it doesn't lack the manly teamwork that the main character iconises very well. The main villain takes on interesting dimensions and the super hot Madani gets unleashed. (28.11.2017)

A recovery episode that lets the main character rest and regain the necessary strength for the big payback. Instead, however, we get a chance to examine his best buddy in detail, and it's clear from the unsettling music that something is amiss. Things are going to get pretty hot in the next few episodes. The creators are working well with the characters and their motivations. The series is getting increasingly gripping and, like Game of Thrones, after a few episodes you start to pigeonhole and categorise your favourite characters, hoping they will last as long as possible in future episodes. The casting and the dialogues are on an upward trend. (28.11.2017)

An unnecessarily cheesy entry for the middle of the series, with one not quite polished action scene and situations that often resemble action B-movies. The psychology of the characters isn't much and the straightforwardness that the series has boasted most of the time is a bit overlooked at the moment. The ending is great, but otherwise very lukewarm progress. (29.11.2017)

One of the best episodes. It does a great job of portraying family psychology and adds fantastic action at the end. Russo is a demon. (01.12.2017)

A somewhat unnecessary detour in the plot to a minor character who will probably play a major role in later episodes – otherwise, it will be even more unnecessary. By the way, Castle hasn’t kicked anybody’s ass for several episodes already, what’s going on? I hope the finale will be all the more ecstatic. Not that the middle episodes have been bad, they are action-packed, colourful and with strong characters. But it's time for Bernthal to put on his gear and do his stuff. (01.12.2017)

An action-packed and gripping episode that constantly jumps around in time according to the testimony of the various people involved. It does feel a bit repetitive, as there are multiple shots and scenes, but it's saved by the expertly bleeding Castle jumping across floors, making shields out of corpses, etc. (03.12.2017)

The best episode so far. Total carnage. The sequence in the factory is over the top, but it could also work as a reference for almost all action directors, just like the one in Heat works for heist movies. The Punisher finally puts on a Kevlar vest with the skull emblem, and guts and bullets fly from all sorts of weapons. On top of that, Bernthal is a fantastic actor. (03.12.2017)

Full of extreme violence, rage, fury and vendetta. A paradoxically narratively rigid episode with complete emotional satisfaction and catharsis. (03.12.2017)

The day of reckoning exactly as it should be, with uncompromising man to man combat at the end, which surpasses even the previous episode in its energy and brutality. An excellent season finale, but it remains a bit of a question mark as to what the next season will actually be about and whether it will retain the vengeance that the first one had, quite understandably. (03.12.2017)

More psychology, faith, family and interaction between the main characters, all this at the expense of the brutal action and breakneck pace of the first season. Of course there's action here too, very decent in places, but the steroid-pumped rage and revenge for the deaths of the family has dropped by about 50 percent. Good casting in Frank as a teenager, an excellent take on the main antagonist, a mysterious priest, and a decently built complex underbelly of the "party of villains". However, the pacing loses momentum in the middle due to the more complex plot entanglements of multiple characters on stage. Frank doesn't steal everything for himself this time, but plays his part almost evenly with several other characters, though it's still true that his is by far the most interesting and absolutely pivotal. It doesn’t matter, it’s still bloody good stuff, but that intensive vengeance feeling of the first season is gone. (13.02.2019)

Maximum engagement. From the beginning of the first episode, Frank shows that this will be another bloody wild ride with a true hero made of flesh and bones. The opening surprises with a charming romance that is more intense and real than any elaborate melodrama. It sets a pleasant note and at the same time an underlying tingle that probably won't last too long. And a few minutes later we see a fantastic fight in the toilets. Breathtaking start, carry on. (06.02.2019)

Slowed down, but still damn charismatic, with Frank tightening up the dialogue passages. I sincerely hope Ben Barnes gets in the game very quickly to start the proper fun. (06.02.2019)

A counter-strike battle set piece that, however, looks too implausible to repeat the thrilling experience of the opening action-laden toilet scene from the first episode of the second season. (07.02.2019)

A healing episode without shooting. This means several things, for example, that the very next episode is likely to be a scavenger hunt, and secondly, that there will be room to work on psychological drawing of the main characters, which is happening, at least in part. Not a bad episode, but the Punisher should start living up to his nickname again. (07.02.2019)