ROTTEN TOMATOES: RT on DVD: Exclusive Clips From Twilight, Punisher: War Zone

RT on DVD: Exclusive Clips From Twilight, Punisher: War Zone

by Jen Yamato

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Punisher: War Zone -- 24%

Hollywood has twice before attempted to bring Marvel's violent anti-hero The Punisher to life, failing miserably in both efforts. Would the third time be the charm? The answer, according to critics, was no. Though director Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans) brought a certain genre-indulging flair to her Punisher: War Zone, reviews nudged this redo a few notches below its 2004 predecessor; somewhere, Thomas Jane shakes his fists in triumph. Alexander's vision catches up with Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher (Ray Stevenson), years after the tragic loss of his family, when he inadvertently lends a hand in the creation of his archnemesis, Jigsaw (Dominic West). Shot darkly and with intense, gory violence, this is a comic book thriller shot more like a horror film --- see Stevenson literally slam his fist into a poor thug's face in our exclusive red band clip below. A filmmaker commentary and making-of featurettes accompany the standard DVD, while Blu-ray viewers can use the nifty BD-Live MOLOG application to insert images and text into the film and share their own "blogs."

Next: Disney's Oscar-nominated adventure, Bolt

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(1-18 of 18 posts) | Reply

Colyn B. writes:
on Mar 16 2009 06:26 PM

I actually liked the Twilight movie despite some of its korny dialogue. Ill be picking that up on Bluray. Punisher I will definitely rent.

(Reply to this)

Colyn B. writes:
on Mar 16 2009 06:43 PM

Oh and hell yes! Nosferatu! One of my all time favorites!

(Reply to this)

Elijah S. writes:
on Mar 16 2009 06:45 PM

i like PUNISHER!

(Reply to this)

Colyn B. writes:
on Mar 16 2009 06:47 PM

Did you like the new Punisher or the one with Thomas Jane better?

(Reply to this)

Tyrant writes:
on Mar 16 2009 07:39 PM

Haha, that punisher clip was awesome, I'm so renting this.

(Reply to this)

mssk8erboy writes:
on Mar 16 2009 07:39 PM

Ugh, not a very good week. I liked Bolt a lot but i don't feel the need to own it and i have no interest in Twilight or The Punisher: War zone. Looks like I'll play catch up this week and get Synecdoche, New York.

-MIKE

(Reply to this)

kipcanyon writes:
on Mar 16 2009 07:48 PM

i would have to say that TDK was the biggest movie phenomenon of 2008....just saying.
twilight was the most hilarious movie ive ever seen...and obviously its not spposed to be.
and why would they reboot punisher a couple years after they made it...stupid. same with FF they should wait a couple years.

(Reply to this)

jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 16 2009 08:11 PM

In reply to this comment (#2376688)
I like the new one, PWZ is funny and cool. Its suppose to be like a fun bad movie, and it is for the most part. Nothing for me this week. This weeks plan: AVOID TWILIGHT AT ALL COST, I WANT TO LIVE DAMMIT!

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 16 2009 09:22 PM

In reply to this comment (#2376770)
Yeah but kipcnayon, we need to see a new FF film. Because they're great characters who can make a great film, if done right. But the Punisher will never make a good film. Sorry folks. I think "Princess Bride" will be worth getting, since I don't have it on DVD. I'd like to insult "Twilight", but I don't want to offend any fans.

(Reply to this)

-apocolyptic- writes:
on Mar 16 2009 10:07 PM

Probably going to buy Bolt for my son, he loves that movie. Think hes going to wear this one out much like he did with Cars.
Buying Twilight for my wife and daughter, but it probably end up like Titanic. One of those movie I will never, ever watch.
Wouldn't mind checking out the F.W.Murnau though.

(Reply to this)

ColinTheCimmerian writes:
on Mar 16 2009 11:55 PM

In reply to this comment (#2376937)
Dude, how is it the Fantastic Four can make a great movie but The Punisher can't? Not saying the FF can't be a great one, but realistically speaking, it would a lot easier to do Punisher really well than FF.

Anywho...

I really liked War Zone. I would have preferred that they continue from Tom Jane's movie (and kept Jane on as Castle), because I quite liked that movie and am a big fan of Jane, but I must admit that Ray Stevenson is better suited to the role and did a good job.

I hope eventually another Punisher movie is made, either a sequel to War Zone or a new one entirely. I feel like with each one, they're gradually progressing toward the ideal movie. The first one with Dolph Lundgren had the right amount of action and the proper setting, but was hurt by poor acting, writing, and production values. The second one with Thomas Jane fixed the problems with the first by vastly upgrading the acting and production values, and really fleshing out the character and his origins. Problem was that it overshot a bit and had too much focus on character and plot and cut down on the action, though with the limited budget they had, there was little choice in the matter. I also felt like the Miami setting was all wrong and the character was a bit too soft. Now with Stevenson's take, they got the violence, action, setting, and character right, while keeping the (good enough) production values and acting, but it overshot again and had too much focus on action and visuals, and ended up sorely lacking in plot and character development. If they can just find a balance between the action/visuals/setting/bad-***-ery of Stevenson's and the more involving plot and interesting writing of Jane's, they'd have a great movie on their hands. A slightly larger budget would be nice too. But after War Zone flopped, I'm not sure it'll ever happen.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 17 2009 01:11 PM

Colin, Punisher will always be JUST a revenge flick, no soul, no entertainment.

apocolyptic, I think "Titanic" is in a different class than "Twilight".

(Reply to this)

-apocolyptic- writes:
on Mar 17 2009 03:53 PM

In reply to this comment (#2378846)

Yeah I know what you mean.
BUT the reason I grouped together, is cuz they are both movies that woman are saying are great romantic movies.
Of course now that I have read what I wrote, seems kinda dumb.
K...when Titanic came out it was hyped beyond belief once people started seeing it.
Same with Twilight.
I dunno they are very few movies I will go out of my way to see, especially when they are hyped like crazy.
TDK was the last one I saw at the theater and didn't wait for it to come to DVD.
So while they may be in different leagues as in production and such, they still feel like a movie I can't or won't ever get into.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 17 2009 09:22 PM

In reply to this comment (#2379539)
I hear ya.

(Reply to this)

ColinTheCimmerian writes:
on Mar 18 2009 07:53 PM

In reply to this comment (#2378846)
First off, there's nothing wrong with revenge movies. Secondly, only one of the three Punisher movies was a revenge movie (the 2004 one). And how do you correlate a revenge theme with 'no soul, no entertainment'? I could say "Fantastic Four will always be JUST an action flick, no soul, no entertainment" and that would just as logical a statement (i.e. not logical at all). Come on now, if you're going to make controversial statements like "so-and-so will never make a good movie" and act like you know what you're talking about, you either need to be able to explain yourself a little better or man up and admit you have no basis for what you said other than personal preference.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 18 2009 09:08 PM

In reply to this comment (#2381595)
It's Hollywood. I've seen the 89 and 04 Punisher, and the problem is it's just about Frank Castle shooting people. Why can't it be about his inner demons? It's typical Hollywood. Maybe a Punisher film could work, in the right hands. But we've yet to see that. So, I mildly apoligize. Punisher can work, if it's nothing like the prievious films.

(Reply to this)

ColinTheCimmerian writes:
on Mar 18 2009 09:41 PM

In reply to this comment (#2381712)
Alright, that is a very reasonable answer. I withdraw my previous comments and apologize for any incendiary remarks. You make a good point that thus far all the Punisher movies have been pretty shallow, but hey, if you look at the contrast between Joel Schumacher's Batman films and Christopher Nolan's, you'll agree that what is pretty worthless in one incarnation can be much more interesting in another. I think the potential is there for The Punisher, just as there's a lot of potential in the FF, we just need them to be put in the "right hands", as you very accurately put it.

On a related note, I just realized that both the '89 and '04 movies were directed by rookie directors, who weren't even really directors. Mark Goldblatt, who did the '89 version, is actually trained as a film editor and has only directed one other feature film in his career, and Jonathan Hensleigh, who did the '04 version, is actually a screenwriter, and has also only directed one other (direct-to-video) feature in his career. Lexi Alexander who did War Zone is actually a kickboxer-turned-director, so somehow I doubt she went to any prestigious film schools either. The Punisher character really hasn't ended up in the right hands yet at all, so who knows how it might turn out if an actual pro took on the job.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 18 2009 10:03 PM

In reply to this comment (#2381731)
The kickboxer turned director would say "I went to the school of hard knocks!" But, yeahm a good Punisher will come one day. Just, give it a decade before doing another reboot.

(Reply to this)

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