Punisher: War Zone

"Vengeance has a name."

2008 1h 42m EN

😐

5.9

MID

🥫

29%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.9

IMDB

★5.9TMDB · 1,384🥫29%Rotten Tomatoes●30Metacritic★5.9IMDB · 70,270

ActionCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the "Punisher Task Force" hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished.

“Vengeance has a name.”

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Cast

Ray Stevenson
Frank Castle / The Punisher
Dominic West
Billy "The Beaut" Russoti / Jigsaw
Julie Benz
Angela Donatelli
Colin Salmon
Paul Budiansky
Doug Hutchison
James Russoti / "Loony Bin Jim" / "LBJ"
Dash Mihok
Martin Soap
Wayne Knight
Linus Lieberman / Micro
Stephanie Janusauskas
Grace Donatelli

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lexi Alexander
Writers: Matt Holloway, Nick Santora, Art Marcum
Languages: Russian, English
Countries: Canada, Germany, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 49% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Canada, Germany, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Punisher Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lexi Alexander, shot by Steve Gainer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Wandmacher. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Yeh shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lexi Alexander directs. Steve Gainer behind the camera. Michael Wandmacher scores. William Yeh cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Canada, Germany, United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 49% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 18 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Russian, English.
4International production across 3 countries: Canada, Germany, United States of America.
5Part of the "The Punisher Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Lexi Alexander, shot by Steve Gainer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Michael Wandmacher. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor William Yeh shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Ray Stevenson and Dominic West and Julie Benz carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Vengeance has a name.".
11IMDB entry: tt0450314 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 18 themes, including "superhero", "based on comic", "sequel", "broken neck".
13Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Steve Gainer
Original score: Michael Wandmacher
Editing: William Yeh
Production design: Andrew Neskoromny
Costume design: Odette Gadoury
Makeup / hair: Maxime Leduc
VFX supervisor: Robert Short
Sound: Michael Babcock
Stunt coordinator: Scott J. Ateah
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,500,000
Box office: $10,089,373
Return: 49% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Punisher: War Zone (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes: 29% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 30/100
IMDB rating: 5.9/10 · 70,270 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 1 nomination total

Part of

The Punisher Collection

The Punisher is a vigilante who first appeared in Marvel comics in 1974 and has been the subject of several movies and tv shows.

Also by

Lexi Alexander

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-11-16
★ 7/10
The best of the Punisher movies with a weak last act The Punisher first appeared in the Spider-Man comic in February, 1974, and became a semi-regular foe/ally in that mag, but was more apt to appear in Daredevil in the 80s until the character got his own mini-series in 1986 and then his ongoing titles: The Punisher (1987), The Punisher War Journal (1988) and The Punisher War Zone (1992). The character was so popular at the time that he inspired a black & white magazine as well (1989). The reason The Punisher was and continues to be so popular is because he's essentially an over-the-top version of "Dirty Harry" and "Deathwish": Frank Castle's family is killed by the mob while on a picnic in Central Park and so he declares war on all criminals wherein he becomes their judge, jury and executioner. Unlike Daredevil, a lawyer who utilizes the justice system, The Punisher just kills 'em all. The first movie version was 1989's "The Punisher" with Dolph Lundgren, which was a disappointment. Lundgren was good, but the movie was too Grade B cartoony and it took too many liberties. Still, some consider it a cult flick. The 2004 movie with Thomas Jane curiously transferred the character from New York City to sunny Florida, specifically the Tampa area. There were other oddities that didn’t sit well, but Jane was good as the protagonist and there was enough good in the flick to marginally enjoy it. This 2008 rendition, “Punisher: War Zone,” was originally intended to be a sequel to the 2004 movie with Thomas Jane, but delays in the production caused him to pull out. Lexi Alexander ultimately got the gig as director and she pitched the idea of doing the film “as a throwback to '80s era action films” with 6’4” Ray Stevenson taking over as The Punisher. Jigsaw (Dominic West) makes for a memorable villain with Loony Bin Jim an entertaining wacko sidekick (Doug Hutchison). Wayne Knight plays Microchip and Julie Benz the wife of an undercover agent that Castle mistakenly kills on one of his missions. The towering Colin Salmon stands out as a police agent intent on tracking down The Punisher. It was a good call to bring the story back to New York City and, honestly, this has to be one of the best-looking big city movies I’ve ever seen, no kidding. The cinematography/locations/lighting are exceptional. While the movie has the urban grittiness of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, it balances it out with amusing cartoonish-ness. There is some quality drama, like Castle’s anguish over killing a “good guy” and his dealings with the dead agent’s widow & daughter, but it’s not overlong and dull like in “Batman Begins” (2005) and “The Dark Knight” (2008). Unfortunately, the last act, while serviceable, could’ve been better. At the end of the day, “Punisher: War Zone” edges out the 2004 movie as the best film version of the character. It’s more faithful to the comics and overall more entertaining even though it totally bombed at the box office. The film runs 1 hour, 43 minutes and was shot in Montreal, Quebec. GRADE: B/B-
tmdb440066252019-03-09
★ 5/10
To be fair, Punisher: War Zone is the most accurate representation of the comic we've had to date. The gore, extreme violence, and borderline sadism is very much a part of the comic. Ray Stevenson is spot on as Frank Castle. Dominic West is not so good as Jigsaw but at least his gang is more competent than Travolta's. Given that this came out in the same year as two other big comic book movies, there is one big thing that Punisher: War Zone contributes: proof that a female director can make an unforgivingly cruel but kick ass action flick, so I don't understand how more of them aren't being given the opportunity to do so.