Punisher: One Last Kill SP landed on Disney+ today, so here’s my review of Marvel’s most violent content to date and its best Special yet. Folks I’m not especially going to tag this as spoiler free, or otherwise because in my opinion there’s is little to spoil. If you just want to know do I recommend?
Yes, stop reading this and go and watch it. Just bear in mind this is extremely violent and only for mature viewers, not your 5 year old Spider-Man fans.
This is as solid a 45 min of Marvel as I’ve seen for a while, if you like this kind of content. As an 80’s kid, I grew up with NYC portrayed as crime ridden streets that the cops won’t go near, where violent vigilantes are heroes. One Last Kill is part Death Wish 3, The Raid, John Wick and old Punisher movies.
You do need to suspend some disbelief that the police are just not present far more in this Special. However, that’s where the Death Wish 3 comparison comes in for me. A part of town so lawless that even the police don’t go there. Regular people are hassled by ‘punks’ (Death Wish 3 term) and the only thing you’re waiting for is the good guy who is ready to fight back by executing said punks.
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In reality the place would be flooded with armed police, but that would ruin the experience, so don’t think too hard about that. Just know that within 5 minutes you will be longing to see Frank exact his form of justice against these ‘punks’.
The Raid comparison because the best action scenes are set around tons of enemies coming at Frank inside a building, and John Wick, because the action is almost poetically violent in terms of the efficiency Frank shows in killing. Make no mistake, this is the most violent content Marvel has produced inside the MCU, beyond shows like Daredevil: Born Again.
Plus there’s a feeling of those old Punisher films, because the backstory of Frank is played out in his own mind, which allows us to catch up quickly and get straight to the action. Bernthal is brilliant and there are some emotional moments in this special too which spoke to me in the moment.
Notes?
My only criticism of this Special won’t concern Marvel too much. This should have been a movie. I was happy to sit there and get another 45 minutes of this easily. Add a bit here and there to flesh out some of the worldbuilding (Like showing the police unwilling to go there maybe?) and you are probably pushing 60 minutes without losing the pacing. The Special ends on an unconventional point. It’s begging to be further explored in a sequel and I’m not sure a TV series is the best option. I’ll pay for a movie like this happily Disney.
It almost feels like Disney are saying, here, what do you think of this? Well, I’m answering, yes take my money and make Punisher movies Marvel. This little super violent corner of the MCU takes some suspension of disbelief, but so do all those other movies I mentioned and so do Quantum Realms and Universal collapses.
This could sit in the same corner as the Deadpool movies and I think the budget would be far less. Frank doesn’t need cameos, but it would the perfect movie for Daredevil to show up in theatres as well to join some brutal action from non-lethal standpoint.
This special proves there’s room for Frank in the MCU, and it’s not for the young kids.
GRADE: A+
Was glued to it for the full 45 min runtime and wished I had double to find out what happened next. In want to see Frank clean up that part of town more please Marvel/Disney.
Final note, the last Marvel project I watched that I didn’t rate was Captain America: Brave New World. Now, that’s just over a year since the big Marvel course correction, but so far so good. Is Marvel back?
As always, let us know what you thought of my review or your own thoughts on Punisher: One Last Kill. Maybe you didn’t like it as much as me? Thoughts below,
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