THE PUNISHER: ONE LAST KILL -- Jon Bernthal Cries... and KILLS

Review by Steve Barton II

The Punisher (aka Frank Castle) began as a comic book character in February of 1974 appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 as an adversarial assassin against Spider-Man. Punisher will be making his overdue return to the big screen in this summer’s blockbuster, Spider-Man: Brand New Day since 2008 with Punisher: War Zone. While it has been 18 years since Frank Castle blessed a theater screen, he broke his way into our homes during the second season of the Netflix Daredevil series. With Jon Bernthal under the skull insignia for this iteration of the character, Punisher has more depth to this character than ever. In The Punisher: One Last Kill, we pick up after the events of Daredevil: Born Again’s first season, where Frank was imprisoned by Wilson Fisk for being a vigilante. Afterward, he returns to Little Sicily where he sees riots and gangs have infiltrated the neighborhood without someone to help the regular citizens. Frank has put the Punisher mantle down and is trying to live a normal life, but the ghosts from his past still haunt him and it’s driving him to the brink of suicide. As he’s right on the edge of giving up, his past pulls him back in once more. 

As many comic connoisseurs may agree, the experience of watching The Punisher: One Last Kill felt similar to reading a graphic single issue story that we all love. It is a good feeling to have a contained plot that feels complete by the end, it does feel rushed in this time constraint. With the story being told, they could’ve made this feature length and flesh out the side characters and Frank’s battle with his PTSD. While you may not have all of the necessary context to fully enjoy this special if you haven’t fully caught up on all the shows MCTVU, fans of the Punisher with a base knowledge can pick this on Disney+ and still feel fulfilled in the end.

The major reason this television special works is the performance from Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle. Tackling Frank’s PTSD isn’t breaking new ground, but the lengths Bernthal goes to feels raw and leaves you with a visceral sadness and sympathy for this broken man. Between his deep growls of anger and whimpers of sadness and pain as he begs Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) to not be a ghost in his broken mind. Anyone who has dealt with mental health issues and been suicidal will see how Frank is feeling and could be therapeutic and/or emotionally draining due to how authentic it is. Even in the general public among the masses, the past and all its pain always have a way of sneaking up and ruining everything.

In the end, The Punisher: One Last Kill is a solid coda for this last season of Daredevil: Born Again and a perfect starting point to jump into Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Frank Castle is a complicated character who many people can relate to from different walks of life and that’s what makes him so compelling. While some folks may appreciate the PTSD angle of the story, the people who came for the ultra-violent Punisher won’t leave disappointed either. Disney+ has slowly become more lenient on the violence for their original content, but they push the boundaries with almost every kill in this special! If you’re a fan of The Punisher and looking for a quick watch full of brutal action sequences and great acting from Jon Bernthal, look no further than The Punisher: One Last Kill.

The Punisher: One Last Kill is available on Disney+ starting May 12th.

Rating: 4/5