The Punisher (Or general Netflix Marvel Thread)

[Stevethulhu]

So today I mostly binged on the newest addition to the Marvel family. A show that's definitely not good for all the family to gather round the tellybox and enjoy together. It's extremely violent and in the grand tradition of action thrillers, it's quite a convoluted plot.

I'm not going to go into blow-by-blow accounts of things. Especially as my brain is kind of swimming after watching the whole thing over the last couple of days. But my impression is, it starts off slow. But gradually build in intensity until it hits a fairly satisfying climax. And then doesn't quite land the resolution.

It gets close to perfect in it's presentation of Frank Castle and the violent world of conspiracy, flashbacks and betrayals that he tends to live in.

All in all, out of 10, I'd give it a solid 7.5. Did well, but had the usual slight sag in the middle and didn't quite stick the ending. But was still very enjoyable.

 

[Ronin]

This is good news to me actually. The Punisher is my favorite comic book character. I was afraid it would be total crap. I'm good with a 7.5 rating. (I obviously haven't gotten a chance to watch it yet)

 

[Stevethulhu]

This is good news to me actually. The Punisher is my favorite comic book character. I was afraid it would be total crap. I'm good with a 7.5 rating. (I obviously haven't gotten a chance to watch it yet)

I thought it was solid. Not jaw droppingly awesome in a Garth Ennis kind of Welcome Back Frank way. But Jon Bernthal is now the definitive Frank Castle for me.

 

[Ronin]

Its hard to beat Garth. He is pretty much the gold standard for Punisher. I'm gonna have to check this out sooner, than later.

 

[Voros]

Watched the first 3 episodes and it is definitely slower than I expected while still being very violent.

 

[TristramEvans]

Finished it last night. Good ending. Like all Netflix Marvel, has a pacing problem. I keep getting the impression these 12-episode shows are 6 episodes stretched out. But its toward the higher end. Nothing so far has matched Daredevil, but I'd put this about on par with Jessica Jones. I liked the angle of just exploring what happens to former veterans. The b-plot with the PTSD soldier was really good, but again, could have been done more effectively in half the time. I did not care for the government agent stuff at all and soon found myself fast forwarding those scenes.

This show was a bit weird for me in that the actor playing Frank looks almost exactly like one of my best friends who I game with. Like, if I saw the actor walking down the street there's probably a good chance I'd mistake him for my friend. And they kinda even have similar mannerisms, the friend in question being a law enforcement agent and into martial arts.

 

[TristramEvans]

Its hard to beat Garth. He is pretty much the gold standard for Punisher. I'm gonna have to check this out sooner, than later.

Love me some Garth Ennis Punisher, but this is a very different take. Much bleaker, none of Ennis' black humour*. Garth writes Punisher as a larger-than-life ultimate badass, while Netflix's Punisher is far more human. I like both interpretations.

*although the sandwich scene in episode 4? (I think) had me in tears. Really subtle, but so perfect. Rewound it and watched it a few times.

 

[Raleel]

Rewound it

Showing your age there ;)

 

[TristramEvans]

Showing your age there ;)

Heh. Seems like only yesterday my Marvel TV fix was ABC Incredible Hulk movies of the week.

 

[Dammit Victor]

Really, really impressed with this. It's my new favorite of the set, bumping Jessica Jones down to #2.

What struck me is that for all of the over-the-top violence you would expect and demand from a Punisher adaptation, the show was actually very thoughtful in the way it addressed warfare, violent crime, the relationship between them... and their consequences. There are no unwounded warriors in this show. There's no fetishization of guns, or of violence as a way of life.

I was particularly, and pleasantly, surprised by the nuanced take on the plotline between Karen Page and the Senator in the Rashomon episode. It's not something I would have expected from Marvel, or from television in general.

 

[Mook]

Oh, man, this really sounds great. Need to clear some time to hit it.

 

[Voros]

Not sure where to put this exactly but I gotta say although I'm burned out on the MCU tv series this looks pretty good.

 

[PolarBlues]

Marvel Netflix shows were pretty consistent in terms of style with the grittier tone and some really strong performances from the cast (at least by genre standards). We may each have our preferences regarding particular shows or even seasons, but in general when a Marvel Netflix show was announced, you had pretty good idea of what kind of show to expect.

The Marvel Disney shows aren't like that. Though they are (more or less) all part of the same universe, the tone and style of each show can vary wildly. I supose it's good thing that they are trying different things out, but results from as a viewer the experience going to be a lot more hit and miss. So I honestly don't know what to expect from Secret Invasion.

The trailer does look good but I really didn't care for the largely comedic and sympathetic way the Skrull were reimagined in Captain Marvel and in subsequent cameos.

 

[chuckdee]

Not sure where to put this exactly but I gotta say although I'm burned out on the MCU tv series this looks pretty good.

Yeah, I put it in the what we're watching thread a few weeks ago. I thought it looked really solid. Of course, I'm no where near burned out, so there's that. But I chalk that up to watching at my own pace rather than being compelled to be part of the spectacle.

 

[Bunch]

Comedy overtook MCU. I liked the level in the original Iron Man but fat Thor was when it jumped the shark for me.

 

[chuckdee]

Comedy overtook MCU. I liked the level in the original Iron Man but fat Thor was when it jumped the shark for me.

I don't mind it, in all honesty, as long as its tempered. Fat Thor, though for laughs, had a real trauma beneath it. And you could see it when he confronted farmer Thanos. He was traumatized and it manifested itself in his external appearance.

 

[Bunch]

I don't mind it, in all honesty, as long as its tempered. Fat Thor, though for laughs, had a real trauma beneath it. And you could see it when he confronted farmer Thanos. He was traumatized and it manifested itself in his external appearance.

It's not that I think it's impossible to pull off. I just didn't feel it so it felt like cheap laughs to me.

 

[chuckdee]

It's not that I think it's impossible to pull off. I just didn't feel it so it felt like cheap laughs to me.

I really felt the reason behind Fat Thor when he met Thanos again. That was just sad, and Hemsworth really portrayed just how much that "going for the head" had broken Thor.

 

[Bunch]

I really felt the reason behind Fat Thor when he met Thanos again. That was just sad, and Hemsworth really portrayed just how much that "going for the head" had broken Thor.

Maybe I've just changed. I was watching Love & Thunder and just didn't care for the humor parts as much as I did in the past.

 

[chuckdee]

Maybe I've just changed. I was watching Love & Thunder and just didn't care for the humor parts as much as I did in the past.

Love and Thunder I think would have been better without Korg. And I definitely think Korg should have stayed dead- his time has passed.

 

[PolarBlues]

I really felt the reason behind Fat Thor when he met Thanos again. That was just sad, and Hemsworth really portrayed just how much that "going for the head" had broken Thor.

With Thor, the question of being worthy has always been a key concern. It's been in the comics from the start and a theme through out the movies, in particular the first Thor movie but he is also shown to be quite broken in Infinity War in this conversation with Rocket. Failing to stop Thanos, having lost Asgard and pretty much everything and everyone throws the character into a spin. So while obviously fat Thor is played for laughs, making the most Hemsworth natural talent for comedy, it still works for me and makes sort of sense, or as much sense as anything related to superheroes ever can.

 

[PolarBlues]

Maybe I've just changed. I was watching Love & Thunder and just didn't care for the humor parts as much as I did in the past.

As much as I enjoyed Thor Ragnarok, I found Love and Thunder kind of sloppy and meandering. Ragnarok, beyond the Pythoneque gags (which are delivered with wonderful comic timing) also had a very statisying story line where everything came together really well. I love the MCU movies, but I admit quite final battle is a big of a slog. Ragnarok has a great ending, nicely foreshadowed.

 

[chuckdee]

As much as I enjoyed Thor Ragnarok, I found Love and Thunder kind of sloppy and meandering. Ragnarok, beyond the Pythoneque gags (which are delivered with wonderful comic timing) also had a very statisying story line where everything came together really well. I love the MCU movies, but I admit quite final battle is a big of a slog. Ragnarok has a great ending, nicely foreshadowed.

I think they concentrated on the wrong things in Love and Thunder as much as I liked it. We needed more Gorr being a God Butcher. We needed more Jane growing into Thor, along with Valkyrie. We needed less Zeus and a more serious Zeus and not Mario. We needed less Korg.

That said, Christian Bale killed it, and it was a great Rock Opera.