Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Punisher (2017-Present)



While Frank was my favorite part of Daredevil’s second season, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a Punisher series.  A careful balance is needed with his character, because the badass action moments are exciting to watch, but that violence also comes from a really messed-up place, and you can’t just approach it as adrenaline-junkie thrills.  Now, having finished the first season, I think The Punisher manages to thread that needle pretty well, grounding the high-ocatane action sequences with exploration of Frank’s damage (premise spoilers.)

Frank Castle completes his self-imposed mission to take revenge on those responsible for the deaths of his family, but it turns out his past isn’t finished with him yet.  He’s sought out by a fellow “officially dead” man:  David Lieberman, an intelligence ghost with a talent for computers.  Lieberman’s found that, like him, Frank isn’t as dead as he’s supposed to be, and the two form an unlikely team-up to root out the corruption behind an off-the-books program Frank had been a part of in Afghanistan.

That’s kind of a messy description, but the show is a lot better than that.  It tells its tale well, weaving together government secrets, brutal action scenes, tech wizardry, uneasy alliances, and mental health struggles into a taut, unflinching narrative.  Frank and Lieberman are both men who’ve been utterly transformed by what they’ve been put through, but while that informs their actions, it doesn’t sanction them, either.  Both of them have been down dark paths in different ways, and Frank in particular thinks salvation is long since off the table.  Even as Lieberman uses Frank as his fist (and trigger finger) against their mutual enemies, he’s aware of how far Frank can go afield and sometimes struggles to pull him back.

I like that the show is populated with a number of veterans, each with different struggles.  Frank is our main viewpoint character, but the series looks at the numerous ways veterans can try to address their demons, for good or ill, and I like seeing how deep the ties of past brothers in battle go.  There are moments when Frank is looking down the barrel of someone’s gun and genuinely hurts for them, because he knows what they’re dealing with and how impossible it can seem to come back from that.

Jon Bernthal is obviously here from Daredevil as Frank, as is Deborah Ann Woll, in a recurring role, as Karen.  The series features a number of other talented actors – I’m not familiar with either Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Lieberman) or Amber Rose Revah (Madani, an agent following the same trail as Frank,) but both of them are terrific, and Ben Barnes, Prince Caspian himself, plays Billy, a former military man turned private contractor.

Warnings

Tons of intense violence, drinking, sexual content, language, and strong thematic elements.

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