Hello friends, good vibes to all.
The Punisher is one of those characters that I think Marvel hasn't given the continuity he deserves. About seven years ago, they released a Netflix series, almost entirely created by Jon Bernthal, which I thought was incredible, but they decided to cancel it. With the premiere of Daredevil, they introduced the character a little into the plot, but without much impact. Now, Disney, along with Bernthal himself, brings us this special of less than an hour, where we see a Frank Castle mentally broken by the well-known loss of his family and by the growing doubt within him about whether it's worth continuing what he's been doing, his role as a vengeful vigilante.
I believe—this is just a guess—that this special takes place after the end of that 2019 series and during his appearance in Daredevil (it's still unknown if he'll appear in Doomsday). As I was saying, in this special, we see Frank having an existential crisis after eliminating an entire Italian mafia family in New York, a family connected to the death of his own. It's known that Castle has always been tormented by the death of his wife and children; he was never the same, and it's from this that "The Punisher" is born. With his life seemingly aimless and New York mired in misery at the hands of all kinds of criminals, the idea of ending his life crosses Frank's mind, as revenge no longer seems to satisfy him.
Everything changes when Ma Gnucci, one of The Punisher's arch-enemies, appears out of nowhere to inform him that all criminals will be after him in retaliation for the death of her family at Castle's hands. Obviously, his survival instinct kicks in, and we see him annihilate anyone who crosses his path, one by one. Basically, this is the special, a small, violent, and bloody sample of what The Punisher is capable of. The truth is, for those of us who are fans of the character, the fact that they dedicated something to him is already good news. It's true that if it had been longer, it would have been practically a movie, but the idea of doing it as a "special" isn't bad at all. As I mentioned, it doesn't even reach 50 minutes, but the intensity is guaranteed.
Frank's nature is violent, so all we'll see are punches, gunshots, broken bones, blood, falls, and of course, that sense of revenge stemming from a couple of things that happen in the short plot. Bernthal is a top-notch action actor; I don't think anyone else could pull off this character as well as he does. He blends in so well, making it look incredibly real (also because he's a good actor). He does most of the stunts himself, but there's one he doesn't, and this is where the biggest criticism of this special, and especially of Marvel, which is already known for making these kinds of blunders, comes in. The CGI. There's a scene where Castle falls, and you can obviously see him falling and landing, but the CGI they used to cover the stunt double's face is so bad that it ended up looking like a tasteless caricature.
Look, you're Marvel, you can't make such a mess of the animation. Unfortunately, we're used to this kind of thing from them, so it wasn't exactly a surprise. That said, it doesn't detract from how entertaining and visually stunning the whole thing is; the almost 50 minutes fly by. I give it an 8/10. It's worth watching for both Bernthal's performance and the incredible action. It's available on Disney+. If you're a fan of Marvel, the MCU, and the character, I highly recommend it. I've included the trailer below.
¡Nos vemos en la próxima, un abrazo a todos.
Well folks, that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed it.
¡See you next time! Hugs to all.