Netflix’s ‘The Punisher’ is best adaptation of character

BY JOE VILLARRUEL

 

 

After Netflix’s release of Marvel’s “The Punisher” starring Jon Bernthal as the Lone Soldier himself,  viewers may notice the amount of mature content the show may contain. In comparison to any other Marvel property on Netflix, “The Punisher” outranks the amount of gore, blood, and adult material the show contains. It goes as far as to be comparable to one other of Marvel’s character creations whom had their own feature film, “Logan.”

“The Punisher” on the contrary pushes Marvel’s boundaries on the amount of explicit content to be included in the live action portrayal of the character. Not to mention the slight pushback Netflix received for the character’s release after the shooting incident that occurred in Las Vegas. “The Punisher” contains every bit of violence the Marvel character should pertain to. The amount of gun usage from the show explicitly shows the value Marvel had to stick to with the character.

In Episode 10 “Virtue on the Viscous” Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal’s character) tries to stop a maniac wanting to blow up an entire building and assassinate a senator. He does, however, go on a rampage when a squad of private military soldiers try to kill him. Thus, forcing him to shoot, kill and diffuse a bomb all at the same time.

Deborah Woll, who plays “Karen Page” in the show has also appeared alongside a number of the other Marvel shows such as “Daredevil” and “The Defenders.” Her performance once again is outstandingly excellent as she plays the role of the fearless reporter.

Not to mention the amazing performance Bernthal also provided as “The Punisher”. He proves he can push his lengths as an actor and portrays the crazed PTSD soldier as best as anyone can imagine on screen.

In the 2004 version of “The Punisher” there are some gun scenes that replicate Mark L. Lester’s “Commando.” Of course, it isn’t as gory and amplified to the extent of how crazy and violent the character can be. Compared to Thomas Jane’s portrayal, Bernthal proves his version to uptop his. This does not however, include the cinematography and editing effort the company had to exert  in the 2004 version. In the 2017 series, scenes including torture, manslaughter and even military themed gunplay are present.  

Many modern adaptations and tweaks were added to the character in comparison to the comic version. Such like other live action portrayals of comic book characters, Marvel’s Thor, Luke Cage, The Winter Soldier and even Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man” that carry on their own modern built characteristics into the big screen. In the comics, The Punisher was a vietnam veteran who lost his family; causing him to go on a rampage. In the show, Frank Castle was an Afghanistan  soldier who was apart of a secret infiltration group exerting horrible missions commanded by their officer.  After his appearance in “Daredevil” Season 2, most of the character’s  attitude, tone, and aspect was an established modern take on the personality. Unlike “Captain America”s adaptation, who resembled a ton of his comic book features and settings; the movie took place in the 1940s, but was tweaked later on and  delivered to be a close comic book adaptation.

Other Characters in the show like “Microchip” have also been tweaked to fit perfectly among “The Punisher”s story line. In the comic books written by Mike Barron, “Microchip” was first shown out to the public as a near 40 year old chubby hairy man whom has an extravagant skill in hacking. However in the show, “Micro” is portrayed to have none of the comic book characteristics and is tall, skinny, fragile, and one of the largest beards seen in the MCU. To be fair, most comic book characters are tweaked to be modern and presentable towards up to date set standards.

The show also reveals a bit a of message towards veteran soldiers trying to live the life of a normal civilian. In reality, most soldiers whom are shipped off into war usually lose close friends and experience death of any kind right in front of them; including the suffering to witness the death of children or innocents whom have been caught in the crossfire. The show definitely portrays an excellent tone and feel toward U.S.soldiers arriving back into society, trying to fit in. A group of retired army soldiers are shown in the series gathered around in a room talking about what’s in their heads. The sole purpose of the scenes are to exemplify the absence in control of their flashbacks in the time of war. Most of the soldiers there are just there to have some sort of group therapy, in need to find a cure for control of their own thoughts. Daniel Webber, who portrays one of the soldiers who shows to be unstable enough to almost shoot himself and his father in the head; is shown in his home struggling to rest and have this sort of paranoid personality. Webber’s character “Lewis,” is even shown struggling to have a normal life, as he’s shown in the show to dig a hole in his backyard,  just to have a peaceful nap.

To be genuine, Marvel’s certainty with this character was not the first to have an upheaval tone. Other Marvel property shows like “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones” have also been applied with similar dark tones into the series. However in the new live action series of the punisher, Marvel TV has given it a bit of a dark western vibe. The intro excels old drums and whistles while a western styled guitar tone plays in the background; while also showing guns form from smoke and dust.

However in “The Punisher,” Frank Castle immediately shows signs of topping previous shows owned by marvel. In the first Episode of the series “3AM,” we see “The Punisher” beat and brake construction worker’s legs, arms, and necks. Not to mention murdering an entire mob of drug dealers found playing poker.

The show then takes a turn near the end of the series. When the villain of the show, “Rawlins” played by Paul Schulze, immediately has the most grotesque murder scene Marvel has ever came out with. Scenes of countless stabbing, choking, and even eye departure are present. In the season finale, “The Punisher” is even then shown scraping Ben Barnes’ “The Jigsaw”s face against pieces of glass deteriorating his skin off his face.

This piece of Marvel’s input to the cinematic universe is easily the most goriest and bloodiest of them all. “The Punisher” was never planned to have his own feature show right until his  uproar in fame after his appearance in Daredevil Season 2. Even then, the character had the slightest amount of gruesome attitude for the show.