Cool, cheap, and brutal: how "The Punisher: The Last Kill" turned out

Frank Castle's emotional wounds

After Frank Castle dealt with the Nucci crime family, responsible for the death of his family, crime ran rampant in the Little Italy district. But, having exacted his revenge, Castle doesn't know what to do next, so he doesn't intervene.

Frank can't find peace. He is haunted by hallucinations and suffers from PTSD: he sees images of old acquaintances (including Karen Page from "Daredevil"), hears the sounds of battle, and thinks about his deceased family. He barely holds on, constantly contemplating taking his own life.

In these moments, even the world around him goes mad. Psychos roam the streets, harassing people, bandits attack the innocent and weak, robbing, rioting, and killing. All this happens before Frank's eyes, and the police can do nothing, only appearing somewhere in the background.

I give credit to Jon Bernthal. He perfectly conveyed all of Castle's anxiety and severe psychological state. The actor did this with his whole body, which is visible in the details: for example, in a couple of scenes, Frank's hands even tremble from a nervous tic. And the actor's facial expressions are a separate art form. In some moments, the character's face reflects his entire sad fate, conveying these emotions to the viewer.

By the way, Bernthal was one of those who wrote the script for this special – which once again proves the actor's perfect understanding of his character.

I note that demonstrating Frank's severe psychological state is an excellent way to reveal the Punisher as a character. Although he may seem like a heartless killing machine to criminals on the outside, in reality, he is a broken psychopath who quenches internal pain through violence. Even if it is aimed at saving the innocent. Almost like Batman, only he, as is known, "doesn't kill."

But the plot of "The Last Kill" offers nothing new for the character. The special became a reboot of the protagonist's story. He once again experiences the loss of his family, once again re-evaluates himself, and so on. This is a mini-movie for those who haven't watched the Netflix series, or those who don't want to rewatch them. As an introduction to the character before his appearance in the movie "Spider-Man: New Day" – it's fine.

Brutality, but not like before

However, the situation changes when the Punisher himself becomes the target of revenge, with a bounty placed on his head. Castle is attacked by an entire army of scumbags, ready to do anything to get the reward for the protagonist's head. The action begins.

The episode is full of brutal scenes. The creators were not afraid to fully utilize the project's adult rating, allowing the Punisher to kill enemies in the most brutal ways: shooting, throwing from heights, beating, stabbing, cutting, and so on. Blood flows like a river!

But, unlike the Netflix series "Daredevil" and "The Punisher," the updated version of the brutal avenger is not as grounded.

The Punisher here looks like a superhuman, although he is an ordinary soldier. The character easily survives bullet and knife wounds (the knife hit near the heart), falling from a great height, various blows and cuts. Frank gets up every time as if nothing happened and seems like an invulnerable monster, which is emphasized by the actor's characteristic roar.

Previously, Castle also endured much more serious injuries than an ordinary person could, but they caused more visual suffering. Here, there's only a slight limp that doesn't affect anything. Perhaps Jon Bernthal too literally understood the character's peculiarity from the comics – in them, the Punisher's pain threshold is much higher than that of an ordinary person.

There's also less groundedness in the staging of battles. The characters' movements are more sweeping and simple. There's no feeling that we're watching a trained professional. Rather, it's someone who saw how people fight on TV and decided to imitate it.

The film lacks a full-fledged antagonist, and the crowds of nameless enemies behave foolishly. Knowing perfectly well who is in front of them, they openly rush at the Punisher, straight into gunfire. Although they could have united, thought out a strategy, and overwhelmed him with numbers. It looks ridiculous.

The visuals of the film are sometimes lacking. Especially viral was a scene where CGI is visible to the naked eye: as if it were a moment from a last-generation game cutscene, not a live-action film scene. Fortunately, it's only one.

However, considering that the project's budget is small and, according to rumors, it was largely sponsored by the actor himself (there's even a video from the set where he himself hands props to actors off-screen) – everything falls into place.

Music that hit the mark

The problems of the staging are smoothed out by the music, as the creators perfectly complemented the action with it. There were two segments where fights were accompanied by soundtracks.

In the first case, it was Louis Armstrong's composition – the calm and pleasant "La Vie en Rose." It shows that the protagonist has not yet accepted his future path, and he has to fight more because of circumstances.

The second time it was a massacre to the track by the band Hatebreed, called "I Will Be Heard." This is an incendiary and dynamic soundtrack, showing Castle's determination and desire to wipe out the scum roaming the streets.

The names of both compositions blend well with what is happening. "La Vie en Rose" translates to "life in pink." A peculiar reference to the famous saying about "rose-tinted glasses": when the hero doesn't see the overall picture of the world due to his emotional wounds.

And "I Will Be Heard" means "They will hear me": Castle seems to send a message to all future opponents. Even the band's name – Hatebreed – says a lot.

Verdict

The special "The Punisher: The Last Kill" is intended either for new viewers or for those who want to refresh their memories of the character before the film "Spider-Man: New Day." It is not tied to old projects and is suitable for a one-time viewing by anyone.

Although the film looks like a pilot episode of a future series, it can please viewers with decent (albeit inexpensive) action, as well as Frank Castle's excellently revealed psychological drama.

And for that, Jon Bernthal deserves thanks. He gave his all, and it's clear how much he loves the character. With this, the actor compensated for all the shortcomings of the staging.

And it's a shame that there was only enough money for 40 minutes – I would gladly watch a full-length film in this vein: with a full-fledged antagonist and well-staged, grounded action. But most importantly – Jon Bernthal as the Punisher!