After two confused Netflix series and a glorified cameo that ultimately went nowhere, I was ready to give up on The Punisher. A fan of the Marvel character since my edgelord teenage phase, I had already suffered enough, enduring flawed adaptations from Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane in 1989 and 2004. Ray Stevenson hit all the right notes in Lexi Alexander's 2008 re-adaptation, but it was a critical and commercial flop, ending Frank Castle's career before it ever truly began.
Over a decade later, Jon Bernthal donned the iconic skull vest to embody the Punisher for season two of Netflix's Daredevil. What seemed like a fresh start soon hit a stumbling block with a convoluted spin-off that never really grasped the core of Frank's character. By the time The Punisher: One Last Kill arrived on Disney Plus, I had all but given up hope, but I should not have doubted Bernthal.
A Fresh Start for Frank Castle
The title of this one-shot had me fearing the worst, that Bernthal's Frank Castle was gearing up to retire again. He had already done so at the end of his first Netflix series, before being reluctantly pulled back into the game in 2019. Befriending a teenage drifter, Frank appeared to be mellowing, even letting his new friend talk him into sparing the life of a literal paedophile. By now, this roaring, nervy, and constantly retiring nutcase could not have been further from the cold, committed monster I had grown up reading. His appearance in Daredevil: Born Again Series One did little to assuage my worries, offering a flimsy rebuttal of law enforcement officers who would co-opt his symbol, before bowing out again. And, as One Last Kill begins, it seems as though the murderous menace has given up his war on crime yet again.
A Relentless Onslaught
Still, it is hard to blame the man for needing a break. He has been a busy boy, having just wiped out the last remnants of those responsible for his family's death. With the Gnucci crime family decimated, a name comic fans might remember from Garth Ennis' beloved Marvel Knights run, Frank is at a loose end. He is about to join his family for good when he is confronted by the sole survivor of his Gnucci massacre, the sinister Ma, played by Judith Light. She informs Frank that she has put a bounty on his head and that those looking to collect will be here soon. As the criminal population of New York turns his home turf of Little Sicily into a veritable war zone, Frank is thrown back into the thick of the action. A relentless onslaught of bone-crunching violence and blood-pumping action, One Last Kill delivers the Punisher at his most extreme.
Once again, Bernthal is a force of nature. As the episode begins, he is as jittery and weird as he has ever been, seeing visions of his dead family and one-time lover, Karen, played by Deborah Ann Woll. Was he always like this, the show asks, using the death of his family to justify the monster that was always lurking within? As it turns out, the title was a double-bluff, referring not just to Ma Gnucci's vendetta, but also to Frank's bloodthirst or his addiction. His war will never be over; his watch is unending. There is always another fellow monster needing to be put down, one last kill.
Co-Written by Bernthal
As the first wave of Ma Gnucci's foot soldiers strikes, there is a sudden switch, and there is the Frank Castle we know and fear. Co-written by Bernthal with director Reinaldo Marcus Green, One Last Kill finally succeeds in marrying Netflix's version of the character with that of the comics, treating his prior appearances as something of an extended origin story. Created by Gerry Conway in 1974, Frank Castle has always fluctuated between murderous antihero and outright slasher villain, although live-action adaptations have tended to curb his worst impulses. Blending the real-world implications of his PTSD with the body count of a John Wick film, including a dog, One Last Kill is a Punisher adaptation that does not shy away from the character's pitch-black heart. Partly informed by real-life veterans, Bernthal understands the turmoil at Frank's core, realising that he is only capable of finding peace in the heat of war.
A Divisive Reception
While I thoroughly enjoyed Punisher: One Last Kill, others were not so impressed. Deputy TV Editor Tom Percival expressed his boredom with Frank Castle's first solo rampage through the MCU. While the action was competent and Bernthal's performance convincing, Percival found One Last Kill to be a lower-budget version of The Raid with some ideas from John Wick thrown in. He noted that the show does a good job of setting up the tragedy of The Punisher's existence, exploring the idea that Frank's crusade has created a warped version of himself in the form of Ma Gnucci. Yet, the show then expects the audience to feel cathartic release when Frank gets down to business, slaughtering his way through his apartment block. Percival argued that Frank's actions cannot be both a catastrophe and cool. The film does not skimp on the violence, featuring some truly gnarly action sequences from which few walk away unscathed. If there is a criticism, it is that the film is too short, ending just as it gets started, with Frank barely wearing the vest, and setting up the character's future in the MCU.
A Definitive Performance
None of this would work without the former star of The Walking Dead and The Bear, who brings a depth to the character never seen in live action before. As the film ends, Bernthal makes it clear that Marvel's Punisher is finally here. As long as the teased follow-up does not start with him retired and sulking in a safe house again, I am willing to give him a second shot. But first is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will find the character in more family-friendly territory. The bloody, brutal One Last Kill might seem like a far cry from Spidey's friendly neighbourhood version of New York, but the superhero sequel promises a renewed, revitalised Punisher, now fully committed to his never-ending mission. The footwork done, The Punisher is here to stay. Welcome back, Frank.
Verdict
A bloody and uncompromising action film, this brutal one-shot gives Jon Bernthal's Punisher the spotlight he deserves. The Punisher: One Last Kill is streaming on Disney Plus now.
