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Punisher: War Zone is a 2008 American comic book action film directed by Lexi Alexander; based on the fictional Marvel Comics vigilante/anti-hero the Punisher. The film is a reboot which follows the original telling of Frank Castle's war on crime and corruption rather than a sequel to 2004's The Punisher , and is the first film to be produced under the Marvel Studios and Marvel Knights production banner, which focuses on films for mature audiences. Irish actor Ray Stevenson replaces Thomas Jane as Frank Castle. In the film, Castle wages a one-man war against a horribly disfigured mob boss known as Jigsaw (Dominic West). Punisher: War Zone was released in North America by Lionsgate on December 5, 2008, and was released February 6, 2009 in the United Kingdom.

Plot

Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson) has been the Punisher for six years as the story opens. He assaults a "beat the rap" party for a mob boss, Gaitano Cesare. Billy Russoti (Dominic West) escapes to his recycling plant hideout, and Detectives Martin Soap (Dash Mihok), and Saffiotti (Tony Calabretta), who were staking out the party, inform Castle. Castle infiltrates Russoti's hideout and kills one thug as he is exiting the bathroom. The gunshot alerts Russoti, and a brief fire fight between Castle and him ensues. During the battle, Russoti is thrown into a glass-crushing machine which does not kill him but leaves him hideously disfigured. Russoti later refers to himself as "Jigsaw" because the stitches in his face resemble puzzle pieces. Castle, who has taken cover behind the body of Nicky Donatelli (Romano Orzari), discovers that the first man he killed in the facility was an undercover FBI Agent.

Agent Paul Budiansky (Colin Salmon), the partner of the deceased agent, joins the NYPD's "Punisher Task Force", partnering with Soap to help bring Castle to justice. Meanwhile, a facially mutilated Russoti, recovered from his run-in with the Punisher, frees his deranged brother, "Loony Bin Jim" (Doug Hutchison).

Distraught that he has become the evil he swore to battle, Castle attempts to make reparations to Donatelli's wife, Angela (Julie Benz) and daughter, Grace (Stephanie Janusauskas) to no avail. Castle threatens to retire from the vigilante business, but his armorer, Microchip (Wayne Knight) forces him to reconsider telling him Jigsaw will go after Donatelli's family for revenge.

Jigsaw, Loony Bin Jim, and two goons, Ink and Pittsy, break into Donatelli's house and hold the family hostage. Meanwhile the Punisher tracks down Maginty (T. J. Storm) a known associate of Jigsaw, executing Maginty after he has told what he knows. Agent Budiansky and Detective Soap attempt to arrest the Punisher but are easily disarmed and the Punisher warns Budiansky to leave him alone. Just as the Punisher is about to walk away, Budiansky gets up and handcuffs himself to the Punisher. The Punisher tells him that Jigsaw went after Donatelli's family, but Budiansky sends one police car to check on the Donatelli house, intending to take the Punisher back to the station. When the patrol car fails to respond, he is convinced to check on the house. Budiansky enters the house, and is caught by Ink and Pittsy. Soap frees the Punisher, who kills Ink, and Pittsy and leads Donatelli's wife and daughter away. Budiansky then arrests Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim after a short gun fight.

Jigsaw and his brother bargain with the FBI for their release by giving up Cristu Bulat (David Vadim), who was smuggling in a biological weapon destined for Arab terrorists in Queens. The brothers are granted total immunity, the $12m Bulat was paying to use Jigsaw's port and a file on Micro. They take Micro hostage, killing his mother in the process. They again take Donatelli family hostage, after critically injuring Carlos who Castle had left to protect them. Jigsaw sets himself up in the Bradstreet Hotel, hiring a small private army of criminals, including African-American gangbangers, Irish mobsters and Asian-American thugs all eager to kill the Punisher. Castle enlists the help of Agent Budiansky, who informs Cristu's father, Tiberiu Bulat (Aubert Pallascio), that Jigsaw is located at the Bradstreet Hotel. Tiberiu's goons start a shootout in the hotel's lobby, affording Castle a distraction.

Castle enters by jumping through a second-floor window, leading to a brutal firefight with Jigsaw's hired guns. After the shootout, Loony Bin Jim engages Castle in hand-to-hand combat; he is successful during the first half, but Castle becomes enraged and soon overpowers him. Realizing that he will probably not survive the brawl, Loony Bin Jim runs away. Castle chases him and confronts Jigsaw along with Loony Bin Jim, both holding Micro and Grace Donatelli at gunpoint. Jigsaw gives Castle a choice: If Frank shoots Micro, Jigsaw will let the others go free. Micro boldly offers his life to save the young girl, but Castle chooses to shoot Loony Bin Jim instead. As a result, Jigsaw kills Micro. Enraged by the loss of his partner, Castle attacks Jigsaw, which ends with the Punisher impaling Jigsaw with a metal rod and then throwing him onto a fire. As Jigsaw burns to death, Castle calmly tells him that "This is just the beginning". Outside, Castle is forgiven by Angela and bids farewell to Budiansky and the Donatelli family.

As Castle and Soap walk together, Soap tries to convince Castle to give up his vigilante status after having "killed every criminal in town." Soap however changes his mind when he is attacked by a mugger who quickly becomes another victim of the Punisher.

Cast

  • Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle / The Punisher: Prior to filming, Stevenson read every possible issue of the Punisher MAX series, underwent endurance, martial arts, and weapons training with former Force Recon Marines and film fight choreographer Pat Johnson.
  • Dominic West as Billy Russoti / Jigsaw: A vain and image obsessed mafia killer. By killing off the established gangsters Punisher creates the opportunity for Jigsaw to become a boss. Paddy Considine was considered for the role of Jigsaw in the film but the offer was retracted and given to West who had previously turned it down.
  • Doug Hutchison as James Russoti / Loony Bin Jim (LBJ): Looney Bin Jim is a chemically imbalanced, cannibalistic, psychopath whose veins practically flow with adrenaline and testosterone, leaving him in a constant state of homicidal mania that he alleviates by going on periodical killing sprees.
  • Dash Mihok as Detective Martin Soap: Head detective of the "Punisher Task Force".
  • Colin Salmon as FBI Agent Paul Budiansky: Former partner of Nicky Donatelli. Based on an NYPD officer of the same name in the Punisher story arc "Widowmaker".
  • Wayne Knight as Linus Lieberman / Microchip: Armorer to the Punisher.
  • Romano Orzari as Nicky Donatelli: An undercover FBI agent whose death is the catalyst for the events in the story.
  • Julie Benz as Angela Donatelli
  • Stephanie Janusauskas as Grace Donatelli
  • T. J. Storm as Maginty: Leader of an Urban Freeflow gang. Maginty comes from the Punisher story arc "Kitchen Irish" and is an Irish gangster.
  • Mark Camacho as Pittsy: One of Jigsaw's goons. One of two henchmen originating from the Punisher story arc "In The Beginning".
  • Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Ink: One of Jigsaw's goons. One of two henchmen originating from the Punisher story arc "In The Beginning".
  • Carlos Gonzalez-vlo as Carlos Cruz, a former Latino gangbanger who allied with Micro and effectively Punisher.
  • David Vadim as Cristu Bulat: One of multiple villains originating from the Punisher story arc "The Slavers".
  • Aubert Pallascio as Tiberiu Bulat: Cristu's father. One of multiple villains originating from the Punisher story arc "The Slavers".

Development

2004

In February 2004, two months prior to The Punisher's theatrical debut, Lions Gate Entertainment announced the studio's intent to produce a sequel. Avi Arad, chairman and CEO of Marvel Studios, expressed his interest in developing the franchise, saying that the second film would "become the fifth Marvel property to become a sequel." In March 2004, the director of the first film, Jonathan Hensleigh, said that he was interested in working with Thomas Jane again for The Punisher 2 . In April 2004, Jane said that the villain for The Punisher 2 would be Jigsaw. In November 2004, Jane said that the studio was interested in making a sequel based on successful DVD sales of The Punisher and was developing the preliminary budget for the follow-up.

2005

In March 2005, Marvel Studios announced a 2006 theatrical release date for The Punisher 2 . In April 2005, Lions Gate Entertainment's CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed at LGF's 2005 fiscal 3Q analyst call that the studio had completed its deal to develop The Punisher 2 . Arad indicated the sequel would be among the "handful of Marvel films" to carry the R rating. Prior to July 2005, Avi Arad revealed that the script was being rewritten and that the sequel would start filming within the year. By July 2005, Jane had put on an additional 12 pounds of muscle, and was hoping for filming to start in late-2006.

2006

In March 2006, The Punisher 2 was announced to be produced in Louisiana, being listed in the domestic charter under Louisiana's Secretary of State. In August 2006, Marvel Entertainment revealed a new film slate that included The Punisher 2 on its partial list with production still to be determined. Thom