A reboot rather than a sequel to 2004's The Punisher, the movie tells of Frank Castle cracking down on crime families and delivering death penalties here, there and everywhere. The film revels in blood, exploding body parts from guns/bullets, gore and just killing in general. If you're a fan of that type of stuff, then you'll have an easier time accepting the film. As it is, all that gore feels like it's there just coz they want it to be there. There's no real or true reason, the characters just kill for the fun of it. Thus the violence is unjustified and pretty much ruins the whole film. You have 90+ minutes of pure killing that forces the plot to just plod along with no real momentum. Whereas at least in the previous film, Castle's motives were justified and you side with the character in his quest for revenge, it's not the case here. This Punisher just kills and doesn't leave anyone alive. It's cruel and cold-hearted because we aren't given a good reason why. The film makes a big deal over how Castle laments his kill on one of the undercover agents, but when he kills everyone else so easily, it's hard to believe. The ending wasn't well done, it seemed cruel that the stalemate had to end that way, and you feel as if Castle could have thought up of a better solution to save both lives. All the characters feel flat and pointless, adhering to some heavy stereotypes. Couple this with impossible-to-survive encounters in most of the action scenes and this is not such a great movie.
