"Punisher: Birth" (Max)
After this film, a mess of an action film, I felt…punished. If there are any kids out there stuck in puberty, watch this film, as it ought to do the trick. Loaded with more gangsters and violence then a Detroit street corner, I found myself lost several times, and with a cast of characters like this, I wasn’t about to step out of the car and ask for directions. However, despite the rocky terrain, there is a small dirt path down the way, in which a basic plot and some halfway decent moments do come, like a confused sparrow, out of the woodwork. Needless to say, in a series of relentlessly similar films, it fit in the canon towards the more forgettable works, and immediately lost itself in the obscurity of the achieves, a muddle as jumbled up as the film itself.
One of the major faults I noticed was the inclusive lack of any structure of details, most notably in the characters. Nothing felt elaborated on, it was all banally redundant as it seemed to recycle overused material from itself and films like it. I found myself wishing there was some sort of beacon, a cable, one can say, to hold onto so when I went “into the jungle”, I would have a bearing to fall back on. There was no such luxury, and thus, when I went exploring, it was on my own volition, and the ending result was finding myself lost, boggled, and just wanting to get out, without a care in the world of whether or not I found a guiding light or not. And when the scenes came where a conversation was held in a proper manner, it felt a clearing, an all too brief stay, like a rest, before I was gone again, with characters who seemed to have no history, no origin, but were just added in because, quite simply, they were supposed to be there. Mind you, I did not expect any inner qualities to be shown, though I was trying to realize who exactly everyone was, in terms of their motives, but instead, I only saw words, no notion behind them, nothing in my mind.
I am not going to say, as I so often do, “do not let me underrate…”, however I will say do not let me misguide you, there is, I suppose, a story here, and if you read the synopsis and re-read a few scenes, you can grip it; however, the effort is not outweighed by the profit. Frank Castle simply goes down his journey, with Jigsaw, a Russian and others after him, leading to a few plot twists which bring the story, sadly, back full circle to where it was in the first place; a script seemingly on drugs, as it could not sit still for a moment and, while it was not jumpy and on edge, its attempts to form a cohesive idea so often fell flat. I suspect this is because, if not solely, largely, due to the rushed nature it reads. Scenes jump to each other quickly, and without warning, leaving your mind at the previous as it goes on a rampage through its course of events, all too eager to reach the end as we are.
As far as dialogue goes; the film reached certain peaks. Sometimes, it wasn’t bad, and propelled an idea, but for the large part, and even when something was happening, it felt overtly simplistic and monotonous, as slowly, everyone seemed identical in how they talked and nothing colorful stuck out. That is perhaps what troubled me most, how every line, every scene, all morphed into a blob of consistency in a meager sense, which brought about the repetition I spoke of earlier. Of course, there were those you expected to see, the usual action one liners that use cursing and screaming to excite and rouse, but usually end up standing out like a sore thumb, except for here, where it fit in all too well.
One thing that was done with some sense of integrity is how one of the themes, that is, retribution was done. We had a feeling that we were witnessing revenge at its barest sense and the birth and death of all it encompasses. It pulled everything together, acting as the sole support, and rested decently enough to maintain balance through most of the film. Also, while the responses always are undeniably corny, they are unintentionally humorous, at the same time, making it a bad film of some quality. Of course, this is praise in the weakest and most miserly manner, but it is a factor to notice that the film, with the weight on its shoulders as it is, does not attempt to mask it with lengthy scenes of melodrama or the usual wisecracks so often associated with the style in which this is done. It knows what it is and doesn’t attempt to dissuade from this persona; it has given up and wishes for us to face it as it is, a mercy that still, though noble, is not to be admired.
Thus, overall, the film is something which appeals to very few, I suspect. Structured as it is and written in the manner that consists of orthodox cheesiness, I cannot find reason for any to watch it, save for curiosity. I cannot honestly say I was disappointed, as my expectation were, from the start, a slate, not exactly clean, but nervous, for this genre is one which goes a long ways with so little, and while this film is not an epic, it goes beyond what I would have wished, to the point where condensing it would be recommended. But either way, it will take a guide of some sort, preferably a nicely lit path for an audience member, in my view, to see anything here, or to even perceive that there is, indeed, supposed to be things going on. So, what happened to this film? Well, here is a moment where the Punisher can come in and say “Me”, as that is how the film begins and ends, the chaos, both literally and figuratively, created by revenge.
My Conclusion- This is a film I would skip over, especially with one Punisher film out and another coming. It is messy and redundant in its failure to stick itself out.
After this film, a mess of an action film, I felt…punished. If there are any kids out there stuck in puberty, watch this film, as it ought to do the trick. Loaded with more gangsters and violence then a Detroit street corner, I found myself lost several times, and with a cast of characters like this, I wasn’t about to step out of the car and ask for directions. However, despite the rocky terrain, there is a small dirt path down the way, in which a basic plot and some halfway decent moments do come, like a confused sparrow, out of the woodwork. Needless to say, in a series of relentlessly similar films, it fit in the canon towards the more forgettable works, and immediately lost itself in the obscurity of the achieves, a muddle as jumbled up as the film itself.
One of the major faults I noticed was the inclusive lack of any structure of details, most notably in the characters. Nothing felt elaborated on, it was all banally redundant as it seemed to recycle overused material from itself and films like it. I found myself wishing there was some sort of beacon, a cable, one can say, to hold onto so when I went “into the jungle”, I would have a bearing to fall back on. There was no such luxury, and thus, when I went exploring, it was on my own volition, and the ending result was finding myself lost, boggled, and just wanting to get out, without a care in the world of whether or not I found a guiding light or not. And when the scenes came where a conversation was held in a proper manner, it felt a clearing, an all too brief stay, like a rest, before I was gone again, with characters who seemed to have no history, no origin, but were just added in because, quite simply, they were supposed to be there. Mind you, I did not expect any inner qualities to be shown, though I was trying to realize who exactly everyone was, in terms of their motives, but instead, I only saw words, no notion behind them, nothing in my mind.
I am not going to say, as I so often do, “do not let me underrate…”, however I will say do not let me misguide you, there is, I suppose, a story here, and if you read the synopsis and re-read a few scenes, you can grip it; however, the effort is not outweighed by the profit. Frank Castle simply goes down his journey, with Jigsaw, a Russian and others after him, leading to a few plot twists which bring the story, sadly, back full circle to where it was in the first place; a script seemingly on drugs, as it could not sit still for a moment and, while it was not jumpy and on edge, its attempts to form a cohesive idea so often fell flat. I suspect this is because, if not solely, largely, due to the rushed nature it reads. Scenes jump to each other quickly, and without warning, leaving your mind at the previous as it goes on a rampage through its course of events, all too eager to reach the end as we are.
As far as dialogue goes; the film reached certain peaks. Sometimes, it wasn’t bad, and propelled an idea, but for the large part, and even when something was happening, it felt overtly simplistic and monotonous, as slowly, everyone seemed identical in how they talked and nothing colorful stuck out. That is perhaps what troubled me most, how every line, every scene, all morphed into a blob of consistency in a meager sense, which brought about the repetition I spoke of earlier. Of course, there were those you expected to see, the usual action one liners that use cursing and screaming to excite and rouse, but usually end up standing out like a sore thumb, except for here, where it fit in all too well.
One thing that was done with some sense of integrity is how one of the themes, that is, retribution was done. We had a feeling that we were witnessing revenge at its barest sense and the birth and death of all it encompasses. It pulled everything together, acting as the sole support, and rested decently enough to maintain balance through most of the film. Also, while the responses always are undeniably corny, they are unintentionally humorous, at the same time, making it a bad film of some quality. Of course, this is praise in the weakest and most miserly manner, but it is a factor to notice that the film, with the weight on its shoulders as it is, does not attempt to mask it with lengthy scenes of melodrama or the usual wisecracks so often associated with the style in which this is done. It knows what it is and doesn’t attempt to dissuade from this persona; it has given up and wishes for us to face it as it is, a mercy that still, though noble, is not to be admired.
Thus, overall, the film is something which appeals to very few, I suspect. Structured as it is and written in the manner that consists of orthodox cheesiness, I cannot find reason for any to watch it, save for curiosity. I cannot honestly say I was disappointed, as my expectation were, from the start, a slate, not exactly clean, but nervous, for this genre is one which goes a long ways with so little, and while this film is not an epic, it goes beyond what I would have wished, to the point where condensing it would be recommended. But either way, it will take a guide of some sort, preferably a nicely lit path for an audience member, in my view, to see anything here, or to even perceive that there is, indeed, supposed to be things going on. So, what happened to this film? Well, here is a moment where the Punisher can come in and say “Me”, as that is how the film begins and ends, the chaos, both literally and figuratively, created by revenge.
My Conclusion- This is a film I would skip over, especially with one Punisher film out and another coming. It is messy and redundant in its failure to stick itself out.
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