The Punisher: One Last Kill Review

The Punisher: One Last Kill is disposable connected Disney+ now.

Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle was conspicuous by his lack successful Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, which is possibly 1 of the reasons that Season 2 didn’t rather unrecorded up to the modular of the first. But there’s a metallic lining to that peculiar cloud. Bernthal’s quality is backmost astatine the forefront of the MCU successful 2026, starting with the “Special Presentation” abbreviated movie The Punisher: One Last Kill. If you crave much of Frank wrestling with his idiosyncratic demons and laying discarded to endless hordes of transgression scum, you’ve travel to the close place. If you were wanting a dramatically antithetic instrumentality connected the quality from what we’ve seen successful past MCU projects, you mightiness travel distant somewhat disappointed.

One Last Kill reunites Bernthal with We Own This City and King Richard’s Reinaldo Marcus Green, with Green directing and some men co-writing the teleplay. The formed besides includes Punisher TV seasoned Jason R. Moore arsenic Frank’s aged comrade Curtis Hoyle and Judith Light arsenic a pistillate who veers into Frank’s orbit.

The one-shot presumably takes spot aft Frank’s flight successful the post-credits country of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. One mightiness people presume that Frank would instantly resume his vendetta against Vincent D’Onofrio’s Mayor Fisk and the skull-adorned members of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, but apparently, helium lone dwells connected the past erstwhile it involves grieving implicit the deaths of his family.

There’s precious small connective insubstantial betwixt One Last Kill and Born Again (or astir different MCU projects, for that matter). One could conscionable arsenic easy leap consecutive from the extremity of the Netflix bid to this peculiar and not miss a beat. There’s possibly immoderate missed accidental successful that regard, but determination is thing to beryllium said for a movie that seeks to archer a solid, standalone Punisher communicative with nary fluff oregon baggage.

Again, for each that Bernthal has noted a tendency to archer a antithetic and much psychologically driven Punisher tale, One Last Kill isn’t a melodramatic departure from what we saw with the Netflix series. It’s much visually dynamic, to beryllium certain, and Green’s beingness is surely appreciated there. But erstwhile again, we’re faced with a Frank Castle struggling betwixt the boundless good of rage and sadness that motivates him and a tendency to find immoderate benignant of airy astatine the extremity of the tunnel. It feels similar the MCU’s Punisher has been connected the brink of status for astir of his much than 10-year existence.

But if it doesn’t bash thing peculiarly caller with the character, One Last Kill nevertheless works arsenic a lean, mean enactment romp successful a peculiarly seedy conception of the MCU’s New York. The film’s 45-minute format is arguably its top asset. The Netflix amusement suffered from those agelong stretches wherever Frank would fell retired successful his basal oregon Madani’s flat successful betwixt shootouts. Here, there’s lone truthful overmuch clip to halt and navel-gaze earlier the unit breaks out. Bernthal and Green springiness america a Punisher abbreviated movie that’s adjacent parts The Raid (with a prolonged shootout successful a grimy flat complex) and John Wick. There’s adjacent a spot of a gaming power with the mode Frank cycles done weapons and loots the corpses of his fallen enemies. The plot, specified arsenic it is, is lone determination to steer Frank from Point A to B and from blood-soaked brushwood to the next.

Unsurprisingly, One Last Kill leans precise heavy connected Bernthal to transportation the day, and helium doesn’t disappoint. Early on, the absorption is connected Frank marinating successful a psychologically spicy stew of misery and paranoia, with much than a whiff of Apocalypse Now's opening scene. Later, that rage surges to the forefront arsenic Frank singlehandedly takes connected the full of Little Sicily successful an orgy of violence. In either case, the peculiar simply wouldn’t enactment without Bernthal’s magnetic portrayal of Frank determination to transportation the day. It’s practically a one-man show, and the histrion shoulders that load well. The remainder of the supporting cast, including Moore’s Curtis Hoyle, are determination chiefly to springiness dependable to Frank’s surging emotions and idiosyncratic struggles.

There are besides surely valid criticisms to beryllium leveled astatine however Frank is portrayed successful the MCU. Outside of possibly Daredevil: Season 2, the quality has ever felt similar a stark departure from the classical comic publication root material. As portrayed by comic creators similar Garth Ennis, Frank Castle is simply a stoic granite slab of a quality being who is perpetually propelled guardant by a acold fury towards each criminals and an unwavering committedness to his “mission.” The MCU Frank, by comparison, is simply a frenetic, pill-addicted shot of anger, machismo, and longing who needs periodic reminders of wherefore helium does what helium does. In a batch of ways, Bernthal’s show has much Wolverine than Frank Castle to it. But similar it oregon not, that’s the imaginativeness the MCU has committed to, and it’s 1 that One Last Kill doubles down on.

It would person been bully to spot this peculiar give a small much attraction to its anemic supporting cast. Light is compelling successful the 2 scenes successful which she’s fixed overmuch of thing to do, but she’s severely underutilized, and her quality is fundamentally forgotten earlier the end. But adjacent that is much than astir of the formed tin boast. If it’s not Frank Castle, this peculiar lone has a passing involvement successful the character.