Punisher: War Zone (2008)

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

It will be interesting to see if 3 strikes = you're out in the bloated world of comics 2 film, but for what it's worth, Punisher: War Zone is superior to either of its predecessors. I went into the film with every expectation I was going to loathe it, and wound up getting a few laughs and some rather brutal, violent entertainment. Good cinema this is not, but as a way to kill a few hours it is sufficient.

I'm not a fan of Frank Castle (i.e. the Punisher) in comics or film. Though he's forever ingrained into the category of 'iconic' Marvel super heroes, his simple back story of revenge and often one-sided persona do little to satisfy my geek spot. A vigilante executioner running up limitless kills across the criminal underground of the Marvel universe, including numerous masked villains and he's also defeated some of the heroes. He's not got the super powers of a Spider-Man or Hulk but he's equally effective. In the first scene, he interrupts a mafia dinner and kills everyone at the table (molls included) in a different way, then suspends himself upside down from a chandelier and takes out a small army of goons. We get it. You're a bad ass who will walk straight through the movie with little to no opposition.

The strengths of the film lie almost exclusively within its cast. Ray Stevenson (who you may recognize from Outpost or the Rome HBO series) really embodies the look of the comic book Punisher. He also manages to balance the brutal edge of the avenging killer with a few moments of tenderness, without coming across as too lame. Dominic West is quite funny as Jigsaw, a handsome mafioso who has his face scarred and deformed in a fight with Castle, then decides to run with it. A new character was added into the mythos with 'Loony Bin Jim', brother of Jigsaw, portrayed by Doug Hutchison, who is sprung from the asylum. I've heard many complaints about the character's presence and his over-the-top dialogue, but I found him quite hilarious, especially in his exchanges with Jigsaw. The two work off each other well as a pair of misanthropic, macabre tough guys. And thankfully Loony Bin Jim is in the film, because he's the only character that gives Punisher even a semblance of a hard time in their bathroom battle. The supporting cast ranges from entertaining. Some of the thugs are pretty entertaining, in particular the doe eyed glares given by Mark Camacho as Pittsy and Keram Malicki-Sanchez as his son Ink. T.J. Storm appears as a part-pirate, part-parkour street runner. Of course, these three are all easily dispatched, but for the moments they were on screen they shined. Dash Mihok is passable as the police agent responsible for tracking Castle's movements. Colin Salmon is forgettable as Lawrence Fishbur...I mean Special Agent Paul Budiansky, though he is given some nice lines (while sitting in church with Castle, Budiansky quips "They don't call them the Ten Suggestions".) Wayne Knight is very good as Microchip, and has some of the better scenes.

The plot is pretty much A to B. As part of his genocidal crusade against organized crime, Castle accidentally kills an undercover agent, which brings his family (and agent Budiansky) into the fray. Then he has to kill a LOT of people. The action is fierce, bloody, and brutal. No punches are pulled, and I was kind of surprised since director Lexi Alexander is rather new and hadn't done a film like this before. In the climactic battle, Castle (with the indirect aid of a Russian mafioso out for revenge) has to gun his way through an old hotel against numerous stereotypical gangs (Asian triad, African-American gangstas, and of course them evil white skins & punks!) into a final showdown with Loony Bin and Jigsaw. As one sides as most of them seem, the fights are well choreographed and ugly as they should be in a Punisher film.

Some of the musical choices are passable (Rob Zombie, Slayer and Machines of Loving Grace) but the rest is quite a bit of nu-metal or pop punk garbage which is horribly queued into certain scenes. The original score from Michael Wandmacher fares slightly better, and I would have prefered them to stick with these serious tones and leave out the nu-metal altogether. The cameras work a little magic here, capturing a world of colorful nightscapes across which the violence ensues.

War Zone (and most Marvel properties, unfortunately) cannot excel in a medium which has produced such works as The Dark Knight and Watchmen to the big screen successfully. The source material here is simply not that strong. Thankfully, Alexander doesn't hit us over the head with a lengthy exposition of the character's origin (it is referenced in a few flashbacks and comments briefly). She throws us right into the action, and the actors have what fun they can. The film is superior to the 2004 Thomas Jane vehicle in all departments. It's not as sad or pensive, it cuts right to the comic book violence and over the top villains. Stevenson, Knight, West and most of the thugs chew up the scenery, but the times they're not on screen it becomes less exciting. If you love the source material then this is probably the best on-screen version of Punisher you are going to get. Otherwise, it's not the worst 104 minutes you'll spend in the cinema or in front of your TV.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10] (blood in the urine, early indicator of kidney failure)

http://www.punisherwarzonemovie.com/

Watchmen (2009)

The odds have always been staggering against the functional translation of the comic book medium into film. In the case of a sprawling literary masterwork like Watchmen, which many fans consider the greatest superhero comic book ever written, the odds are stacked doubly. I happen to fall into this camp of ravenous fandom, having read the original dozen issues upon release and several times since in its trade paperback form. After the numerous preview scenes and the casting for the film, I went into this with a little less trepidation than most. Zack Snyder worked stylistic wonders with his adaptation of the mediocre 300 into a blockbuster, so why not the Watchmen?

I'd like to state foremost that I agree with original creator Alan Moore 100% in his criticisms of Hollywood adaptations. I find them unnecessary and more often than not they stoke the pestilent flames of short attention spans and instant gratifaction. I would rather see every American blunderhead's nose planted firmly in a novel or comic than stuffing itself with popcorn at the cinema Friday night. I am tyrannical in this respect. So let it be known: you SHOULD read the original Watchmen comic book, where the story lies in its purest and smartest (and superior) form. That aside, Snyder has done a decent job with the source material. It's obvious he is a huge fan and went through painstaking strides to keep his film as loyal as possible, making alterations only where he felt they would most benefit the film. And at 163 minutes (sans an additional 30 minutes of cut scenes), Watchmen is no sitcom. It's a film which demands your patience and attention.

The casting is quite good. Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl II) and Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre II) do a passable job in their romantic roles, but the burden of awesome falls largely on the remainder of its ensemble. Billy Crudup lives and breathes the enigmatic alien nature of Doctor Manhattan, striding through the scenes like a computer animated statue. I'll warn you in advance, there is a lot of blue dong in this film, but it did not distract me as much as some of my fellow filmgoers. Matthew Goode excels as the adonis-like figure of Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan delivers the alternating tragedy and bad-assery of the Comedian. However, the proverbial cake is taken by Jackie Earle Haley as the sociopathic vigilante Rorschach. When I had first heard of this casting choice, I found it difficult to imagine the delinquent Kelly Leak from the Bad News Bears as the brutal detective anti-hero-hero, but all my doubts were quickly silenced within the first few scenes. Granted, Rorschach was always the coolest character of the series, but Haley is spot on, able to handle the masked scenes and the faux vulnerability of Walter Kovacs in prison. What a bad ass. Some of the supporting cast also shine: Matt Frewer in his brief time as Moloch the Mystic, Carla Gugino and Stephen Mchattie as the original Silk Spectre and Nite Owl, and TV actor Robert Wisden does a nice (and almost subtle) Nixon.

The action scenes are what you'd expect out of a movie with caped crusaders battling crime, and each other, but thankfully they do not dominate the story, which retains its heady vibe of a noir mystery with deeper implications into the fate of the world. There is no skimping of the gore here, Rorschach is just as brutal and direct in his methods as the comic. The soundtrack was unfortunately rather low-key, they did a brilliant job marketing this with Smashing Pumpkins and Phillip Glass but the actual score, while functional, produced nothing truly memorable. The use of classic rock songs throughout does work to place you into this fictional altered timeline. The set and costume designs are superb and quite loyal to the original, while skimming off a bit of that too-dated look of the series. Anachronisms are largely avoided here, for the most part you do feel like you're placed smack down in the middle of the 80s. The opening credit sequence is wonderful. Also, there a few nods to 300 here which are tasteful (a prison corridor combat sequence, a hotel room #, etc.).

As was to be expected with a project this vast, numerous liberties are taken. Details are changed and plot hooks are altered to make this all fit into Snyder's 3-hour vision. There is one massive change which all fans will notice, but it actually works here. A few of the scenes (like Rorschach's run-in with the kidnapper) lose a lot of their original power in their transition. I almost feel these could have been left alone for far greater impact. And on that subject, some of the story's best lines are not delivered with nearly the caliber of power you felt when first seeing them in print. Thankfully we'll be seeing another half hour in the director's cut, and the idea to market Tales of the Black Freighter independently as an animated, direct to DVD/Blu-Ray product (featuring 300 star Gerard Butler) was wise. Many filmgoers, in particular those peckering nitwits who haven't read the comic, would have found them too abstract here. And let's face it...the film is plenty long already.

Watchmen is not the best superhero film to date, and I'm afraid it does not ascend to the lofty bar set by it's DC predecessor The Dark Knight. Like that brilliant work, however, it's MORE than just a superhero film. The story always has been. It's not perfect, but it's quite a nice adaptation, created through a love of its source by a stylish and competent director with big visions and a lot of follow through. I am thrilled that DC/Vertigo comics properties such as these are doing so well amongst large audiences. I almost feel bad for Marvel Comics...they've garnered a lot of commercial success and their universe features some worthwhile characters, but compared to what has evolved out of the DC imprint...it's only so much juvenile tripe.

If you love the original, go and enjoy a job well done. If not, go and enjoy a good film. And then read the original, lest I get Rorschach up on your ass.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (never disposed of sewage with a toilet before...obvious, really)

http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

Grant Morrison, Dave Klein - Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition) (2005)

It's April Fool's Day and Commissioner Gordon receives a call from the Joker -- the inmates have taken over Arkham Asylum, and are demanding to speak to Batman.

As you might have guessed from the cover, Batman has to descend into the heart of darkness; Arkham Asylum, the former ancestral home of Amadeus Arkham turned mental hospital for the criminally insane after his mother committed suicide after a lifelong struggle with mental illness.

The one-shot graphic novel chronicles from many different angles the descent into madness, from the flashbacks to Amadeus Arkham and his encounters with specters and dread shadows in the halls of the old house, to Batman's own interactions with the criminals: Two Face, The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and Clayface among others.

The dialogue and story are top-notch, and the superb and creepy lettering play perfectly with the bizarre painted art. That art is really what makes the comic -- although the story is certainly good, the art pushes it over the top from just a good read to something very special.

Overall it's one of the best graphic novels I've ever picked up, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes comics, Batman, creepy surreal art, or just a good spooky story to enjoy with a steaming cup of coffee on a lonely October night.

Verdict: Epic Win (who cares for you? you're just a pack of cards)