Despite its name and Bernthal’s intense performance, The Punisher is about more than just its ruthless antihero, and proves much more incisive than it may initially seem to be. ... Even when its stylized viciousness is undercut by real-world tragedy, The Punisher, like Marvel’s very best Netflix series, gives its title character a bloody good introduction.

For a show which seemed, given the timing of its launch, to be so controversial, its most controversial element is its lack of controversy. Frank Castle does some bad things, but nothing as bad as what happens in America on a regular basis. As a narrative about veterans trying to find their place in the world, The Punisher has something to say. But it could have been so much shorter, and its placement in the Marvel universe feels tangential at best.

All too often it’s a plodding slog. Bernthal’s performance somehow finds energy in Frank’s pain. ... Lightfoot’s breadth of storytelling is gratifying--he wants to do more than give the cultural landscape another killing machine to idolize. It makes The Punisher less uncomfortable to watch than it could be amid so many outbreaks of extreme gun violence. But it isn’t an easy ride.

The show is well-written and Jon Bernthal ("The Walking Dead") is fantastic as Castle, the Afghanistan war veteran turned vigilante. ... But the story itself isn't dynamic enough to punch through all the cultural baggage this show is unfairly (or as some believe, justifiably) saddled with. It doesn't help that the burly character's superpower isn't a superpower at all. It's old-fashioned rage, coupled with special ops training.

Bernthal’s charismatic performance adequately sells The Punisher as an action piece, which speaks to the depth of his talent more than a person might consider. ... A love for skull-pounding action flicks should be a prerequisite for enjoying The Punisher, but even those who count ourselves in that group may find it tests our limits in the same way any hero who solves problems strictly by punching through them eventually does.

The more The Punisher tries to humanize and deepen Frank by having him work through his pain--and by juxtaposing his struggles with those of other veterans, none of whom feel central to Frank’s quest--the more unpersuasive this series becomes. It seems to want to be both The Best Years of Our Lives and Death Wish IV: The Crackdown, an ambition that’s not honest.

Though Netflix provided critics with the whole first season in advance, I ran out of patience after six episodes; they featured maybe enough material to justify three episodes, and probably two.

The most brutaly and bloody show that I've ever seen in this category. It has realistic scenes with really motivation and actions and one of main soldie's problems after them army's life. The storytelling is good and has logical and marvelous culmination. I'm glad to know that watched it in my century

A wildly back-and-forth first season that balances some good thrills with some bafflingly bad material at times. Still, Bernthal proves that his version of Frank Castle can anchor a TV show and he does good character work with what he's given.

The photography in certain parts is out of the "Marvel mold" and that is quite appreciated. In general the story is good and Jon Bernthal's performance was brutal.

Each episode is 50 minutes of talk and 5 minutes of action. In 13 hours of this series, there's enough action to fill about one exciting movie. 90 percent of it is people having conversations with other people in boring locations. Every turn of plot is dragged out five times longer than it needs to be. Jon Bernthal is fantastic. The other actors aren't bad. The production is good. Everything is well-made. It's just painfully slow and talky.

Underwhelming, over hyped, and drawn-out. One of the most damning aspects is that the trailer is better than the show and contains at least one scene that does not take place in the entire 13 epsiode run. Unless they stop trying to turn The Punisher into a violent soap opera, this will not see a third season. Bernthal does his best to elevate the material to something more than it is, but not even he can make this into the hit many claim.