Critic Reviews

The Special Presentation is the character study that makes you more invested if you weren't already on board, while paving the way for a new era for the MCU's Punisher.

In terms of no-holds-barred ultra-violence, it’s like John Wick times one thousand.

Ultimately, it's clear that what makes The Punisher work is still the star at the center of it. Bernthal has a very lived-in approach to Frank, one that manages to make his depressing scenes feel somewhat fresh despite retreading the same ground.

Reinaldo Marcus Green and Jon Bernthal locate and explore Frank Castle’s essence in brutal, bloody and heartfelt fashion.

Punisher does a lot of killing in his Marvel Special Presentation. A whole lot. But layered into the over-the-top violence is a powerful character study of a PTSD-addled veteran who has lost nearly everything.

It’s an approach that doesn’t necessarily do anything new with the character in the MCU (nor does it address any of the shortcomings of that approach), but it’s one that succeeds in stripping away the extraneous fluff of the Netflix series and just giving fans what they crave.

The special is ultimately a mixed bag, doing little to elevate the character or engage the audience that’s already deeply familiar with The Punisher. Still, its low barrier of entry means that a few new people might find the character and dive deeper into his story.

Is the action good enough to give the humorless One Last Kill a pass? Yeah, just barely. So STREAM IT I guess, but you’ll be wise to temper your enthusiasm.

At times, “One Last Kill” feels more like a long, drawn-out mood than a completely satisfying story in itself. It starts strongly, has a brutal middle section, and ends on a haunting note, but it lacks the complex plot of the best Punisher tales.

What starts as a promising, street-level perspective on a tiny corner of Manhattan (accomplished far more convincingly than "Daredevil: Born Again" ever managed to do) eventually goes the way of pretty much anything else the MCU touches: an empty vessel for more empty spectacle to come.