“The Punisher: One Last Kill,” the third of Marvel’s special presentation series, was released on Disney+ on May 12. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, “The Punisher: One Last Kill” serves as an action-packed recap and reintroduction of The Punisher’s story so far. However, due to its shorter run time, it leaves the viewer wanting more.
After finally killing the last possible person tied to =the murder of his family, The Punisher/Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) feels lost and purposeless. Castle’s hollowness only gets more amplified as his PTSD from his family’s death and his time as a marine causes his shaky mental state to blur the lines between hallucinations and reality. This leads him to hang up his coat and give up being The Punisher. However, something pulls Frank Castle back into the never-ending cycle of vengeance.
For a 50-minute special presentation, I thought the beginning of “The Punisher: One Last Kill” was strangely slow. I expected the film to get to the action much quicker, but it spends a lot of time delving into Frank’s deteriorating mind and how the area he now lives in has crumbled into chaos and rampant violence. The emotional weight of Frank’s purposelessness was, of course, only amplified by Bernthal’s fantastic performance. Bernthal easily finds the perfect balance between the apathetic and gritty aspects of The Punisher, as well as the vulnerability. I really enjoyed how they utilized characters from Frank’s past as almost ghostlike hallucinations who both torment and support him in his search for meaning. The ghosts also act as a great introduction to Frank’s past and former allies for new viewers who are using “The Punisher: One Last Kill” as an introduction to the character as a whole. However, in a Marvel special presentation, every minute counts, and although it was powerful, the emotional aspects of the story threw off the pacing ever so slightly. The beginning wasn’t bad by any means; it just surprised me.
The absolute greatest part of the movie had to be when the fighting finally started, as it highlights the second key part of The Punisher as a character, some of the most violent action in all of Marvel. For having no superpowers and losing the creativity that they can create in fights, The Punisher makes up for in utilizing his environment and any weapon he can find. What made me most excited about the action was that it seemed to follow in the footsteps of action movies like the “John Wick” series, which emphasize the use of enemies coming from all directions and uniquely designed settings to increase tension and distinct fights. At some points, the fights even felt video game-like. Throughout the entire fight, the soundtrack is just amazing because the music adds more chaos to the already chaotic fight sequence. The tension and awesomeness continue to rise exponentially, and just when I thought the movie couldn’t get any better, it just ends. I get that the point of the special presentation is it leaves the viewer wanting more of The Punisher, especially seeing how he is going to play a decent role in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” but it still feels like a total buzz kill. Another one of Marvel’s special presentations, “Werewolf by Night,” completes a full story arc in the same amount of time as “The Punisher: One Last Kill.” The fact that the movie also had some pacing issues definitely left me slightly disappointed.
Although it has some pacing issues and is limited by the fact that it is only a Marvel special presentation designed for Disney+, it still hits all the high notes of The Punisher. The great high-octane action and Bernthal’s performance never create a dull moment. The movie also perfectly does its job of getting people excited for The Punisher’s increasing role in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In all, I still think “The Punisher: One Last Kill” is a great short film.
“The Punisher: One Last Kill:” ★★★★☆
