Punisher: War Zone

Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson) wages a war on crime and corruption as the Punisher, the vigilante/anti-hero who made his Marvel comics debut in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #129 (February 1974). In “War Zone,” Castle crashes a party being held for mob boss Gaitano Cesare, which leads to the horrendous disfigurement of Cesare’s associate, Billy Russoti (Dominic West), courtesy of a glass-crunching machine; Russoti ends up becoming the Punisher’s most formidable foe yet when he reinvents himself as Jigsaw, freeing his psycho cannibal brother Loony Bin Jim (Doug Hutchison) and targeting the family of the undercover federal agent whom Castle mistakenly killed during his one-man raid. Stevenson follows in the footsteps (and shell casings) of Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane, who played Castle in the 1989 and 2004 film adaptations, respectively; “War Zone” is a complete reboot of the franchise under the Marvel Knights banner, a splinter group of Marvel Studios that targets more mature audiences. Directed by 22-year-old former kickboxing and karate champion Lexi Alexander, who previously called the shots on the acclaimed crime/sports drama, “Green Street Hooligans.” – IFC Staff