REVIEW: ‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’ Is A Curious Character Study

The Punisher: One Last Kill is an hour-long special presentation by Marvel Television. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and written by Green and Jon Bernthal, the special presentation sees Bernthal return to his role as the Punisher. Every person who was responsible for the death of Frank Castle’s family has now met a fatal fate at the hands of the Punisher, and Castle is now struggling to find purpose. But then a strange woman places a bounty on his head.

The Punisher: One Last Kill is something of a fusion of a movie and a TV episode, not really fitting into a specific category. For much of its start, it’s a very cerebral, perplexing opening. It’s noisy and intense, with so much disturbance in the streets of Little Italy, where the show is set. And yet there is no reaction to these crimes, because the Punisher is finished. Instead, Castle is haunted and mobbed by visions, bad dreams and emotional outbursts. It’s a distressing beginning for many reasons, including the crimes committed and the fact that Castle is so broken.

The Punisher: One Last Kill feels aimless for much of its story because Punisher is just walking through a small neighborhood, not really knowing what to do. The weight of grief and loss is pushing down on Frank, and it feels like the end of his story. But then a woman seeking revenge arrives, reigniting the energy of this TV film. Before this, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not for us (and Castle) to find a tether back to reality.

But after the conversation, granted, a one-sided conversation, the action starts, and it never stops. It becomes a violent fight for survival as a host of violent thugs bear down on Castle’s apartment building, and he has to protect those within it. It’s a long, continuous fight scene, moving through the location that Green and Bernthal spent so long exploring and describing.

The Punisher: One Last Kill features Frank Castle at his most aimless and lost.

There are pieces of Frank’s past that bleed into the start of The Punisher: One Last Kill, but they aren’t crucial to the story. Even though this was released at the same time as the finale of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, there’s not really any connection.

Once the fighting finally dies down, the presentation just ends. There is still a major enemy left alive and a plot thread left open, so it’s not fully satisfying. There are some modicums of justice, but the life of the Punisher means the mission is never finished.

The Punisher: One Last Kill places Frank Castle at the heart of a story once again. Bernthal has fully embraced the character, now stepping into the project as both screenwriter and star. Frank is emotionally destroyed in the beginning, haunted by his past. Any rational thought is drowned out by the screaming voices of those he once knew, taunting and insulting him.

Characters from both Daredevil and the original Netflix Punisher series return, including fellow soldier Curtis Hoyle (Jason R. Moore) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), but only as hallucinations. Woll’s cameo is terrific because it’s so different from how Karen Page usually is. It’s full of hurt and anger, but then shifts into a soft intimacy that confuses Castle further.

Jon Bernthal proves why he is the perfect Punisher once more.

Bernthal is a phenomenal physical actor. So much of this story shows him as silent and nonverbal, yet he can still carry the scene on his own. He isn’t really interacting with people in The Punisher: One Last Kill; he doesn’t have a conversation beyond a single word. People talk to him, but his mental state is so bad that he just can’t converse. Frank is so inconsolable, self-harming and even suicidal when the special starts, tapping into the trauma that soldiers go through when they leave the forces, or anyone in the line of duty for that matter.

The longest string of dialogue comes from the woman who approaches Castle. Played by Judith Light, she’s the matriarch of the Gnucci family. She describes what happened to her family in detail, devastated and shattered. It crafts an interesting feature that often happens with Punisher comics, making him stand out in superhero fiction. He is so ruthless, so unrelenting in his mission, that you can often become sympathetic towards his victims even if they are criminals themselves. She doesn’t just speak; we see it. It’s a reminder that the Punisher isn’t someone who should always be looked up to.

The production of The Punisher: One Last Kill is fascinating. There are only a few locations, making the special feel self-contained and tight. There’s Castle’s apartment building and a couple of streets in Little Italy, as well as a cemetery where Frank’s family are buried. There isn’t much wastage in the sets; the special just uses what’s needed.

Once the action kicks in, it’s non-stop.

When the action ignites, it is phenomenal. The stunts match the style of action films such as Extraction or John Wick 4. It’s fluid, using multiple levels of a building and enemies at every angle. Frank has to turn and move, alternating weapons as he steals them from the attackers. One Last Kill isn’t quite right; there are a lot of kills in the final 30 minutes. It’s intense and visceral.

The last time we saw Punisher fight, at the end of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, there was an extreme amount of brutality and gore. The Punisher: One Last Kill is just as violent and aggressive, but the gore has been taken down a notch. You see a lot of blood, twitching and gunshots, but not pieces, innards and other forms of viscera.

For much of The Punisher: One Last Kill, Castle is just dressed casually. He isn’t the Punisher anymore, so there’s no use for a uniform. But we do get glimpses of his full regalia. The black leather jacket and the white skull on his chest make an appearance, and it’s superbly accurate to the comics.

The Punisher: One Last Kill is intently focused on the Punisher, and nothing else matters.

The sound design is exceptional, often uncomfortable and incredibly noisy. At the start of The Punisher: One Last Kill, out in the streets, there’s just a cacophony of noise. Screams, gunshots, the sound of beating and punches. It’s uncomfortable and frantic. Then, when the killing starts, thrash metal kicks in, providing a heart-pounding, adrenaline-spiking soundtrack to the superb action that unfolds.

The Punisher: One Last Kill is a curious character study. A lot of time can be spent wondering why this special presentation exists, who it’s for, and why it’s in this format. It’s not very long, the characters don’t really get much exploration, and it’s very enclosed in its own world. It’s intently focused on the Punisher, and nothing else matters. The fighting is incredible, and the exploration of grief and a lack of purpose is profound.

Much of The Punisher: One Last Kill seems aimless, and that is intended. It may also just serve as a solo project for Bernthal and Castle, a chance for Bernthal to try a different creative approach. It has the air of a pilot episode, but without a series to follow. Previously, Castle has bounced between guest-starring in other heroes’ adventures, from Daredevil to Spider-Man to Avengers: Doomsday, so this can also serve as a reset for the character, and a chance for him to demonstrate what he stands for.

The Punisher: One Last Kill is streaming now exclusively on Disney+.