Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle returns to the MCU in The Punisher: One Last Kill, and it's exactly the showcase he needed. While we know that the character will be a major player in the upcoming feature film Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this special is a properly violent, bullet-filled outing.
It was a pleasant surprise when the Defenders era of street-level superheroes dropped on Netflix in their original runs. With the arguable exception of Iron Fist, they almost all won fans for taking their adaptations seriously alongside their ability to capture comic-book action. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage featured an exceptional range of cast members, including Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage.
One of these series' biggest revelations was the casting of Jon Bernthal as Marvel antihero Frank Castle/the Punisher, a gun-toting willpower machine hunting down organized crime after the deaths of his family. Introduced in Daredevil Season 2, his intensity brought the character's endless rage to the forefront, while his emotional range and onscreen charisma added nuanced layers.
When Marvel Studios carried the story of the man without fear forward in Daredevil: Born Again, fans largely loved that the Disney+ continuation retained the original series' quality, though the character's appearances were comparatively minimal in both screentime and importance. In One Last Kill, audiences are treated to a true showcase for our favorite skull-shirted gun aficionado.
One Last Kill Reminds Us How Good Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle Is
One Last Kill follows the events of Punisher Season 2 and takes place before and during the events of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2. The special sees a directionless Castle almost fully finished with his one-man war on organized crime. With no names left on his docket and a boatload of unpacked traumas, he's at the end of his rope with little left to live for (he thinks).
Enter Ma Gnucci (Judith Light), the matriarch of the remaining Gnucci Crime Family, who bears a lifelong grudge against him for the murder of her son. She puts out a final hit on Frank, sending every thug and mafia hitter in the area after his head with deadly consequences. For her part, Light doesn't get as much screentime as one might expect, but she's memorably hateful and menacing nonetheless. With the complexity of her comic book story, she may well prove a longstanding menace to future Frank.
As for the star of the show, Bernthal is once again electric in the role. While the Frank Castle of the Defenders era was a vengeful rage machine, pushing through trauma to enact revenge, this version is a broken man with no further purpose. This journey allows him to fully emote in this context, moving into the rage and drive we expect as the conflict with Ma Gnucci escalates. It's the interpretation of the antihero we've come to expect with additional emotional layers.
A Solid, Albeit Brief, Parade of Entertaining Violence
Once it gets rolling, the Special Presentation boasts some exceptional fight and gunplay choreography and stuntwork, as Frank fights off a horde of baddies across a large brick apartment complex in a long and tense sequence. The pacing is tight as the fight carries through the complex to the roof, then down to and through the streets. The various threats he faces are also creative, utilizing a variety of guns and other deadly implements that keep things fresh.
There are many great elements in this special, from solid performances to creative, well-executed combat sequences, but the major mark against the project is its length. The project is notably short. It feels as though it's over a fairly short time after the combat escalates. Yes, that combat is great, and the main action sequence is successfully intense. Even still, once our protagonist resolves the conflict on the ground, it becomes clear there's much more Marvel Studios could continue to do.
It's clear from the narrative that Castle's journey isn't over; rather, he's being transitioned from a character defined solely by his past to a violent antihero with a broader vigilante bent. That's a fruitful pivot for the character. With Bernthal and director Reinaldo Marcus Green strongly advocating for a solo Punisher theatrical feature, it's evident that there's a lot they could do with the character.
Altogether, the outing is a fine testament to both the depth Jon Bernthal has brought to a sometimes-controversial comic antihero and to his ability to make his gritty, bloody stories work in the MCU. The combat lands, so many bullets fly, and it sets Frank Castle in a good place for future stories. One Last Kill feels regrettably short but serves as a proof of concept: Is there room in the MCU for a violent antihero? Yes, it turns out.
Final Rating: 7/10
The Punisher: One Last Kill is streaming on Disney+.
