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Positive:
8
Mixed:
16
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews
ColliderJan 11, 2019
Nov 20, 2017
Season 1 Review:
All too often it’s a plodding slog. Bernthal’s performance somehow finds energy in Frank’s pain. ... Lightfoot’s breadth of storytelling is gratifying--he wants to do more than give the cultural landscape another killing machine to idolize. It makes The Punisher less uncomfortable to watch than it could be amid so many outbreaks of extreme gun violence. But it isn’t an easy ride.
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Nov 16, 2017
Season 1 Review:
The tropes of post-traumatic stress and recovery mesh with the topical elements of Mr. Lightfoot’s story, which are presented with more polish than nuance. ... The action picks up as the season progresses, but The Punisher never quite gets in touch with the visceral roots of its material.
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ColliderNov 13, 2017
Season 1 Review:
It’s a testament to the ambition of The Punisher that the show’s creator, Steve Lightfoot, does not shy away from the isolationism and inner torment that veterans live with on a daily basis. ... When the series moves away from this stuff, however, the show ranges from fascinating to bland to ridiculous.
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Jan 11, 2019
Season 2 Review:
Despite a promising new antagonist in the form of Josh Stewart’s mysterious religious zealot (and his handlers, a pair of wealthy alt-right Bible thumpers who operate like a fusion of the Koch brothers and Franklin Graham), the new plot is continually overshadowed by Russo and his demons.
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Jan 18, 2019
Season 2 Review:
In short, it’s a mixed bag. The show’s signature fight scenes are still fantastic, as is the Punisher himself, Jon Bernthal. But something seemed to go wrong in the writers’ room this go-round, and even with a new dynamic that changes Frank’s life, there are still some stories in play that might have been better wrapped up in season one.
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Nov 17, 2017
Season 1 Review:
The show is well-written and Jon Bernthal ("The Walking Dead") is fantastic as Castle, the Afghanistan war veteran turned vigilante. ... But the story itself isn't dynamic enough to punch through all the cultural baggage this show is unfairly (or as some believe, justifiably) saddled with. It doesn't help that the burly character's superpower isn't a superpower at all. It's old-fashioned rage, coupled with special ops training.
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RogerEbert.comNov 17, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Better too rich than too thin, to be sure, but “The Punisher” casts its net so wide that almost none of these stories get a fair shake. When they do, it’s usually the acting that closes the gap — Woll and Bernthal are so good together that it almost doesn’t matter that their scenes get snapped out quickly — but it’s hard to escape the feeling that, in giving us all that story, “The Punisher” doesn’t have much time for substance. It’s simultaneously too much and not enough.
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Nov 15, 2017
Season 1 Review:
Bernthal’s charismatic performance adequately sells The Punisher as an action piece, which speaks to the depth of his talent more than a person might consider. ... A love for skull-pounding action flicks should be a prerequisite for enjoying The Punisher, but even those who count ourselves in that group may find it tests our limits in the same way any hero who solves problems strictly by punching through them eventually does.
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RogerEbert.comJan 17, 2019
Season 2 Review:
Bernthal plays Castle as a man who feels doomed to repeat the same brutal cycle over and over again, convinced that there’s only one thing he’s good for, and that, sadly, is also true of the second season of this series: repetitive, bleak, and unwilling to admit that it might be capable of doing anything new.
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Nov 17, 2017
Season 1 Review:
The Punisher isn’t nearly as pretentious as Hannibal was, but it’s certainly as deliberately paced. The violence of the show is up-close and brutal. ... The show would be too dull without its action scenes, but when those arrive, your first instinct may be to cover your eyes.
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Nov 16, 2017
Season 1 Review:
It’s a slow, monotonous story without a clear antagonist, and Frank is a grim, one-note character who works better as a supporting player than a lead. Amber Rose Revah brings some liveliness as a potentially sympathetic Homeland Security agent, but she barely interacts with Frank in the first six episodes.
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Nov 16, 2017
Season 1 Review:
The more The Punisher tries to humanize and deepen Frank by having him work through his pain--and by juxtaposing his struggles with those of other veterans, none of whom feel central to Frank’s quest--the more unpersuasive this series becomes. It seems to want to be both The Best Years of Our Lives and Death Wish IV: The Crackdown, an ambition that’s not honest.
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