‘Punisher: War Zone’: Unfriendly territory

Marvel Comics vigilante the Punisher returns, this time portrayed by Ray Stevenson, previously seen as the vicious centurion Titus Pullo in the HBO series “Rome.” It’s a nice fit; he gets to kill and maim scumbags in “Punisher: War Zone” repetitively, in some flashy and gruesome action sequences. Interestingly, the unflinching killing machine makes a mistake: he eliminates an undercover agent during one of his trigger-happy massacres.

How can he wriggle out of that one? The debut of the disfigured Jigsaw (Dominic West), a nutty, Joker-ish arch-fiend from the comic books, expectedly leads to situations that eventually help redeem the Punisher--unbelievably--in the eyes of the grieving widow Angela (a dark-haired, lower-voiced Julie Benz).

Stevenson, like Thomas Jane in 2004’s “Punisher,” is just right as the character, a ruined family man who snaps and becomes a dedicated killer of criminals. We see some humanity when he briefly flashes back to tragic events, or when he converses with his accomplices Micro (Wayne Knight, yes, Newman from “Seinfeld”) and the fanboy Detective Soap (Dash Mihok as a bumbling character, for a change).

“War Zone” is pretty simple but darkly funny; it goes overboard with gore and endless hails of bullets. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before. The nigh-impervious Punisher just robotically dispenses his brand of justice; the messes are unrealistically tidied up in due time. Pretty run of the mill, but still cathartic.

“Punisher: War Zone” is currently in Metro Manila cinemas.