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Next week’s articles: Disclosure Day spoiler article (for paid subscribers) and Toy Story 5 spoiler free review

From a filmmaking perspective this is Spielberg at his best. Lots of sweeping camera shots, a script with that trademark heart in it that only a few such as he can bring, and John Williams coming out of retirement to create a score that is both beautiful and suspenseful (yes I preordered the CD) which could have been all the ingredients for a Spielberg classic. I also found it refreshing how much of this movie feels practical and what CGI that is used is not noticeable (with the exception of some CGI animals). It felt like a throwback to 2000’s action movies in the best way possible.

What is interesting here is that Spielberg approaches this film in way I associate more with Christopher Nolan, mainly how ambiguous things are at the end and how it sticks with you after you have left the theater. Not saying he has never made a resonating film before, but this is the first Spielberg film I have seen where I found myself thinking about what it was trying to say a day after watching it. Now some of that ambiguity hurts the film which I will get into later, but this almost feels like Spielberg himself presenting us with questions that he himsl has wrestled with for a while.

The film quickly introduces us to the main players in Josh O’Connor’s Daniel Kellner and his girlfriend Jane played by Eve Hewson who are being pursued by a secret government agency, the Wardex Corporation, headed up by Colin Firth’s Noah. After being brought to a safe house thanks to Colman Domingo’s Hugo, another ex-employee of the same agency, we are then introduced to Margaret Fairchild played by Emily Blunt who has a strange incident while reporting the local weather that grabs the attention of Wardex. Wyatt Russell is also here as Fairchild’s boyfriend and he does a good job with the little screen time he is given. What follows is a race against the clock to reveal the truth that has not only been hidden from the public, but also from the personal lives of Kellner and Fairchild.

The acting in this movie is phenomenal with Blunt and O’Conner carrying a lot of the film on their shoulders and they are up to the task. They both do a great job of portraying everyday people who are caught up in extraordinary circumstances but rise to the occasion. There is one scene with Emily Blunt where her character has a panic attack that had me stressing out just from how real it felt. This also translates into the few action scenes we get in this movie where their actions feel natural to their characters. They are quick thinking but not unbeatable and the script and Spielberg’s direction really take that into account. It helps add to the tension because these are people who cannot go full John Wick and mow everybody down in an instant but instead get out of harrowing situations in creative ways.

Colin Firth as Noah is a really interesting antagonist. There is complexity to him that keeps him from venturing into generic evil government bad guy territory. He believes he is doing things for the greater good while doing whatever it takes to ensure that good and there is a feeling of intimidation everytime he enters the scene.

One of my main issues, and this goes for all of the main characters, is that I wish we got to see what they were like before the events of this film. It does not help that the first act feels like it is missing as we are dropped in the middle of the conflict with only vague exposition about what these characters were like beforehand, so we really do not get to see that juxtaposition. If we had seen some of that I think it would have increased the impact of where everyone ends up by the end. The rule show don’t tell is broken a lot in this film and that especially pertains to how the script handles the main characters.

I would be remiss to not mention the wonderful acting of Eve who plays Jane. She is our eyes in for this story and there are a few scenes with her and Noah that are just phenomenal in terms of acting and directing. She also is at the heart of a major theme of the film, how would people react if they found out aliens were real? In the film we learn she was a nun before she left after what she felt was a crisis of faith. If someone believes in God, can they also believe there is life on other planets? Can the two really coexist? As someone who is a Christian, I thought the movie handled this subject very maturely and it never mocks faith nor the idea of someone having that crisis which was refreshing.

The issue with this question along with the one regarding full disclosure being given to the public, is that the film never debates the ideas that much. It presents the two sides and has people argue over them in one or two very well written scenes but then seemingly chooses a side as the correct one. This would not be an issue if the film did not end on such an ambiguous note, but it shouldn’t come to such a distinct conclusion in the arguments then. It also avoids other questions such as whether aliens mean us harm, instead using one conversation between Hugo and Noah as the basis to shut down any worries about that. It felt too simple in its support of complex ideas and asks us to take large leaps in faith when it doesn't want to engage in the other questions those answers create.

It is especially evident in the third act where we build up to an ending that cuts to credits as soon as it starts to get interesting. The buildup is great and I was in full suspense the whole time but once it ended, I found myself going “Is that it?”. It is a movie that left me wanting more and not entirely in a good way, especially because it seemingly chickens out on actually showing any potential consequences of enacting on the ideas it presents.

This is a movie at odds with itself. There is stuff to like here but as I stated before, the movie wants to ponder complex ideas and then stops exploring them when it becomes inconvenient to the plot. It is as if the script writer David Koepp struggled with balancing the ideas against the story and characters which were thankfully engaging enough to keep me invested throughout the movie thanks to the performances. I just wish the film defined it's characters a bit more at the beginning.

In the end, I think still think it’s a film worth watching and making up your own mind on, just not for the price of a movie ticket. This is one that sadly you should probably just wait until you can stream it. It’s too bad because this looked like it could be a return to form for Spielberg but instead it's a muddled mess with some of that magic his older films have peeking through at times. I will have a spoiler article out next Monday for paid subscribers diving deeper on a lot of things I could not say here.

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Once the lights in my theater dimmed and 80’s style rock music started to play, I knew I was in for a fun time. From there we are immediately introduced to the realm of Eternia in all its CGI glory (which looks good for the most part) along with its history which is narrated by Nicholas Galitzine who plays the adult version of He-Man. It reminded me of the voiceover we get from Anthony Hopkin’s Odin in the first Thor movie and that is the movie I kept drawing parallels to while watching this. We get a prologue of how Skeletor took over Eternia and Adam was thrown into a portal that dropped him and the sword of power on earth. Cut to years later and we find the prince is now part of the HR department of a large company, unsure of who he is as a person and whether he will ever get home as the sword has been lost.

Galitzine does a great job of bringing an innocence and earnestness to He-Man. This is a guy that got dumped on a foreign planet, does not know if his family is dead, and does not have the power (see what I did there) to get home, or so he believes. Like the first Thor movie, he is a fish out of water though I wish we had gotten a better view of what life for him on Earth was like (more on that in a minute). But throughout the movie you find yourself rooting for him and the buildup to him becoming He-Man works because his performance got me invested in his journey. There a few genuinely touching moments in the film where we linger on this guy who was a prince but feels like a nobody. It felt very relatable and really captures that power fantasy aspect of He-Man in a positive way. I appreciate the subtle shift in his body language when he transforms from Prince Adam to He-Man. He stands taller and carries himself with a confidence that is not present before that moment.

I give the movie credit for not spending much time on here and getting us back to Eternia within the first hour of the movie, but the time we do spend on Earth with He-Man feels very disjointed and rushed. It does not help that the film treats Earth almost like an extension of Eternia and has humans act almost as weird as some of Skeletor’s henchmen, a big example being an HR manager who acts way too goofy and over the top for me. I would have liked there to be a bigger distinction between the mundanity of Earth versus the fantastical nature of his home world, but with the way some of the people act it feels like all that is missing are spaceships and strange creatures.

This type of behavior works great when we are in Eternia with Jared Leto being a scene stealer (words I never thought I would write) as he chews the scenery and hams it up as Skeletor. It is wonderful. He balances that knife’s edge between too goofy and intimidating very well. He makes puns, he calls someone a boob and oaf, and laughs at the sky while raising his fist. He calls himself a villain and even if we didn’t have a line telling us so, it’s obvious Skeletor loves his job. I had a huge grin every time he shows up and Allison Brie as Evil-Lyn matches that energy whenever she shares a scene with him. These are actors that know they are in a live action cartoon and do not phone in their performances.

On the hero’s side we meet the master in arms Duncan, played well by Idris Elba, and his daughter Teela played by Camila Mendes. Elba brings his A-game to this role as the once great protector to the royal family brought low by defeat who is drowning himself in alcohol. His character arc is very predictable but Elba’s charisma got me to actually care. I also love the mentor role he plays for He-Man while also finding his stride again thanks to Prince Adam’s return. Mendes does well enough in her role but she is not given much to do beyond spouting exposition and showing disapproval of her father’s drinking.

The rest of the cast does fine in their bit parts, but where I have to give props to is the costuming and effects department. All the costumes have a distinct look to them and are actually colorful with Skeletor, Trap Jaw, He-Man, Evil-Lyn, and Duncan being some of the standouts. The film looks like a cartoon, and I mean that in the best way possible. You can tell director Travis Knight loves the material. Eternia looks interesting and unique rather than just generic fantasy land, another parallel I drew from this to the first Thor movie. All the major set pieces implement characters and their unique abilities like a kid playing with action figures which is a compliment in this instance. There is an 80’s rock astatic to this movie that works really well, and you can especially see it in some of the slow-motion shots which look like they could be covers for rock albums or D&D books. This film is not afraid of the source material, in most aspects anyway. Which brings me to the biggest issue I had with the movie, the humor.

This movie suffers from what feels like a lack of confidence at times, much like its main hero. I felt it the most in when it tries to incorporate the worst aspects of the Marvel style humor where there are a lot of self-depreciating jokes that did not land for me or how almost every serious scene has to end with a joke, as if the script is worried about being a He-Man movie with some depth to it. This is not to say the humor is all bad as some jokes worked on me, one being He-Man using his HR skills in Eternia to varying success, but it felt like movie was scared to take itself seriously for more than a minute or two at a time which hurts some of more character driven moments.

Its shame because there are some good choices made story wise. The film keeps the story simple which is smart while also allowing characters to grow and change, even if they are very paint by numbers. There is an old school blockbuster feel with this movie where it gives you just enough character stuff that the action scenes do not feel hollow. As I said before, it gets covered up a bit by the humor overstaying its welcome and I wished they had let the movie do its thing instead of apologizing for itself. The pacing is fine and I never felt like it was going by too fast or had scenes missing which was nice considering a lot of movies these days either feel too long or show strong evidence of cut scenes.

Lastly, I have to talk about the music. It has an 80’s vibe in a way a lot of other scores that try to evoke the music of that era do not hit. Daniel Pemberton does a great job and having Brian May from Queen work with him added that extra umph to nail that sound with some great guitar riffs and vocals. The main theme for Eternia and He-Man is just awesome and there times where I was half expecting Freddie Mercury to start singing. The few needle drops we get worked for me and didn’t feel gimmicky the way many of them do now (there is unsurprisingly a Queen song that pops up in Act 3). Just great stuff here!

If you couldn’t guess it by now, I had fun with this movie. It has a refreshing simpleness to it where we just have good guys and bad guys going at it with fun costumes and weapons with guitars going off in the background. I feel that He-Man fans will find a lot to enjoy in this along with the teases in the after-credit scenes. As for normies like me, I have mixed feelings on my recommendation. I think it’s a fun theater experience, especially if you want an action movie where you can turn your brain off for a couple of hours. But if you are on tight budget and can only see one movie this month, I would say you are okay waiting for streaming to see this as there are likely bigger and better films coming out the next few weeks you could spend your money on.

Sadly the opening weekend box office results are not looking good which I think says more about how many releases there are in the month of June is rather than the quality of the film. If this had released in April or August I think it would have done much better and made it an easier recommendation for me. I am intrigued to see if Amazon and MGM decide a sequel is worth pursuing. I imagine it will depend how well it does on streaming.

As always thank you for reading and if you wish to become a paid member for the extra perks or just to support my work, click the upgrade button on the page here! I will be back Friday with the news!

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Since Supergirl hits theaters this month, I figured it was a good time to revisit Superman! Hope you enjoy the review!

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Written in 2022 by Tom King and with amazing art by Bilquis Evely, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was an eight-issue miniseries that redefined the character in a way that had not been done since the New 52 era of 2011. While King was not the first to show Kara Zor-El as a more flawed person compared to her cousin, he explored that anger and depression while also providing a source for all those emotions, the destruction of her home world Krypton. Now, I know King is a one of the more controversial writers in comics and I have my own issues with some of his works, mainly on Batman, but the guy can write a really great limited series and I think this is one of his best. This will also not be a complete breakdown of the comic (highly recommend you read it for yourself) but rather a broad strokes summary and what the movie appears to be taking from the comic. Spoilers for the comic if you really do not want to know anything that happens in it.

The comic, much like I how I imagine the movie will, starts out with the father of alien girl Ruthye getting murdered by a kingsagent named Krem of the Yellow Hills for what we find out later to be no real reason other than because he could. Taking the sword from her father’s corpse she rides to a nearby settlement in order to pay someone to track down and kill the villain in exchange for the sword. This is where she meets Supergirl who is celebrating her 21st birthday with Krypto by getting drunk on a planet with a red sun, just like her movie counterpart. At first Kara refuses, stating that killing someone is not what she does, especially for vengeance. But after an attack by Krem leaves Krypto mortally wounded, she agrees to hunt him down.

The rest of the book follows Supergirl and Ruthye going from planet to planet hunting Krem down and seeing the path of pain and death he leaves behind as they learn he has joined a group of space pirates called the Brigands who either bribe civilizations into not getting attacked or burn them to the ground and then take what they want, though they enjoy the killing just like he does. It is here that Ruthye realizes that Kara understands her pain from to the loss of her father more that she thought. She also is inspired by the restraint that Supergirl shows in dealing with evil people along with the understanding and compassion to those hurting, even while being buried under her own mound of anger and grief.

Issue 6 highlights the reason for that grief and is my favorite issue of the series. It’s mainly a flashback issue that showcases Kara experiencing the destruction of Krypton and the death and tragedy that followed. We learn that after seeing the ground open and consume friends and neighbors, she along with her father and some others escape on a chunk of the planet. Unfortunately, as they move closer to the yellow sun the chunk they are on becomes Kryptonite and slowly, they begin dying off one by one. Kara recounts having to dig mass graves for the deceased before her father uses the rocket plans from Jor-El to build one for Kara. But the pain and grief from those days stays with her through present day.

I am really excited to see how the movie tackles this, especially with what we know about Supergirl’s characterization from her cameo in Superman and the trailers. They are fully embracing her being a lot more rough around the edges than her cousin because she didn’t get the childhood that Clark did. I like that because it’s a way to make her different from Superman and is built naturally from her character. She has PTSD and does not know how to deal with it. It also makes her see others differently than Clark as well, not always seeing the good but seeing their pain and doing everything in her power to heal that. She is also quicker to anger which she struggles to control which is interesting to see from someone with Superman’s powerset. It has been hinted that we won’t see Supergirl in her costume the entire movie so I would bet she wears it once she reconciles her grief and sees how she can use the pain from.her experiences to be a force for good.

I am also intrigued because of what Superman 2025 showed the Kryptonians to be like, at least his parents. Supergirl has the chance to expand on this idea or at the very least provide more context into what that message meant when it came to taking over Earth and restarting Krypton. Were the Els the weird ones or did Kara’s family feel the same way? Was she sent to earth to help Superman accomplish this mission? It would feel like a missed opportunity if the movie did not address this at all. Maybe the movie could even use that to expand her character, where she has this conflict of wanting to do right by her parents and honor their final wishes but also understanding by the end of the movie why Clark does not want to be that person.

Now back to the comic. By the last issue Supergirl and Ruthye defeat Krem and Ruthye has a chance to kill him but cannot bring herself to do so. It’s here that Ruthye and Kara realize that their grief and pain do not have to define or spread with them and that they can’t hold onto it forever. I imagine this will is going to be the main theme of movie as well. We even learn that in the future, after spending centuries in the phantom zone, Krem realized the error of his ways and feels repentant of what he had done, showing the good that has come from their mercy.

I cannot end this article without talking about the Lobo in the room. King has confirmed that he was supposed to be in the comic but was cut at the editor’s request. I am glad that he is being added back in to the movie as I think he will add some much-needed comic relief in what will probably be an emotionally heavy story. With the entire story taking place in space, including him does not feel out of place and I have confidence that while Mamoa will be a scene stealer, though I still think he won't take away the spotlight from Supergirl.

Well, I hope this article has gotten you a bit more excited for the Supergirl movie and has even encouraged you to check out the comic. I will have a spoiler free review for the film the week after it comes out and a spoiler filled review for paid subscribers the week after that. As always thank you for reading and if you wish to become a paid member for the extra perks or just to support my work, click the upgrade button on the page here! I will be back Friday with the news!

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Next week’s articles: Spoiler article for The Mandalorian and Grogu on Monday for paid subscribers and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Explained on Wednesday for all subscribers.

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Before I get into my review of the movie, I want to give you my brief thoughts on the Mandalorian show. For me it is the second-best Disney Plus Star Wars show after Andor, but only the first two seasons. Season 3 (and half of Book of Boba Fett) seemed unfocused and unsure of what Din Djarin was as a character after he gave Grogu to Luke Skywalker so he could complete his Jedi training. It did not help that Grogu would only spend two episodes of Boba Fett with Luke before returning to Mando in a move that felt dictated by marketing/corporate rather than the creatives. Couple that with season 3 being more about Bo Katan and reclaiming Mandalore (which is what this movie should have been) which took only two episodes to actually do that after meandering for most of the season and we were left wondering if there was anything else left to do with this character. Enter The Mandalorian and Grogu, a movie that does feel like it was made two years too late.

Now I want you to understand, this is by no means a bad film. Minus one spoiler towards the end of the movie that I was not too keen on, it is not offensive even from a Star Wars fan perspective. But with this inoffensiveness also means that there is not much of substance in this movie to grab onto or even think about afterwards. The plot itself is paper thin along with most of the characters, with the exception being Rotta the Hutt played by Jeremy White Allen as the only one that had at least an interesting aspect to his character but even then he is still pretty one note.

It does not help that most of the bad guys in this film feel over the top cartoonish in a way that even the prequels avoided. Sure bad guys can be pretty hammy in Star Wars (the Emperor in Episode 3 being a good example) while also still being a threat, but these guys are just goofy and not intimating at all. In the prologue we see Mando chasing one of them and he literally just runs from one place to another before jumping in a ship while smiling like Skeletor. At least the Hutt twins feel a bit more intimidating but even then the movie does not seem interested in exploring the crime syndicate politics they bring with them. And that is this film’s biggest issue for me, there is just nothing interesting to latch onto or get invested in.

Take the Mandalorian for instance. Being the lone gunslinger who does not say much worked in the first two seasons of the show because we saw him undergo a change when he finds Grogu. Here he is just there to move us from plot point to plot point with Grogu in tow. We get some references to the Mandalorian creed/culture but these feel like little easter eggs thrown to the audience rather than something meaningful for the character. That is not to say there are no moments with the character that I did not like. One such moment is what he does to someone who removes his helmet, but for the most part he is there to be cool and nothing else. That could work if the rest of the supporting cast had personalities to bounce of his but that isn't the case here. It also doesn't help that the movie doesn't seem interested in exploring his relationship with Grogu beyond what the show did.

Based on the marketing in this film I was worried half the movie would just be the camera cutting to Grogu doing something cute and while that does happen occasionally, they also show how useful he is in bounty hunting with Mando and do not have him become a hinderance who constantly screws stuff up which I appreciated. The puppetry is outstanding and it is nice seeing how much practical effects were used for Grogu as it adds a bit of that old Star Wars magic to the movie. But much like Mando, there is not much to his character beyond him being a plot device used to solve problems with the force and not much personality to speak of. We see he cares for Mando but we have seen that done before and better in the show.

The movie does not beat the allegations that this feels like they stitched together 4 episodes of the show into a movie unfortunately. I could almost feel where the movie could be cut into episodes which is not what you want in your big summer blockbuster. Beyond the Top Gun styled opening title sequence (which I actually really enjoyed), there really isn’t a cinematic feel. It also does not help that conflicts in the plot seem to be resolved almost immediately, like how they would be in a TV show and as a result I never felt much fear for the characters. There was only one time where I found myself slightly unsure of a character’s fate and even then it gets resolved ten minutes later. Mando and Grogu never really have to work hard for anything, whether its Sigourney Weaver (who is wasted her in the small role she is given) giving them a new ship she just happened to find, or a complete stranger just helping Grogu for no real reason. You never have that twist where something goes completely sideways for the characters in way that makes them have to adapt on the fly. Everything plays out exactly how you expect it to.

I know I have been pretty negative on this movie but there were some things that I did like. For starters, the planets we go to are visually interesting and ones that we haven’t seen onscreen (at least not in love action) which was nice. They are all distinct from one another and we get to spend some time of them instead of jumping to a planet everyone knows. One in particular is huge within the Star Wars lore and I was really happy to see us spend a good amount of time there.

Also, the action we get is well shot and choreographed. Two fight scenes that stood out to me in particular were ones in a bar and then a gladiatorial arena. The arena especially was a big highlight for me, thanks in large part to Rotta. We have never seen a Hutt fight and the way they developed his fighting style was really cool. I did not know I needed to see a muscle-bound Hutt fight but I am glad we got it. Also having Mando go up against another bounty hunter in Embo was a neat idea as well. His introduction scene was moody and tense and I wish more of the movie was like that. Also adding a droid mercenary army as henchmen was also a unique idea that I wish we had explored a little more but it was fun to see Mando fight them, especially one scene involving some heavyweight droids. Lastly the tensest fight scene in the movie involves a Dragonsnake and was the one time I felt like the characters were in danger and had some neat visuals to boot.

Lastly, it would not be a review from me if I did not mention the musical score by Ludwig Gorransson. His scores for the first two seasons were great and he knocks it out of the park here with a mixture of electronics and wind instruments that just get your blood pumping. It’s a really good score and does add a lot to what is happening onscreen. It is great enough to be mentioned in the same breath with Williams’s scores for the mainline movies. Cannot wait to add the CD to my collection.

Overall I would say this movie is not bad, but for the return of a franchise that has been out of theaters for 7 years I was left wanting a better movie. It is a bit of a surprise considering that you have the guy who started the MCU with Iron Man directing and writing this film. If you are a diehard Star Wars fan then maybe you would want to check it out in the theater but in the end I would recommend waiting for Disney plus as I don't see it as a must see theater experience, especially if you already have that streaming service. I hope that Starfighter next year gives us a stronger story with stronger characters because I want Star Wars back in theaters where it belongs and it would be a bummer if Lucasfilm got cold feet again. But we will see when that film comes out next year.

As always thank you for reading and if you wish to become a paid member for the extra perks (like my spoiler article on this movie that will be coming Monday) or just to support my work, click the upgrade button on the page here! I will be back Friday with the news!

Also feel free to request a film for me to review for the monthly review rewinds and I will do it as soon as I can. Thank you again and I will be back with a new article next week!

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Next Wednesday’s article: Mandalorian and Grogu Spoiler Free Review

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When John Bernthal made his return as Frank Castle aka the Punisher in Daredevil Born Again season 1, many Marvel fans like myself shouted for joy. That season ended with Punisher escaping Mayor Fisk’s black site prison for vigilantes and running off into the night. After being absent in season 2 and seeing him in the first teaser for Spider-Man Brand New Day, I was excited to see how Punisher: One Last Kill would bridge that gap between Daredevil and Spider-Man. The result is an action filled introspective that, while not providing many answers regarding that time gap, asks the question: who is the Punisher when he doesn’t have anyone to punish? SPOILER WARNING!!

For context, I have really enjoyed Bernthal’s portrayal of Punisher. The way that both he and the writers have been able to balance the humanity of Frank Castle along with the recognition how much of that humanity that has been lost and the killer that replaced it is impressive. You can see the love he has for this character every time he talks about him or is onscreen. So many portrayals in both movies and the comics either veer too heavily into crazed soldier with PTSD or an emotionless robot who has lost all humanity and is just a killing machine with no depth but here we have a man who has been driven to the edge, knows it, and accepts what he has become while every once and a while showing that the humanity has not been stripped from him completely.

That portrayal continues here as we find Frank being haunted by ghosts from his past, almost in a literal sense. I appreciated that this special used the idea of ‘the floating heads of guilt’, as they are often called, to great effect without it feeling like a soap opera. Each of these ghosts gives us insight to Frank’s fractured psyche and gives voice to his guilt and regret in a unique way. I think what helps this is that you have Bernthal really selling the idea that Frank is at the end of his rope and none of this is more evident than when he is at his daughter’s grave, prepared to end it all in a scene that was gut wrenching and may be his best performance as Castle. The editing of these scenes, and really the entire special, is great. Its frantic and chaotic, throwing us around as he does verbal sparring with these ghosts in his apartment. His mind is the only battlefield he has left, and it’s a battle he is losing.

My only issue when it comes to the “ghosts” is how Karen Page is depicted. It is implied here that she has a thing for Castle and he does for her. I never got that from the Netflix shows or even in their brief interactions in Born Again as it always felt like Karen cared for him because of what had happened to his family and the injustice he endured due to the cover up afterwards. Now maybe Frank sees it as something more as this is his mind we are seeing on display but that still feels a little weird as he has never shown those types of feelings towards her before. It’s a minor nit-pick but I wanted to mention it.

We are told at the beginning of the special that after Daredevil Born Again, Frank was in a part of New York City called Little Sicily hunting down the last of the gangs who had taken part in the death of his family, the Gnucci crime family. Having completed his mission of vengeance, Frank finds himself directionless. We see him reciting his oath that he took as a marine to continue the mission, but there is no mission left for him to take, or so he believes.

We soon learn that Ma Gnucci survived Frank’s attacks on her family and is out for revenge. With the absence of the family controlling the streets, crime has skyrocketed in the area to the point that even the police won’t go in there. She tells Castle that she has put a price on his head and given his location to every criminal in town, with little concern as to who gets caught in the crossfire.

I will admit I have some issues with both of these plot points for a few reasons. First of all, I would have thought that after encountering Fisk’s task force that bears his insignia, he would have gone back to hunting them down. It feels out of character that he would just let them run around without any pushback.

I also don’t buy that Frank would just forget to kill off Ma Gnucci, especially when we see him literally pull her son out of the same car as her to kill him. Why would he leave her alive? In the comics she survives an attack by the Punisher and that is what makes her go after him for revenge but here it feels like he just forgot about her. Plus if someone was killing the Gnuccis, wouldn’t people guess that it was probably the Punisher?

Lastly, I do feel the portrayal of Little Sicily is a bit over the top. There are moments where it looks like a full-scale riot is happening and you’re telling me that no one in the mayor’s office would notice or send the task force there? It felt a little too wild west for me. Maybe I am just sheltered but I did think the way they showed how crime ridden it had become was unrealistic.

I think a lot of these issues could have been addressed if the special was longer. None of them ruined the experience for me but maybe another ten to fifteen minutes might have helped iron out some of these issues, especially the Ma Gnucci surviving plot point. And maybe they did not know much of Born Again season 2’s story so they did not want to connect it too much to that show, but it just seems weird to me that after making Punisher a big part of that first season this special just ignores what was seemingly set up in that other show.

After a literal rebirth in fire, which is on the nose but I loved it, the Punisher makes his return once more. What follows are some really cool John Wick style action scenes that had me grinning and grimacing at the same time as we get back to the classic brutality of the Punisher. I appreciated that unlike Daredevil Born Again Season 2 (shameless plug for my review here), the violence feels earned and less grimdark. There are moments that are gruesome but for me they are there to remind us of what Frank is willing to do once he is in full Punisher mode. And I love how at the end, we see his humanity still peek through when he stops chasing Ma Gnucci in order to save a little girl and her father from rioters. It could have been cheesy but instead shows the heart that is buried under all that pain and anger.

There is a moment that has been talked about a lot and not in a good way. It’s the scene where Frank falls backwards onto a rooftop AC unit. It does look wonky and I think the issue is that they did some kind of CGI on his face that did not look right. But other than that hiccup I love how practical the action feels which is something we do not get a lot in Marvel productions anymore.

At the end of this the Punisher finds a new mission and purpose, to protect Little Sicily and in a way, clean up the mess he had created. And this is where I think he comes into the play in Spider-Man Brand New Day. I think the gang war that is rumored to take place in that movie starts to creep into Punisher’s territory so he starts taking the fight to them and that is where he meets Spider-Man. From there he and the webhead clash because they both want to stop the gangs for similar reasons but as always, Frank’s methods are not popular with the rest of the superhero community.

Overall this special is a great distillation as to what makes John Bernthal’s Punisher work so well, despite some disappointment I have with the disconnection to what came before. We get to delve into the mindset of a man who has lost everything and stared into the abyss and finds a new mission now that his mission of vengeance is over. I enjoyed this special and cannot wait to see Punisher team up with Spider-Man in Brand New Day at the end of July.

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