Marvel’s Bloodiest Ever Disney+ Release Racks Up An Insane Body Count

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 18 seconds ago

Jon Bernthal is really having a moment right now. Not only did his popular Punisher character return for Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, but he’ll be popping up on the big screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That will mark the biggest, most substantial cameo any Marvel TV character has ever made in an MCU film. On top of that, this violent vigilante character just got his own TV special, The Punisher: One Last Kill. With the svelte runtime of a TV episode and the ambitious plotting of a short film, this movie provides plenty of action and drama while leaving you wanting more.

What is The Punisher: One Last Kill about? We catch up with Frank Castle after he has done what once seemed impossible: he’s killed everyone that had anything to do with the brutal murder of his family. After seemingly wiping out the Gnucci crime family, he is at a crossroads, unsure of what to do with his life now that he’s completed his quest for vengeance. But when Ma Gnucci (played by Judith Light) shows up and puts a bounty on his head large enough to attract every thug in the tricity area, the Punisher’s new purpose is simple: survive the day or die trying!

Straight Down The Barrel

If you’re a big fan of the original comics, you’ll quickly clock that One Last Kill is a very loose adaptation of the “Welcome Back, Frank” arc written by The Boys creator Garth Ennis. “Loose” is the keyword here, though. Since he’s already killed the rest of the family (something we later see through a hilariously violent flashback), Ma Gnucci is the only significant comic character who makes an appearance. She’s really just there to kick off a barebones plot that is (no points for guessing) just an excuse to have Punisher kicking a lot of ass onscreen. 

The simplicity of the storytelling is really a double-edged blade here. On the one hand, this is the perfect TV movie for any Marvel fan who has ever complained about the TV shows feeling like homework because, after the prerequisite dramatic setup, The Punisher: One Last Kill descends into balls-to-the-wall action. On the other hand, if you’re actually invested in Frank Castle as a character, you’ll likely be disappointed at the relative lack of characterization and even resolution because this short film is laying the seeds for a new TV show that we may or may not even get.

A Bit Of The Old Ultraviolence

With that being said, this huge Frank Castle fan found the whole thing very enjoyable. To paraphrase Wolverine, The Punisher: One Last Kill is the best there is at what it does, but what it does isn’t very nice. The action is dynamic and intense, and there are several brutal, bloody kills that would give your favorite horror movie a run for its money, and it’s not just gunplay, either. While you do get to see Frank using a small arsenal of firearms, he also weaponizes everything from a baseball bat to his own burning body. Really, there’s so much chaos and carnage onscreen that the subtitle to this movie should have been “So Many Kills.” 

The secret ingredient of The Punisher: One Last Kill is Jon Bernthal. He handles the emotional weight of his scenes (which include heartbreaking flashbacks to his family and an intense scene where he contemplates suicide) well, giving an otherwise one-note character a surprising amount of nuance and depth. The performance also sells the idea that Frank Castle is a tragic figure; someone who just wanted to be a family man before he was transformed into a living weapon. Frank’s rage is as righteous as it is terrifying to behold, and Bernthal sells every bloody moment of his character’s descent into a baptism of blood.  

A Movie Worth Peeping At

Honestly, I was deeply surprised by the quality of The Punisher: One Last Kill. I thought this TV movie might be a vanity project at best (Bernthal cowrote the screenplay) or a boring filler episode at worst. Instead, the movie convinced me that Bernthal really understands Frank Castle’s character and how he is both driven by and tormented by his past. At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, it’s always rewarding to see a Marvel actor who (not unlike Ryan Reynolds with Deadpool) really loves his character and sees this job as more than an easy way to get a fat paycheck from Mickey Mouse.

Speaking of pleasant surprises, I was delighted by how well The Punisher: One Last Kill functions as a standalone film. For the most part, you don’t need to have watched Daredevil: Born Again or the previous Punisher series for this story to make sense. That means that Marvel gets to effectively have it both ways. Existing fans of the character will love seeing Frank Castle fighting his demons and delivering vigilante justice, one bullet after another. Meanwhile, those fans can use this movie to introduce their friends to the character, growing the Punisher fandom before he pops up again in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The Punisher: One Last Kill is a movie that plays for keeps, and nobody (including, sadly, the world’s cutest doggie) onscreen is ever truly safe. There are no quips, no comic sidekicks, and no mustache-twirling villains.

Instead, this is Marvel’s tribute to John Wick, and it focuses on one of the most brutally compelling characters in the entire MCU. No need to reload your remote. You’ve already got batteries in the chamber. Just aim at your TV and fire up Disney+ to watch the absolute bloodiest thing Marvel has ever put on television.

THE PUNISHER: ONE LAST KILL SCORE