The Punisher: One Last Kill TV Review

Plot: As Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.

Review: Possibly the best casting in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Bernthal has been bringing a guttural and animalistic energy to his portrayal of The Punisher since he debuted in the role back in 2017. Playing Frank Castle through two seasons of his own show, as well as a brief turn in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, Bernthal will next join Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the first big-screen outing for this iteration of The Punisher. Before that webslinging epic, Jon Bernthal reprises his role in a Special Presentation on Disney+. The Punisher: One Last Kill is a unique standalone outing that bridges Frank Castle’s reluctant appearance alongside Matt Murdock and sheds light on The Punisher’s mental state. Featuring the return of some familiar faces and new characters that fans of the comic book character will love, The Punisher: One Last Kill is a quick entry in the MCU, chock full of brutal violence and excitement for where this character could go next.

Tortured and angry do not do justice to Frank Castle’s mental state. When we first met this version of The Punisher in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil, Frank was still reeling from the murder of his wife and child, which turned him into a one-man wrecking crew on a collision course with all organized crime in New York City. With a close relationship with Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), Frank has struggled with his inner demons, which blend PTSD with a furious anger that has made him question his own existence. In hiding before being incarcerated by Wilson Fisk, Frank escaped in a post-credit sequence in Daredevil: Born Again, but was absent from season two. One Last Kill shows us that he has been hiding in Little Sicily, a section of New York overrun by crime. Living in seclusion with only the visions of his family and friends, including Curtis Hoyle (Jason R. Moore), the title of this special initially feels like it may be in reference to Castle’s own life, and if his punishment will be self-inflicted. I worried for the first few minutes of One Last Kill that this was drawing the character’s arc to a close, but boy, was I not prepared for where this story went.

One Last Kill brings to the screen the character of Ma Gnucci (Judith Light), the remaining figure of a notorious crime syndicate in New York City, with a bone to pick with Frank. Judith Light is a formidable actress, and her appearance here will hopefully be the beginning of something more substantial for The Punisher. Without spoiling what happens, Frank Castle is given a ticking clock, which sets a bevy of criminals and killers on his path, shaking the vigilante out of his depressive spiral and channeling his rage and killer instinct against those who would do harm to the innocent. For more than half of the running time of One Last Kill, I wondered if there would be an appearance by The Punisher rather than Frank Castle, and we absolutely see the iconic logo return with a vengeance. Through some of the most brutal violence in any MCU entry, including the use of a ballpoint pen that cannot be unseen, The Punisher is back, and unlike any time we have seen him before, including Bernthal’s previous appearances.

Clocking in at just about forty-five minutes, The Punisher: One Last Kill is about as long as a standard episode of the Netflix series or most entries of Daredevil: Born Again. The first twenty minutes of the special are spent with Frank’s mental state, embodied through some creative editing that spotlights what could be hallucinations, memories, or maybe a combination of the two. Jon Bernthal’s gravelly bass tone, used as Frank Castle, is heard a few times throughout the episode, but the actor has minimal dialogue; he barks, growls, and screams his way through most of it. With a shaggy beard and sunken eyes, Bernthal initially looks like a shell of the Frank Castle we have seen before. A pair of shirtless scenes show that he still has the physique of a cage fighter, and the action pushes Frank to the threshold of pain he can endure. The solid choreography of the action sequences, including one set to Louis Armstrong’s rendition of “La Vie En Rose,” makes for some of the best MCU action in recent memory.

On the heels of his wonderful standalone episode of The Bear, “Gary”, which he co-wrote with former The Punisher co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jon Bernthal developed the idea for One Last Kill while filming the first season of Daredevil: Born Again. Scripting the special presentation alongside director Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard, Bob Marley: One Love), Jon Bernthal takes the inner psyche of Frank Castle and turns it into a fascinating portrait of a broken man with nothing left to live for. We have seen Frank Castle get to these low points before, but Bernthal and Green find a way to show us just how truly broken Frank is and what it takes to pull him out of his funk. It is worth noting that this special does not address the events of Daredevil: Born Again, even in passing, nor does it tease how we end up encountering Frank Castle in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but it does trigger what moves Frank out of hiding and back to donning the mantle of The Punisher.

As a standalone, The Punisher: One Last Kill is a nice treat to tide audiences over until Jon Bernthal is ready to reprise the role of Frank Castle in a new series or feature film, rather than just playing a supporting role. I enjoyed that this entry in the MCU is quick and dirty and doesn’t require any prior knowledge to enjoy, but it also feels like the first episode of a series or the first half of a movie rather than a complete project. There is more set-up here than payoff, but that is not a detractor from how solid of a special this is. I would be open to getting The Punisher standalone specials like this a couple of times a year for the next few years if Jon Bernthal is not committed to a full season of a new show, but One Last Kill proves again that this character is worth the investment from Marvel Studios. Brutal, bloody, and brilliant, The Punisher: One Last Kill is another much-needed win for the MCU and should be the benchmark for these special presentations moving forward.

The Punisher: One Last Kill premieres on May 12th on Disney+.