The Punisher: One Last Kill Review

There’s precious little connective tissue between One Last Kill and Born Again (or most other MCU projects, for that matter). One could just as easily jump straight from the end of the Netflix series to this special and not miss a beat. There’s perhaps some missed opportunity in that regard, but there is something to be said for a film that seeks to tell a solid, standalone Punisher tale with no fluff or baggage.

Again, for all that Bernthal has noted a desire to tell a different and more psychologically driven Punisher tale, One Last Kill isn’t a dramatic departure from what we saw with the Netflix series. It’s more visually dynamic, to be certain, and Green’s presence is certainly appreciated there. But once again, we’re faced with a Frank Castle struggling between the boundless well of rage and sadness that motivates him and a desire to find some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. It feels like the MCU’s Punisher has been on the brink of retirement for most of his more than 10-year existence.

But if it doesn’t do anything particularly new with the character, One Last Kill nonetheless works as a lean, mean action romp in a particularly seedy section of the MCU’s New York. The film’s 45-minute format is arguably its greatest asset. The Netflix show suffered from those long stretches where Frank would hide out in his base or Madani’s apartment in between shootouts. Here, there’s only so much time to stop and navel-gaze before the violence breaks out. Bernthal and Green give us a Punisher short film that’s equal parts The Raid (with a prolonged shootout in a grimy apartment complex) and John Wick. There’s even a bit of a gaming influence with the way Frank cycles through weapons and loots the corpses of his fallen enemies. The plot, such as it is, is only there to steer Frank from Point A to B and from blood-soaked encounter to the next.

Unsurprisingly, One Last Kill leans very heavily on Bernthal to carry the day, and he doesn’t disappoint. Early on, the focus is on Frank marinating in a psychologically spicy stew of misery and paranoia, with more than a whiff of Apocalypse Now’s opening scene. Later, that rage surges to the forefront as Frank singlehandedly takes on the whole of Little Sicily in an orgy of violence. In either case, the special simply wouldn’t work without Bernthal’s magnetic portrayal of Frank there to carry the day. It’s practically a one-man show, and the actor shoulders that burden well. The rest of the supporting cast, including Moore’s Curtis Hoyle, are there mainly to give voice to Frank’s surging emotions and personal struggles.