Discuss Marvel's The Punisher
Discuss → TV Shows → Marvel's The Punisher → General
I don't get the high praise (spoiler)
posted by JustinJackFlashSTAFFMOD on March 27, 2018 at 12:58 PM
Don't get me wrong. I didn't dislike it. It had some things going for it. It's far from terrible and those last three episodes were awesome. But I was so looking forward to this after all the great reviews, word of mouth and the excellent interpretation of the character in Daredevil, yet I spent much of the series waiting for something good to happen.
The main plot is a tiresomely, run of the mill, conspiracy narrative. There is a distinct lack of action for the vast majority of it. And those horribly blatant and insulting anti-gun control politics? After recent events? Have Marvel gone mad?! Who are they catering to here? Since when were Marvel fans extreme-right conservatives? They've even made Captain America a symbol of liberty. Why the sudden change of heart now?
The lack of action wouldn't have been a problem if there was plenty of inventive tension or enough substance in it's place. While 13 episodes is unnecessary. This is on Netflix. It's not filling up a TV schedule so there is absolutely no reason to stick to a 13 episode template. You should have an adequate amount of episodes to suit the story that's being told. If this had been 8 episodes it would have been a lot stronger, less drawn out.
It also seemed they were pretty stingy in terms of budget. That's somewhat understandable concerning lesser known characters like Jessica Jones or Iron Fist. But The Punisher is probably more well known than even Daredevil yet clearly had less money and passion put into it. This should be one of Marvel's flagship shows.
Hopefully it's popularity and success will mean they will be more budget generous for season 2. And I am excited to see Jigsaw.
Reply by JustinJackFlash
on March 29, 2018 at 9:43 AM
Haha, I'm not sure I totally understood what you just said.
But for the record when I'm talking about anti-gun control politics I'm not referring to the concept of Frank Castle and The Punisher himself. The hero shooting the bad guys is escapism. We've all enjoyed a trashy Arnie flick. These characters are anti-heroes and their actions are morally questionable. That's why it's interesting. But to watch The Punisher doesn't mean we condone those actions. Just as watching Goodfellas doesn't mean we condone the actions of gangsters.
The politics I am referring to are the characterization of the liberal, gun control activist. He is portrayed as a coward, running away like a pansy when his life is threatened and later announcing that he's changed his whole political outlook after his life was in danger. All the while, one of the good guys; Karen Paige, a clear speaking, logical character who always seems to have her head screwed on, a character we've empathized with through 2 seasons of Daredevil and represents the people, suddenly starts spouting the kind of pro-gun rhetoric that would have Charlton Heston cheering like an ape who shits bananas.
This was all so immaturely written and unbalanced it felt like Trump himself was guest writer.