TV Review: ‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’ Sees Frank Castle at His On-Screen Best

It’s hard to distill the character of Frank Castle in a 50-minute television special (44 without credits), but director Reinaldo Marcus Green and star Jon Bernthal finally give him a worthy on-screen treatment in The Punisher: One Last Kill. Bernthal’s casting as the titular Punisher in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil was probably the most inspired the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever done, because no one has managed to capture the tormented complexities of this anti-hero in the way he has, even if the two seasons of his flagship series were ultimately disappointing.

With Bernthal back in this latest streaming iteration of the MCU in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, the television division of Marvel Studios has now given Frank his own special presentation, after this experiment mostly failed to drum up audience engagement with the admittedly excellent Werewolf by Night and the not-so-great The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This critic is still of the mind that Marvel should invest their streaming money in television series or streaming-exclusive feature films instead of doing occasional specials, because there’s so much that Green develops in this short that would be much richer if he had the opportunity to treat it in film or through a limited series. 

In any event, The Punisher: One Last Kill is arguably the best thing Green has ever directed, a massive aesthetic and thematic step-up from the forgettable fare he’s given us in the past (King Richard innocent). The first half of the short is dedicated to Bernthal’s Frank Castle having nightmarish visions of his past life as a marine, still tormented by the tragic killing of his family and being unable to suppress apparitions from his one and only true friend, Curtis Hoyle (Jason R. Moore). While these moments were explored in the Netflix series, they certainly didn’t feel as thematically vivid as they are here. 

Green puts us directly in Frank Castle’s headspace, one haunted by every aspect of himself and thinking that the only way out of his current predicament is to end his life altogether. While violence foments on the streets of New York, each person Castle has killed has taken a massive toll on him. He wonders if adopting the mantle of the Punisher is just, especially in an era where a fascist police force has corrupted the meaning of its symbol. However, he doesn’t have much time to ponder on whether his alter-ego still represents something, because he’s visited by mob boss Ma Gnucci (Judith Light), who informs him that she has placed a bounty on his head, after Frank killed each member of the Gnucci Crime Family in revenge for the death of his wife and children. 

The rest of the special is a drawn-out action scene that bathes in excessive, almost cartoonish violence, eerily recalling Michael Winner’s nihilistic, cruel Death Wish 3. The exaggerated horde of disposable villains that suddenly arrive as they’ve been tipped off to Castle’s whereabouts feels ridiculous, but the succession of hyperviolent carnage gives it a deeper meaning than we think. The action is superbly staged and captured, especially in the apartment complex confrontation, where Castle kicks people with his boots on fire or uses improvised weapons to dispose of as many baddies as he can. 

At some point, though, the action becomes too much to bear, and one has to reckon with the idea that all of it is devoid of any purpose. Frank has chosen the route of violence. Even if he wants to hang up the mantle, violence will come crawling back to him because the ghosts of his past resurrect themselves through different figures. Chop off one head, and two more take their place. Even if Green and cinematographer Robert Elswit frame the special’s back-half with the same perverse nature as exploitation films, there’s something One Last Kill touches upon the character that gives a clearer essence to Castle’s relationship with violence that prior adaptations simply didn’t. 

Bernthal’s near wordless (but mostly guttural) performance as the Punisher is also his best. How he’s able to convey decades of pain in a single sullen look, thinking about a life that has brought him nothing but regrets, is genuinely astonishing. In Daredevil: Born Again, Bernthal’s portrayal of the character was very much dialogue-driven, while One Last Kill takes some time to sit with him before the carnage begins. It makes the last half-hour of action feel more textured and urgent, even if Bernthal and Green might recognize they’re not treading any new ground with him. 

As with most Marvel titles, The Punisher: One Last Kill ends with the promise of more, and the primary story thread established in this special is purposefully unresolved. This makes the very nature of the special presentation feel incomplete, but one wonders if it acts as a backdoor pilot for a full-fledged television series starring Bernthal as Castle. We do know the character is set to make his PG-13 debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but what about the future? 

Whatever happens next, Marvel should focus on either making feature films or television series and ditch special presentations altogether, even if this iteration of The Punisher is probably the best we’ll ever see within this franchise. Bernthal once again proves to everyone why his interpretation of the character will go down as one of the best performances in comic book media history, and he deserves a longer title that will let him explore corners of his character we have yet to see before on screen. The ball is, of course, in their court, but there’s so much to touch upon with Castle’s internal wrestling that, if Bernthal is willing, it might elevate his character to where he is now.

One thing’s for sure, though: Frank Castle has got more kills left in him…

SCORE: ★★★1/2