Punisher: War Zone(2008)
Lionsgate- RRated R for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use
- 1h 43m
Dec 5, 2008
Frank Castle, known as the Punisher, ruthlessly demolishes organized crime, but it starts an even bigger war.
Release Details
Original Release | Dec 5, 2008 | Wide
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Box Office Results
Results
$4,271,451
$8,050,977
$2,110,516
$10,161,493
Current Showtimes
orround
- Thu Aug 27
- Fri Aug 28
- Sat Aug 29
- Sun Aug 30
- Mon Aug 31
- Tue Sep 1
- Wed Sep 2
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: DTS,Dolby Digital,SDDS,Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States, Canada, Germany
Language: English,Russian
Summaries
Plot Summary
- Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson), who by now has been the Punisher for five years, assaults a party for mob boss Gaitano Cesare (John Dunn-Hill). Cesare's right hand man Billy (Dominic West) tells Cesare that Cristu (David Vadim) is bringing in a shipment of biological weapon into New York and has offered $ 10 MM for a safe port. Billy says that Cristu has guaranteed that the package will leave the city of New York, so Cesare himself is not in danger. Cesare is against the deal, which angers Billy as he believes he is top earner for the cartel. Cesare calls Billy as crazy as his brother Loony Bin Jim, which makes Billy livid. Castle attacks and kills everyone, but Billy escapes.Billy "The Beaut" Russotti (A vain and image-obsessed Mafia killer) escapes to his recycling plant hideout. Detectives Martin Soap (Dash Mihok) and Saffiotti (Tony Calabretta), were staking out the party. Saffiotti comes across Castle leaving the mansion and informs him about Billy's location. Saffiotti tells Soap that Castle disarmed him and broke his nose to escape.Castle infiltrates Russoti's hideout, and after a brief firefight, Russoti is thrown into a glass-crushing machine that leaves him hideously disfigured. Castle, who takes cover behind the body of Nicky Donatelli (Romano Orzari), discovers that Donatelli was actually an undercover agent. Billy is retrieved from the crushing machine by his men after the FBI have left the scene. Billy is shifted to a safe-house and assigned a plastic surgeon as his face is shredded. Russoti refers to himself as "Jigsaw" because the stitches in his face resemble puzzle pieces. This is ironic as Billy was super sensitive about his looks.Agent Paul Budiansky (Colin Salmon), the deceased agent's partner, joins the NYPD's "Punisher Task Force", partnering with Soap to help bring Castle to justice. Saffiotti and NYPD Captain Ross (Ron Lea) actively try to put obstacles in Paul's path to find Castle.Before Punisher's attack, Nicky had sent a message to FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Miller (Larry Day) that something big was about to happen, but before he could share any details, he was shot down. Paul promises Nicky's wife Angela to avenge Nicky's death. Soap tells Paul that he has been tracking Castle's every move for the last 5 years. Soap tells Paul how Castle's family witnessed a mob execution at a picnic. They were discovered, and only Castle survived. Since then, Castle has been taking down one mob family after another.Castle is torn up about killing an Agent in the field & ponders his retirement. Paul doesn't know that NYPD is actively collaborating with Castle and providing him with intel and weapons to fight the NY crime mafias.Meanwhile, Jigsaw frees his deranged and cannibalistic brother, "Loony Bin Jim" (Doug Hutchison) from the mental asylum he was imprisoned in. Jim is a brutal murder himself and eats the kidneys of his victims.Distraught over killing the agent, Castle attempts to make reparations to Donatelli's wife, Angela (Julie Benz), and daughter, Grace (Stephanie Janusauskas), to no avail. Angela refuses to forgive Castle for what he did and says that money will not make up for tearing away her family. Castle threatens to retire from the vigilante business, but his armorer, Microchip (Wayne Knight), forces him to reconsider, telling him Jigsaw will go after Donatelli's family for revenge.Jigsaw, Loony Bin Jim, and two goons, Ink (Keram Malicki-Sanchez) and Pittsy (Mark Camacho), break into Donatelli's house and hold the family hostage. The Punisher tracks down Maginty (T. J. Storm), a known associate of Jigsaw, executing him after extracting the information before being apprehended by Budiansky and Soap. Castle tells him Jigsaw went after Donatelli's family, and Budiansky sends a police car to check on the Donatelli house, intending to turn the Punisher in. When the patrol car fails to respond, Budiansky checks on the house, where he is captured by Ink and Pittsy. Soap frees the Punisher, who kills Ink and Pittsy before leading Donatelli's wife and daughter away. Budiansky then arrests Jigsaw and Loony Bin Jim after a short gunfight.Jigsaw and his brother bargain with the FBI for their release by giving up Cristu Bulat (David Vadim), who was smuggling in a biological weapon destined for Arab terrorists in Queens, New York. The brothers are granted immunity, plus the US$12 million Bulat was paying to use Jigsaw's port, and a file on Micro.They take Micro hostage, killing his mother in the process. They once again take the Donatellis hostage, after critically injuring Micro's associate Carlos (Carlos Gonzalez-Vio), whom Castle had left to protect them. Castle later arrives at the hideout and euthanize Carlos. Jigsaw sets himself up in the Bradstreet Hotel, putting together a small army of gangsters who want to see the Punisher dead. Castle enlists the help of Budiansky, who informs Cristu's father, Tiberiu Bulat (Aubert Pallascio), where Jigsaw is located. Tiberiu's goons start a shootout in the hotel lobby, affording Castle a distraction.Castle enters through a second-floor window, leading to a firefight with Jigsaw's hired guns. Afterward, Castle engages Loony Bin Jim in hand-to-hand combat; realizing he will probably not survive the brawl, Jim runs away. Castle chases him and confronts both him and Jigsaw, who are holding Micro and Grace Donatelli at gunpoint.Jigsaw gives Castle a choice: If Frank shoots Micro, Jigsaw will let the others go free. Micro bravely offers his life to save the girl, but Castle chooses to shoot Loony Bin Jim instead. As a result, Jigsaw kills Micro. Enraged by the loss of his partner, Castle attacks Jigsaw, eventually impaling him with a metal rod and throwing him onto a fire. As Jigsaw burns to death, Castle calmly tells him, "This is just the beginning."Outside, Angela forgives Castle, who bids farewell to Budiansky and the Donatelli family. As Castle and Soap leave together, Soap tries to convince Castle to give up his vigilante status after having "killed every criminal in town." Soap changes his mind when he is held up by a murderous mugger who quickly becomes another victim of the Punisher.
Storyline
- Frank Castle, the ex-military man whose family was killed by criminals, who became a vigilante known as the Punisher, goes after a whole mob family and gets everyone except enforcer Billy Russoti. He tracks Russoti down and chases him into a vat that is used for crushing bottles. Frank turns on the crusher hoping it would take care of him but it doesn't. He survives but sustains very severe injuries that even with plastic surgery his face looks like a jigsaw puzzle. So he decides to adopt the name Jigsaw. Frank who killed one of Russoti's people who unknown to him is an undercover Fed, decides to pack it in. But when he learns Russoti didn't die and is looking for the money he entrusted to the Fed and will go looking for it at his home which means his family is in danger. So Frank tries to save them. But Russoti wants revenge on Frank so he breaks out his brother who is so crazed that he is committed to an asylum, to deal with him. And also another Fed who's a friend of the man Frank killed wants him too. — rcs0411@yahoo.com Hell-bent on punishing the gangsters responsible for the death of his family and countless others, Frank Castle finds himself on a violent path of destruction, waging a one-man war against the despicable crime family led by a man known as Jigsaw. — Cian Swailes
