THE PUNISHER: ONE LAST KILL Review

It's been a while since Netflix aired their two seasons of The Punisher, and while I don't ever have the most crystal clear memory of shows I have binge watched, I do definitely recollect that I really loved both seasons. Which is more than I can say for their Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, or Iron Fist seasons. Granted, their Daredevil gave us three straight big winners as far as seasons went, but I thought their other character outings were a lot more uneven.

Yeah, The Punisher was a hit with me, though. I thought star Jon Bernthal really nailed the character to his core, and the show combined bloody, violent action with deep characterization and creative storylines. To be fair, I have not engaged with the Daredevil: Born Again show (either season) on DisneyPlus. While I typically don't suffer from MCU or comic book movie fatigue, I DO suffer from TV show fatigue. I just don't like committing 8-12 hours of my life to one season of a show. So if Frank Castle made his MCU debut in that show, I must confess to having missed it.

I got The Punisher: One Last Kill though! When this dropped, I watched it within its first 24 hours because I was excited to see Disney throw out a Punisher story. And it's interesting to see Marvel's push-pull with their embrace of the character after his emblem has been co-opted by political culture in the United States.

One Last Kill sees a defeated and broken down Frank living in Little Sicily in a hellhole of his own making after he murdered the members of the Gnucci family... the last crime family left that could be tied to the deaths of his family. In the power vacuum of their demise, this section of New York has become a den of crime and gang activity. And The Punisher barely seems to care.

While coming home from visiting his family's gravesites, Frank is called out to by the matriarch of the Gnucci family... with a warning. at 6:47 on the dot, she is dropping his location to every criminal in Little Sicily and letting them set upon him for the kill.

With little time--and even less energy--left, The Punisher has to decide if he has it in himself to be the man he used to be to save both his own life and the lives of those around him.

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ The action is fast, intense, and brutal. You love to see it on the Disney streaming service in 2026. One Last Kill doesn’t hold anything back as the blood is let loose all over the screen. If anyone was worried that the gore and violence was going to be toned down by The House Of Mouse, those fears should be laid to rest... along with Frank's victims!

+ Jon Bernthal continues to have been born to play this character. And he co-wrote this mini-movie, as well! He really has a strong grasp of the Frank Castle character and has taken real ownership of the live action version thereof. I guess I am not a mind reader or anything, but Jon seems to have a great passion for this role. 

It's fantastic to see [again, what I'm interpreting as] an actor who cares so much about a role and wants to get it done just right. After One Last Kill, I know we have Castle showing up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but give me even more of him. Give me a whole movie, why don't you?

- I wish the action had been edited a bit better. It’s not abhorrent on the quick cuts or anything, but there aren’t great extended one takes either. I would rather the action hadn’t been as chopped up as it is. I'm reminded of the hallway fight scene in Daredevil and some of the other action from that series. That's what I'm looking for. And while I've absolutely seen a lot WORSE than what One Last Kill has to offer, I know I've seen better, too.

- One Last Kill leaves the conflict it establishes open. Which is good! It sets up the possibility of continuing this story later on. But I could have used a little more resolution than what we got here. It ultimately feels like a nothing story that isn’t integral to the character or the MCU. 

OVERALL

For a short fifty-minute blast into the MCU and to set up the character going forward for whatever they intend to do with him, The Punisher: One Last Kill was a fun set piece for Frank Castle to go nuts and kill baddies. It's maybe not entirely fulfilling as a stand-alone piece of work, but it's easily enjoyable if you like The Punisher and his most recent live action forays.

🍿 SCORE = 70/100