What Lexi Alexander and Lions Gates attempts to accomplish with this new title in the Marvel movie lexicon is a complete restart of the Punisher franchise and they do this by completely forgetting any and all of the events from the Thomas Jane version and in some respects it’s nice to have a movie that pays due attention to the original origin of madman Frank Castle. Hell, I loved the John Travolta vehicle and still do in spite of fans belly aching, but god help me, “Warzone” is a better film. Why? Frankly because there are very few liberties taken with the mythos and we get down to the nitty gritty.
One of the more entertaining moments of “Next Avengers” involves the eventual emergence of the Incredible Hulk from the eccentric form of Bruce Banner, now a scientist in hiding. Watching the Hulk smash these cheesy robotic copies of the avengers was quite cathartic, and it’s also refreshing to see the team stick to the mold of Ultron as we know him, a corruptible and despicable technological force who will prove to the be prevalent menace if a series pans out. I also really enjoyed watching the original Thor talk to his daughter Torrum in the climax; it’s a surprisingly touching moment that may sell me on watching this with my nephew.
After the unfair lambasting of the disgustingly underrated and under appreciated “Hulk” from director Ang Lee, I found myself brutally conflicted on Louis Leterrier’s reboot (Remake? Revision? Restart?), because frankly, it was an apology to fans on a movie that didn’t need one. Lee tried something new, and was punished for it. Sure, Leterrier goes for the obvious, he goes for the simplistic, he shoots for the predictable, but that doesn’t mean “The Incredible Hulk” isn’t an entertaining movie. While I will be faithful to Ang Lee’s vision of the Hulk, Leterrier puts up a good argument for his version, too.