The Punisher is the sixth Marvel show to premiere on Netflix and stars Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, Sicario) as Frank Castle AKA The Punisher. The show picks up following the events of the second season of Daredevil and sees Castle on a warpath to kill every person involved with the death of his family. The plot leans heavily on militaristic aspects with major elements being PTSD and the bonds that are formed between veterans who serve together. What The Punisher does better than every other show on TV right now is how it unabashedly confronts PTSD and how every person who experienced combat suffers from it in their own unique way. But what people come to this show for, the gory action, delivers despite the high expectations. Every action scene bleeds with the brutality of the Punisher and has the intensity of Frank Castle. Not one action scene, even the ones without the titular character, underwhelms and are truly exhilarating to watch.

The entire cast is tremendous, with Amber Rose Revah and Ebon Moss-Bachrach being the standouts as Madani and Micro, respectively, but this show rests entirely on Bernthal’s shoulders. Along with Christopher Reeve as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, and Chris Evans as Captain America, Bernthal is one of the few actors that have been cast as comic-book characters that are perfect realizations of the comic-book version of their character. Bernthal was born to play this role as he perfectly channels the inner rage that drives Castle and is able to portray how broken Castle is on the inside. He is extremely believable in the action scenes but shines when he is able to show what is beneath the rage that he projects onto his enemies. There is no actor that could have played this role better than Bernthal.

Unlike the other Marvel Netflix shows, there is no wasted storyline or filler-episode in the entirety of The Punisher’s 13-episode run. Every scene serves a vital purpose, whether it is to give a better understanding of the characters or set-up future plot points. Where Luke Cage and Jessica Jones suffer with pacing problems and a stretched-out story that should have been condensed, The Punisher needed all 13-episodes as there was no point where I was bored watching this show. It grabs you from the opening scene and keeps you engaged until the final credits hit.

On the scale of Marvel Netflix shows, The Punisher ranks directly below Daredevil season 1, which is the greatest show that Marvel and Netflix have made together, while it is just above Jessica Jones which has higher highs than The Punisher, but its lows bring it down a notch.

The Punisher: 9.25 out of 10

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