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Punisher: War Zone | 2008 | R | - 1.10.9

It's been six years since the vigilante (Ray Stevenson) known as the Punisher has been dealing out ultra-violent retribution to crime figures, and both the police and the mob are after him. During one attack the Punisher creates his own arch nemesis when he hideously disfigures a gangster who becomes notorious as "Jigsaw." Also with Dominic West, Doug Hutchison, Wayne Knight, Julie Benz, Dash Mihok, Colin Salmon and TJ Storm. Directed by Lexi Alexander. [1:47]

SEX/NUDITY 1 - Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage and bare shoulders in a few scenes. We see a neon sign in the shape of a woman advertising an exotic dance club.

VIOLENCE/GORE 10 - A man attacks another man, knocks him to the floor behind a piece of furniture (we only see the man's head thrashing), and begins to tear at him and pull out his organs (we hear squishing and tearing); the attacker sits up holding a bloody organ in his hand and bites into it.
 A man cuts a man's throat (we hear squishing and gurgling and see the bloody wound when the man's head tips back), breaks a woman's neck (we hear a crunch), stabs a man through the head (we see blood and hear a crunch), another man is stabbed in the throat (blood pours) and he shoots many more men in the room with automatic weapons (we see blood and tissue spurting).
 A man is shot in the head and his head is completely blown off (we see blood and matter splatter and see the body to the neck with no head). A man with his gun drawn enters an apartment where he finds the remains of an elderly woman with half her head missing (we see blood and matter and the body).
 A man shoots many men: one man is shot in the face and blood gushes, one man is shot in the leg and we see the leg missing from the knee down, another man is blown up by a grenade (we see him thrown by the blast) and many more are shot (we see men flinching when they are struck and blood spurting and spraying); an explosive is shot into a room where several men are killed (we see one very bloody man impaled by something and stuck to the wall and another very bloody man on the floor is still alive but is shot again). A man is shot in the head (blood and matter gush), and another man is shot in the head (we see a bullet hole in his temple). A man is shot in the chest (we see a hole open in his clothing) and he falls to the ground dead.
 A man is blown up by a launched explosive (we see him blow to bits), another man is shot in the head (we see bloody bullet hole), and another man is shot in the legs (we see bloody bullet holes) and he falls off a roof and a man stands over him; he is later seen impaled on a fence post (we hear him gurgling and twitching) and a man jumps on top of him breaking his neck (we see his head tipped back unnaturally and hear a crunch).
 A man strikes another man in the head, he falls to the floor, and the first man grabs an ax and brings it down on the man cutting a hand off (we see blood spurt); he then brings it down again and again (we hear crunching and we see the man later with the ax buried in his chest and covered with blood).
 A man jams a chair leg into another man's eye (we see blood and the leg sticking out of the eye), and another man is head butted. We see quick glimpses of people being killed: most of them have bloody wounds, and one man has a blade in his skull and blood running down his face. A man shoots many men that shoot at him (blood and matter spurt and spray and splatter) and one man is shot in the head and blood and brain matter spurts. A man spits on a man who then stabs him through the throat (blood spurts and pours from the wound).
 A man falls into a large vat of glass bottles that are being crushed up for recycling, he is pulled into the broken glass, we see him begin to get cut, we see blood smearing on windows surrounding the vat and we see him later with a completely blood-soaked face and with many open wounds (he is still alive).
 We see a man kneeling on the ground holding a dead child in his arms and looking at another dead child and a dead woman nearby (we see blood on the bodies and the man). We see a dead man with a machete stuck in his head (blood covers his head and face). We see a man with a pair of scissors sticking out of his head (there's a bit of blood around the wound). An injured man asks for a man to shoot him and he does (we hear the shot). A man is shot in the neck with a small arrow and falls to his knees and a man jumps on another man knocking him to the ground (it is not clear whether he is dead or unconscious). A man strikes another man in the head with a baseball bat (we hear a loud crunch and the man falls to the ground dead. A man pushes a woman who is then impaled by a sword (we see the sword go through her body and she falls to the floor dead). A man punches a man hard enough in the face that his face caves in (we see blood gush from the hole in his face). A man breaks a man's back using his knee (we hear a crunch). A man breaks a man's neck by twisting it (we hear a loud crunch). A man is shot in the arm, the back and the chest (he's wearing a bulletproof vest).
 A man with a gun threatens another man while trying to steal his wallet and another man with a gun shoots the mugger (the shooting happens off-screen, we hear the gunshot and we hear blood splatter). Many people shoot back and forth at each other (we hear loud thuds when the bullets strike and blood spurts). Men shoot back and forth at each other (we hear a few bullets strike).
 Two men fight with many punches and kicks: one man is stomped on (we hear a crunch) and one man is run through by a metal rod (we hear a crunch and the man gushes blood from his mouth) and pushed onto a burning fire (he screams and flails while he burns). Two men fight with punches and kicks: one man bites the other man on the head, one man kicks the other man's knee, one man bites the other man's neck, and one man is slammed into a wall and then a mirror. Two men fight with punches and kicks: one man's head is slammed into a car window shattering it, one man is kneed in the face, and shoved in a puddle face down (he does not drown).
 A man knocks a man down a flight of stairs and then jumps on him. A man slams another man's head against a door, and then shoves him through the door (there are no visible injuries). A man is thrown out of a club (we see him break through the door and land on the ground). A man grabs a woman by the throat and slams her against a car. A man punches a man hard in the face knocking him unconscious. A man punches himself in the face (we see a trickle of blood on his mouth). A man with a broken nose sticks a pencil up one nostril and twists his nose to straighten it (we hear a loud crack and crunch). We see a man strapped by hands and feet into a bed in a psychiatric hospital.
 Men break into a house where a woman and young girl live, they break many pieces of furniture and possessions and the woman and child huddle in fear. A man holds a gun to a young girl's head. A woman holds a gun on a man and threatens him (she does not shoot). A woman and a girl are tied to a post and a man is also tied to a post. A man shoots many toy dolls in the head. Many people are shown arming themselves.
 A man punches, kicks and throws himself into many large wall mirrors (we see him later with bloody cuts on his face. A man has very bloody hands after breaking a large mirror and licks the blood from the wounds. A man jumps from one building to another crashing through a window (he's OK).
 A man arms himself with guns, explosive devices, ammunition, and blade weapons in a few scenes. We see a stockpile of weapons in a man's apartment.
 We see family and others grieving at a funeral. We hear that a family was murdered after witnessing a mob execution. We hear that a witness was gunned down. We hear a TV news report about a crime boss who was set free after a mistrial was declared. We see a man in a wheelchair with IV bags attached to the back and he talks about defecating in a bag. We hear people moaning and screaming in a psychiatric hospital.
 A man vomits after another man's facial reconstruction is revealed. We see a man with large, very dark, roughly stitched scars all over his face (he is nicknamed Jigsaw).

LANGUAGE 9 - 45 F-words and its derivatives, 2 obscene hand gestures, 5 sexual references, 15 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 9 mild obscenities, 3 derogatory terms for Middle Easterners, name-calling (sick, stupid, ugly, crazy, loony, greasy), 3 religious profanities, 3 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man is shown snorting cocaine in several scenes, prescription drugs are poured into a man's mouth, and a man talks about someone being on a constant "meth high." Several bar scenes show people drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes, we see a bar with many bottles of alcohol on display, a man sits at a bar holding a glass and appears to be drunk, and a man tells another man that he'll buy him a drink. Several men are shown smoking cigarettes in a few scenes.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Vigilantism, terrorism, revenge, family, loyalty, biological weapons, grief, murder, pride, death of family members, death penalty, punishment, memories, money laundering, fate, bad luck, collateral damage, guilt, organized crime.

MESSAGE - Revenge will never wash away painful memories.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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