So I finished Season 1 last night and with I could report that it was incredible and my initial reaction was wrong and that it got MUCH better. While it did get somewhat better after the lull of episodes 3-5 it managed to slip back into boredom around 7 to 10 and pick it up at the end. I suppose I should start to expect this of Netflix series. Personally, I would much rather the seasons simply be shorter rather than using so much filler to make them longer>
I think the main problem I have with this show other than the filler and sometimes dead boring storyline is the fact that I don't really consider Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle aka Punisher) to be a very versatile actor. It really doesn't seem to matter what sort of dialogue he is belting out, it is always the same brooding, ruble-talk, gruff delivery.
I would say that if you are a little bit interested in this show that you could very easily just cheat and watch episode 1 and then skip the next 6 episodes and really wouldn't have much trouble knowing what is going on. There is so much backtracking into the plot that has been explained over and over and over that you will be brought up to speed on what is going on very quickly.
Something that really annoys me, and this happens a lot. Frank and some member of his team will go to some remote location, normally under the cover of darkness in order to accomplish (insert whatever here.) Their enemies do not know where Frank's secret hideout is, or even who his accomplices are, however they seem to know exactly where he is going. How is this possible?
There is normally no explanation given for this occurrence, but we are just supposed to accept that it can happen. If they have this sort of tracking capability, why not track Frank back to the place he sleeps? I understand that it is fiction and Marvel fiction at that and we need to suspend our disbelief in order to enjoy it. However, i need some level of consistency in my storytelling.
I love this trailer because of "One" and it is pretty appropriate given the overall story here.
I am not going to give up on this series and there is a season 2 to look forward to. I hope they can make it dramatically better because I hate to give up on one of my favorite childhood comic-book heroes. At the moment though on a scale of "Urgh!" to "Wowsers" I give The Punisher an underwhelming rating of...
