Jon Bernthal is back as Frank Castle in The Punisher: One Last Kill, but the special takes too long to get to the Punisher return fans want.
The biggest problem is the runtime. The special is only 44 minutes, and it feels like it needed another 45. Just when Frank finally puts on the skull and gets back to being The Punisher, it ends.
Too Much PTSD, Not Enough Punisher
The Punisher: One Last Kill spends too much time with Frank dealing with PTSD, guilt, and emotional trauma.
We get it. We’ve seen it before. Frank Castle is broken. He is haunted. He carries pain with him everywhere he goes.
But at this point, fans don’t need Frank crying all the time (we’re tired of Vincent D’Onofrio crying all the time, too). They want Jon Bernthal back as The Punisher, wearing the skull, taking out bad guys, and doing what the character does best.
Instead, the special builds toward that moment for most of its short runtime, then gives fans what feels like a 60-second shot of the full Punisher return at the end.
That is the biggest issue I had with the special.
The Action Hits Hard
The good news is the fight scenes are great.
The Punisher: One Last Kill delivers hard-hitting action, and when it gets going, it feels like the kind of Marvel TV fans have been asking for. The fights are brutal, direct, and well done.
There also seems to be a heavy John Wick influence. There is a killing dog angle, he’s hunted, there is a kill-with-a-pen moment, and even some of the music feels similar. Since I love John Wick, I have no problem with that.
The song choices work, too. They fit Frank Castle and the tone of The Punisher.
Jon Bernthal Still Owns the Role
Bernthal is still the reason to watch.
He brings the same intensity, pain, and physical presence that made his version of Frank Castle work in Daredevil and Netflix’s The Punisher. Even when the special spends too much time on Frank’s trauma, Bernthal sells it.
The problem is not Bernthal. The problem is that Marvel finally brought him back and then held back the thing fans wanted most.
We want more Frank Castle as The Punisher. We want more of Bernthal in the skull.
It Leaves You Wanting More
The Punisher: One Last Kill does leave you wanting more, which is both good and frustrating.
It proves Bernthal still has it. It proves The Punisher still works. It proves Marvel can deliver something harder-edged when it wants to.
Hopefully, the special does better than Daredevil: Born Again in terms of viewership, because Marvel needs to see that there is still demand for this version of Frank Castle.
Final Thoughts
The Punisher: One Last Kill is a hard-hitting 44 minutes of Marvel TV, but it needed to be longer.
The action is great. Bernthal is great. The tone works. The music works. The John Wick-style influence works.
But the special takes too long to let Frank become The Punisher again, and once it finally happens, the credits are already around the corner.
If you are a fan of The Punisher, you’ll still love it. You’ll just wish there was more.
Rating: 7/10
