Reviews of Punisher: War Zone, Twilight and Goal II
Punisher: War Zone
Lionsgate
$29.95
2-Disc Edition: $34.98
Blu-ray: $39.99
Plot: Marvel Comics’ iconic gun-toting vigilante (now played by Ray Stevenson) hunts down evil maniac Jigsaw (Dominic West) while protecting a widow (Julie Benz) and her daughter.
Opinion: You’d think a Punisher movie would be a slam-dunk, but Hollywood has struck out three times now trying to bring this particular anti-hero to the screen. Punisher: War Zone is by far the best of the trio, but that’s a little like saying that Revenge of the Sith is the best of the Star Wars prequels. To the movie’s credit, director Lexi Alexander does capture the over-the-top loony violence that defined celebrated comic-book writer Garth Ennis’ recent run on the title and both Stevenson and West are perfectly cast as The Punisher and Jigsaw respectively. Unfortunately, the script is godawful and too many of the action sequences suffer from chaotic editing and poor choreography.
Bonus Features: Alexander and the film’s director of photography discuss all the gory behind-the-scenes details on a commentary track and five featurettes explore various aspects of the film’s production, including the boot camp training Stevenson went through to play the title character.
Verdict: Skip It
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Twilight
Summit
$32.99
Plot: The new girl in town (Kristen Stewart) falls in love with a longtime resident (Robert Pattinson) who happens to be a vampire.
Opinion: I have to admit, I underestimated how popular the Twilight phenomenon actually was when I walked into an advanced screening of the movie last fall. But as soon as the lights dimmed and the first cheers erupted from the audience, I realized that I wasn’t just watching a movie—I was experiencing a phenomenon. I’m glad those screaming fans were happy with Catherine Hardwicke’s adaptation of their sacred text, but I can’t share their enthusiasm. For me, Twilight is a lumbering bore—a poorly paced, woodenly acted romance where the stars never generate an ounce of chemistry. As far as vampire movies go, give me Let The Right One In any day.
Bonus Features: A commentary track with director Hardwicke—who recorded this before she was kicked off directing the second movie. Also included are numerous deleted scenes and a seven-part making-of documentary.
Verdict: Skip It
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Goal II: Living the Dream
Genius Entertainment
$19.95
Plot: After launching his career in England, Mexican-born soccer stud Santiago (Kuno Becker) makes the move to the famous Real Madrid outfit, but discovers that with great fame comes great temptation.
Opinion: I may be the only person in America who saw the original Goal, which was briefly released in theaters here in 2006, a year after it opened in England and the rest of the world, where soccer is a far more popular sport. The sequel was finished in 2007 but is only now getting released in the U.S. as a straight-to-DVD title. Both movies follow the standard-issue narrative for sports films—a young hotshot get his chance at the big time, but makes numerous mistakes on the way to the final game—so don’t expect to see anything here that you haven’t seen numerous times before. That said, the European settings lend the movies a different feel and its fun to see real-life soccer stars like David Beckham integrated into the action. According to IMDB, there’s a Goal III on the way later this year—I’ve already got it in my Netflix queue.
Bonus Features: Deleted scenes, bloopers, and a making-of featurette.
Verdict: Rent It
