The reviews have been counted for The Punisher: One Last Kill, and with 39 verdicts counted on Rotten Tomatoes, Frank Castle's first solo outing in the MCU is now officially "Certified Fresh."
Fans have also chimed in, awarding the special a glowing 91% on the Popcornmeter. While viewing figures aren't disclosed by Disney+, if One Last Kill is a hit, then we can surely expect a follow-up of some sort.
For comparison's sake, previous Special Presentations, Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, are both "Certified Fresh" at 90% and 95%, respectively.
1990's The Punisher has 24%, the 2004 movie has 30%, and Punisher: War Zone (released in 2008) sits at 29%. Season 1 of Netflix's The Punisher has 68%, with Season 2 sat at 61%.
Talking to Esquire, Jon Bernthal addressed Frank's battle with PTSD when the Special Presentation begins. "You cut ties with every pillar of belief, whether it’s religion, whether it’s the Marine Corps, whether it’s your family. Basically anything that was important to you, you start to see as a corruption."
"You look at yourself as the reasons for the problems in the world around you, and 99 percent of the time it results in suicide," the actor explained. "I really wanted to show what do you do when you dedicated your life to something and there’s just nothing more to do. It’s super dark. It’s like a super [frick]ing dark thing."
"We’re in a place where I do think that this is the level of psychological complexity and just blunt violence that the fans really want for this character. I’m really down to keep doing more, but I think I have to be the one that’s making it," Bernthal concluded.
This summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is next for The Punisher, though his team-up with Spidey will likely be far more light-hearted than the anti-hero's clash with Ma Gnucci. Whether we'll see Frank fight The Hulk remains to be seen, but here's hoping.
In The Punisher: One Last Kill, as Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.
The Special Presentation is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and written by Jon Bernthal & Reinaldo Marcus Green, based on the Marvel Comics. The executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Sana Amanat, Jon Bernthal, Reinaldo Marcus Green, with Trevor Watson serving as co-executive producer and Eleena Khamedoost as supervising producer.
"Marvel meets The Raid in The Punisher: One Last Kill, a relentless, no-holds-barred exploration of grief and PTSD, and an ultra-violent, pitch-perfect take on The Punisher," we wrote in our review. "This is Jon Bernthal's magnum opus as Frank Castle."
The Punisher: One Last Kill is now streaming on Disney+. Below, you can check out some new promos for the special, one of which mentions ComicBookMovie.com.