First Reactions to Marvel’s THE PUNISHER: ONE LAST KILL Call It “Marvel Meets THE RAID” and a Comic Come to Life

Marvel Studios’ The Punisher: One Last Killwill be released on Disney+ this week, and the first reactions are already rolling in. Fans have been waiting to see Jon Bernthal step back into Frank Castle’s boots again, and while critics seem divided on the story itself, almost everyone agrees that the action goes hard.

The new Marvel special picks up after the events of Daredevil: Born Again and finds Frank Castle trying to leave his violent past behind. Of course, that peace doesn’t last long.

A rising criminal empire drags him back into the chaos, forcing Castle to confront the rage and trauma that have always defined the character.

A lot of the early praise centers on the brutal combat and Bernthal’s performance, with several reactions describing the special as intense, emotional, and unapologetically violent.

Some critics even compared the project to Gareth Evans’ legendary action film The Raid, which is about as high a compliment as you can give an action-heavy Punisher story.

Film critic Cody Leach had mixed feelings about the special, praising the violence and Bernthal while questioning why Marvel revisited familiar territory. He wrote:

"#ThePunisherOneLastKill delivers on Frank Castle laying waste to bad guys and Bernthal is awesome as always. That said, I don’t understand the point of this as a 45 min standalone. We re-explore his origin and set him up to now be in full Punisher mode. We’ve done this already…"

Others were much more enthusiastic. Comic Book Movie’s Josh Wilding fully embraced what the special was trying to do, comparing it directly to one of the greatest modern action movies ever made:

"A relentless, no-holds-barred exploration of grief and PTSD, and an ultra-violent pitch-perfect take on #ThePunisher. This is @jonnybernthal's magnum opus as Frank Castle. Marvel meets The Raid."

Collider’s Maggie Lovitt also leaned positive on the special and appreciated how much emotional weight Bernthal and director Reinaldo Marcus Green brought to Frank Castle’s latest chapter:

"The special is a heavy, introspective look at where Frank's head is as of late – and while it does retread some narrative beats that the Netflix run handled well, what Jon and Reinaldo Marcus Green have done here is really special.

“Bernthal's Frank Castle has always been more emotional, and seeing him process big emotions while also fighting for his life is always a good time."

One thing that keeps popping up in reactions is how closely the project captures the feel of the comics. Several viewers described The Punisher: One Last Kill as feeling like a Punisher comic brought straight to the screen, especially with its stripped-down story, brutal hallway-style fights, and Frank Castle operating in full war mode.

The special stars Bernthal alongside Jason R. Moore, who reprises his role as Curtis Hoyle. Green directed the project and also co-wrote it with Bernthal, giving the actor even more creative control over the version of Frank Castle fans have connected with since the Netflix era.

Marvel reportedly drew inspiration from The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and Jimmy Palmiotti, which makes a lot of sense considering the tone people are describing.

Bernthal previously teased that the special would deliver “a visceral, psychologically complex, unforgiving, no-holds-barred version of Frank.”

From the sound of these reactions, that’s exactly what audiences are getting. Even with complaints about revisiting old emotional ground, it seems like Marvel may have delivered one of its rawest street-level projects yet.

If nothing else, fans of Frank Castle finally get to see Bernthal unleashed again, and apparently he doesn’t hold back.