It`s easy to forget, given some of Marvel and Netflix`s recent joint output, what the two studios are capable of when they`re at their best. All the Marvel/Netflix shows exist on a subjective spectrum, but it`s generally accepted that The Defenders, Iron Fist, and Daredevil Season 2 weren`t the greatest, while Daredevil Season 1, Jessica Jones, and (depending who you ask) Luke Cage were much better. Luckily for Marvel fans--and fans of good TV everywhere--The Punisher is with the latter group.That`s based on the first six episodes of The Punisher`s 13-episode Season 1, which Netflix made available to press ahead of the show`s Nov. 17 premiere. But even in just its first half, The Punisher Season 1 is confident, well-made television. The show could still blow it in the season`s second half, but that remains to be seen.The Punisher, of course, follows Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), the titular anti-hero, who perpetually mourns his family by murdering the people responsible for their deaths. Despite doing this for a while now--during Daredevil Season 2, presumably through the events that took place in The Defenders, and now on his standalone show--he never seems to run out of `the people responsible` to murder. The web always expands, the rabbit hole goes deeper, and the conspiracy reaches its blood-soaked tendrils higher and higher into government organizations like the CIA. And the Punisher punishes them all--by murdering them good--while enjoying endless flashbacks of his once-happy family.That basic framework might seem a little tired, and it is--a little. But if John Wick taught us anything, it`s that revenge flicks done well will never get old. And make no mistake, if you`re looking for another superhero jam: The Punisher has more in common with John Wick than with most of Marvel`s other movies and shows.That`s a good thing. The Punisher is grounded in the way that Jessica Jones and Daredevil`s first season were; these aren`t superhumans or gods, and there`s no ...
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