Rarely have moviegoers seen such a two-fisted wrecking ball of vengeance such as the one realized here by Ray Stevenson.

Assuming you can appreciate the high level of gore and assorted sadistic weirdness, the action is satisfying.

Dominic West (The Wire) plays a facially mutilated Mob boss as if he's in a broad SNL sketch.

Along with torrents of gore, Punisher: War Zone has moments that are deliriously funny, because the violence is so awful and so casual.

It looks great, it hurtles through its paces and is well-acted. The soundtrack is like elevator music if the elevator were in a death plunge. The special effects are state of the art. Its only flaw is that it's disgusting.

The film works a bit better than the 2004 "Punisher" installment, the one starring surly, dislikable Thomas Jane as Frank Castle.

The script isn't what matters here: This is a slasher movie with guns, and, uh, huh-huh, that's pretty cool.

This is essentially a Steven Seagal movie without the Ponytailed One, and may appeal to those who enjoyed Seagal's rather bland, cookie-cutter action films.

Although it's possible to enjoy the first act and third act carnage without paying attention to the plot mechanics, the storyline itself continuously reminds us of the fallacy of Castle's quest.

Another violently unsuccessful attempt to bring this comic book character to screen.

No worse than the second. Still, it pales in comparison to the first, which starred Dolph Lundgren. And that, right there, should tell you everything you need to know.

The blood and gore quotients of Punisher: War Zone are extremely high and are sure to sop the appetites of the series' fans and virtual bloodlusters.

The dialogue is beyond clichéd, and performances feel cobbled together from other movies.

If most December movie releases are epic-length and Oscar-ambitious, then Punisher: War Zone has to be considered Hobbesian counterprogramming: It's nasty, brutish, and short.