'The Punisher' reviews: Hero's story is compelling but bit too long

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Jon Bernthal stars as Frank Castle, also known as "The Punisher," in Marvel's new Netflix series.

The reviews are out for the new series "The Punisher" which fairly impressed critics who praised the compelling story but felt that it could have been shortened.

The Marvel series from showrunner Steve Lightfoot received a satisfactory 67 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a site that averages review scores from several entertainment outlets. Here are what some of the reviewers had to say.

Wenlei Ma from News.com.au wrote, "'The Punisher' doesn't always hit the perfect note but you have to give it chops for trying to do something a little different, and eschewing genre conventions. It's just too bloody long." The series runs for 13 episodes which are all streamed on Netflix and allowed fans and viewers to binge them continuously. It appears that the show may have some slow moments in the narrative that may have caused viewers to feel bored or impatient. Nevertheless, the intriguing story somewhat makes up for the arduous build-up which may be forgiven.

Liz Shannon Miller from IndieWire expressed, "As a narrative about veterans trying to find their place in the world, 'The Punisher' has something to say. But it could have been so much shorter, and its placement in the Marvel universe feels tangential at best." The story is about army veteran Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) and his journey to take revenge on those who killed his wife and child. Along the way, he uncovers a deeper conspiracy that goes back to New York's criminal underworld.

Josh Bell from Las Vegas Weekly stated, "It's a slow, monotonous story without a clear antagonist, and Frank is a grim, one-note character who works better as a supporting player than a lead." It seems that there is still much to be improved with this superhero franchise. Nevertheless, the show is off to a fairly promising start.

"The Punisher" is now streaming on Netflix.

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