Skip to content

AVENGERS CONFIDENTIAL: BLACK WIDOW AND PUNISHER

Written By:

Andrew Pollard
avengersconfidential

DVD REVIEW: AVENGERS CONFIDENTIAL – BLACK WIDOW AND PUNISHER / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: KENICHI SHIMIZU / SCREENPLAY: MITSUTAKA HIROTA / STARRING: BRIAN BLOOM, JENNIFER CARPENTER, JOHN ERIC BENTLEY, GRANT GEORGE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The latest Marvel effort to be animated by the guys at Madhouse, Avengers Confidential looks to give some attention to Black Widow (Carpenter) and The Punisher (Bloom), two characters often left in the shadows of Captain America, Iron Man, et al. After Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, interferes in a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission, he’s taken prisoner by Nick Fury (Bentley) and his organisation. Then, when the Leviathan terrorist group gets hold of some S.H.I.E.L.D. plans, Fury’s only option is to team The Punisher up with Black Widow in the hope that the feisty duo can save the day.

Avengers Confidential is a feature that certainly shows some promise, although it ultimately feels a little flat when all is said and done. Key to the film’s charm, though, is the use of erratic, violent lone-wolf Frank Castle. After appearing in a supporting role in last year’s Iron Man: Rise of Technovore, also from Madhouse, Castle gets to take centre-stage here. And with Black Widow thrown in for good measure, this animated fare shows off two of the darker heroes that reside within the Marvel world. Whilst Widow has a few moments to shine, it’s the dirty, brutal, and trigger-happy Punisher who steals the show. Widow takes her orders from Fury, whereas Castle has no hesitation in giving S.H.I.E.L.D. the finger.

The dynamic between The Punisher and Black Widow works relatively well, and Castle’s anti-authoritarianism and single focus makes for a refreshing change in a Marvel movie. Unfortunately, when Castle isn’t on screen the film starts to trip over itself and become formulaic, repetitive, and dull. The threat of Leviathan, plus a unique adaptation of Marvel villain Elihas Star (George), never comes across as anything more than just fodder for Fury, Widow, and Punisher to butt heads over and merely acts as a convenient plot point.

In terms of animation, Avengers Confidential looks very impressive, although the feature has issues with the fluidity of its characters, and a lot of the action just comes off as being ripped straight from an anime movie of twenty years ago. Additionally, the English dub seems to suffer massively in terms of synching audio to visual, helped none by various musical samples that sound as if they’ve been pulled from an early ’90s video game finale.

Despite throwing in several familiar and not-so familiar Marvel faces, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher never becomes anything more than just okay. In what feels like simply a marketing strategy to gauge interest in the Black Widow and Punisher characters, possibly with wider cinematic implications, it’s safe to say that Brian Bloom’s grimly engaging Frank Castle is the one served best. We can only hope that Marvel and Madhouse lose the hangers-on and give Frank his own dark, bloody, excessively violent outing next time.

Extras: Two Featurettes – “Espionage and Punishment”, “The Vigilante Vs The Spy”

Andrew Pollard

You May Also Like...

chinese remake of anaconda drops trailer

ANACONDA Trailer Grants First Look At Remake Of 1997 Horror Flick

Three sequels and a spinoff-crossover film wasn’t enough for the 1997 creature feature Anaconda, which not only has a new movie in development, but is getting a Chinese remake! From
Read More
black widow star scarlett johansson in talks to lead new universal jurassic world film

Scarlett Johansson In Talks To Join JURASSIC WORLD Film

Another MCU star appears to be taking up the reins for Universal’s new Jurassic World movie: two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to lead the franchise that
Read More

Exclusive Reveal! Titan Comics to Deliver Prehistoric Hysterics in First 2 DUMB DINOS Collection

Titan Comics have exclusively revealed to STARBURST that they’re gearing up to publish the first-ever collection of the hilarious cult digital comic strip 2 Dumb Dinos, and we’re not the
Read More

New Dates For Lovecraftian Key of Dreams

Key of Dreams has announced new spaces for its titular immersive luxury horror event. The critically acclaimed company is known for its overnight experiences that dunk you into a strange
Read More

FAB Café to Host Free Film Screening of New Indie Comedy SECRETS OF A WALLABY BOY

We’re well known for our championing of truly independent filmmakers here at STARBURST, so it’s doubly exciting to be writing about one of our own! After joining the crew in
Read More
colin farrell returns as oswald cobblepot in the penguin series trailer

Colin Farrell Returns In THE PENGUIN Trailer

Colin Farrell returns as Gotham City’s answer to Tony Soprano in the first trailer for Max series The Penguin, which spins out of the world of the 2022 DC film
Read More