The Punisher: One Last Kill

What’s it about?

As Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.

The facts

• Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green
• English language
• Runtime: 51 minutes
• Starring Jon Bernthal
• A special Marvel presentation

Why did it get this rating?

This series was self-rated by Disney+. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Animal Harm

Characters steal a man’s dog and we see one of the gang toss the dog in front of a moving truck. We don’t see the accident but assume from the sounds and character reactions that the dog has been seriously injured or killed. It is a shocking and upsetting moment.

Self-harm and suicide themes

We see a character slash himself deeply on his chest, using a large knife. The scene is dimly lit but we can see blood from the wound.

A character puts a gun to his temple while thinking of his family. He sees visions of them bleeding and in pain before snapping back into reality and putting the gun down.

Graphic Violence

A black character is surprise punched by white men on the street.

We see news reporting on a TV screen of rioting happening in the streets including people smashing car windscreens, and The Punisher with blood on his face.

We see violence happening on the street in the background, people being kicked and punched, screaming and gunshots. We also see and hear intimate partner violence with a man hitting a woman. It’s blurry and no detail is shown. The scene is establishing the loss of law and order as the city streets descend into chaos around The Punisher.

There are a number of gunshot deaths and graphic head shots. In the strongest example we see a character shot through the head and we briefly see the exit wound at the back of the head.

A character has his throat cut in front of a woman he was having sex with. We hear the cut and see blood spray over her face.

A character is killed by having their head stomped on. There is a crunching sound as the camera cuts away but we don't see the detail.

There are several extended fight scenes where we see characters gunned down, stabbed with various weapons including an axe, and where a baseball bat used to maim and kill masked intruders. Shotguns and semi-automatic assault rifles are used at close range.

The death count piles up and an extended fight sequence through a housing development starts to play out like a video game in a war zone with every masked intruder being shot or killed in quick succession. Weapons are collected or swapped along the way. These start to become more silly, such as a coffee pot, and a ballpoint pen as a stabbing weapon.

Sexual Violence

A gang of bad characters break into an apartment and attack a woman and child. Sexual assault against the woman is implied but we don’t see any detail. We hear a character say ‘get off my mom’, and The Punisher attacks and pulls a man off the woman by stabbing him in the neck.

Offensive language

There is brief but strong language used for emphasis or insult including ‘f*cking’, ‘sh*t’, and ‘m*therf*cker’. A mentally disturbed customer shouts “filthy” into the ear of an Asian woman waiting in line in a store.

Content that may disturb

We see a character doing pull ups, exercising agressively until their hands bleed. We then see that they’re also drinking excessively. The scene shows that he is tormented by things from his past.

We see a character talking and chanting to himself, while ‘ghosts’ or characters from his military past appear and disappear in the room. It’s clear he’s mentally disturbed as he screams from their comments and he pleads for help.

Helplines:

The graphic violence and sexual violence could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?