Surprisingly affecting revenge thriller that uses a non-linear narrative to ruminate on grief and the deep love often hidden beneath bitter surface relationships. The stunning Salar de Uyuni bookend scenes form an incredibly strong intro and outro to a powerfully meditative tale that thrives on the compassion of Wong's central performance. The plot convolutions are, at times, too convoluted, and it can be a little confusing to keep up with things, but it's all hooked on the pain at the centre, which never stops feeling sharp and poignant.

What madness is this, a thriller without 25 twist endings? Bad things happen, baddies are sought and then dealt with, the end.

I'd forgotten what it's like to watch a film like this and a very welcome and refereshing change it was too.

Well made, good cast, some decent action and enough of a story to keep you engaged for 90 mins.

Solid work.

Great revenge flick that could have had better action scenes with more tension. Anthony Wong is awesome as usual.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Currently on stream on Netflix, Punished follows a wealthy business man set on revenge after he finds out his daughter has been murdered, by having his bodyguard find the persons responsible at whatever cost. The story itself is simple with minimal characters involved and no real big surprises but is nicely held together by Wong's performance as his character slowly falls apart, desperately trying to deal with what has happened and his own feelings of guilt.

What I expected to be a blood-soaked, revenge movie from the plot description is actually a well-done crime thriller about a kidnapping and finding those responsible. The story is nothing new, but the strong leads, unlikable daughter character, and minimal gore in favor of story was quite refreshing.

What madness is this, a thriller without 25 twist endings? Bad things happen, baddies are sought and then dealt with, the end.

I'd forgotten what it's like to watch a film like this and a very welcome and refereshing change it was too.

Well made, good cast, some decent action and enough of a story to keep you engaged for 90 mins.

Solid work.

So we have Johnnie To producing, Anthony Wong starring, and the director is one of To's right-hand guys. It's also about a guy taking vengeance on those that killed his daughter. You can excuse me that I thought this was an action flick. Turns out it was more of a crime/thriller, and sadly not a good one. Not sure how all of those generally solid moving parts turned in a mundane and at times melodramatic film, but that's what I ended up getting. It wasn't a complete flop, but it's a premise that's been done a million times before, and MUCH better.

Absolutely shallow and pointless and boring action movie.

Great revenge flick that could have had better action scenes with more tension. Anthony Wong is awesome as usual.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

PUNISHED (2011) - Uncommonly studious look at the emotional toll an act of vengeance takes upon it's author. Anthony Wong's slow and furious burn acts as both anchor and object in a story where grief is merely the starting point of a deep soul sickness.

Currently on stream on Netflix, Punished follows a wealthy business man set on revenge after he finds out his daughter has been murdered, by having his bodyguard find the persons responsible at whatever cost. The story itself is simple with minimal characters involved and no real big surprises but is nicely held together by Wong's performance as his character slowly falls apart, desperately trying to deal with what has happened and his own feelings of guilt.