Leofwine_draca While the 1989 adaptation of the Marvel comic was a cheesy, action-packed, B-movie starring Dolph Lundgren, the 2004 is a big-bucks Hollywood blockbuster which stands as a great example of its kind. Instead of being clichéd and tired, THE PUNISHER kicks backside from beginning to end, charting an unlikely path between human drama, comedy and balls-to-the-wall action, and succeeding admirably. The first half-hour of the movie – which sets up the events which are to follow – is absolutely tragic, and had me reaching for the hankies on occasion; afterwards, the film turns into a dark vigilante thriller, very violent in places yet touching and funny in others. A witty script and excellent theme tune really help to add to the proceedings.Thomas Jane (who has never had his chance at the limelight before, after appearing as one-dimensional characters like the hero in DEEP BLUE SEA), is outstanding in the role, not only massively muscular, but a quality actor too. Bad guy duties go to the tag-team of Will Patton (who looks like Ron Perlman in BLADE II) as a sadist and John Travolta, overacting to the hilt and remaining utterly enjoyable, as only he can, as the family man/crime boss. Director Jonathan Hensleigh also elicits some very good roles to the supporting likes of the three actresses, Laura Harring, Rebecca Romijn, Samantha Mathis, and also Roy Scheider, who really has been away from our scenes too long. Finally, there's Ben Foster, who seems to be carving a path for himself with slightly psychotic characters, in this and HOSTAGE.Of course, this is an action flick at heart, and there are some great scenes. The climatic shoot-out, complete with bombs disguised as champagne bottles and a wicked bow and arrow, is top-notch stuff, and you've gotta love the car-dragging sequence which follows – how perfectly cinematic can you get? Meanwhile, the over-the-top (but yet so cool) battle between Jane and a hired Russian assassin is one of the most brutal and exciting I've witnessed. Also watch out for one of the most painful sequences put on film, which shows you don't need gore for effect – all I'll say is that it'll put you off piercings for life! All in all, THE PUNISHER is a dark and brooding action flick, expertly directed and with real style. Bring on the sequel.

michaelhirakida I went on Netflix and saw they had The Punisher on there so I thought, why not? I'm up for some action. To call this movie Dark is an overstatement. This is one of the goofiest, ridiculous, dark movies I have ever seen. Where to even begin with this? Well, the first 30 minutes acts pretty serious and seem promising. It looks like it's gonna be a movie that is a tale of revenge with an Ennio Morricone like score. But when Frank Castle moves into an apartment that three weird and quirky people live in, my god. It gets so far from dark. Here are the reasons why the movie is not dark. The sound effects half the time made me think I was playing Half Life 2. Every single sound effect is horribly stock and childish which makes 88% of action scenes stupid. Some scenes are also stupid. For example, the three quirky people dance and sing to Rigoletto as Frank gets beat up by a guy who is a combination of Hulk Hogan and Waldo. To top things off, he throws a grenade at him, hits it back like a baseball bat and explodes the bathroom while no one notices what is going on.The film looked grainy and feels like it was made in the 90's. I don't know what the cinematographer was doing using a camera that had ultra grain on it, but seriously, it made the movie look even worse.Also, the violence isn't very brutal as I was expecting it to be. Sure it's bloody, but nothing brutal or disturbing. Most of the fights end way to fast with the exception of the Hulk Hogan/Waldo guy, especially the final shootout. Some of the action is even over the top. John Travolta is not a threatening villain. He literally does nothing until the very end. He lets his inept goons do all the work while he either smokes a Cuban or Sits in a leather chair. So did I like anything about this movie? Because I complained a lot about it being too goofy or not dark.Well I Enjoyed it.The whole movie had me laughing at some of the ridiculous acting and dialog, the ending where Howard Saint is blinded by Frank and Mickey to murder his best friend and wife who he thinks she is cheating on him is absolutely brilliant, I enjoyed the three quirky characters, especially the fat guy and the whole movie feels like a modern day western in some respects. If you want a dark movie, you're not gonna find it here. If you want an over the top action movie with some humor, you'll may find this enjoyable. The Punisher manages to tape itself from falling apart.75/100 B-

gavin6942 An undercover FBI agent becomes a vigilante assassin and sets out to unleash his wrath upon the corrupt businessman who slaughtered his entire family at a reunion.The Punisher has had a rough ride in Hollywood. So far as I know, the first Punisher film was in the 1980s and is all but forgotten. Then this one came along, and is probably the best known and most successful. But apparently not successful enough to have the star (Thomas Jane) appear in the sequel, which brought in Ray Stevenson. And what is the deal with John Travolta as the bad guy? Was he still riding the wave from "Pulp Fiction", or maybe this was a small hump after "Swordfish"? Anyway, what they did here was a strange departure. You have the very core of the character -- a man avenging his family -- but that is about it. The FBI agent angle is a bit lame. Sure, you can't have him be a Vietnam vet anymore, but why not Desert Storm? It will be interesting to see how well the Punisher blends in to the "Daredevil" TV series. I feel like that will be the best incarnation yet, and who knows... maybe we will someday get the film we deserve. Though it is not likely, since we're still recovering from an endless stream of "Fantastic Four" and "Ghost Rider".

jonathan-42280 Odd Ball "Hero", The Punisher (2004 film) Although the character The Punisher has a lot to do with revenge and justice, the message behind this particular film is that it's possible to overcome the painful memories from a tragedy and continue with life by making new, good memories. This is not the normal message behind most films with superheroes/heroes, but this also isn't a normal superhero/hero movie.When compared to a stereotypical superhero/hero movie, this one hardly fits in. The perfect way to describe the differences between this film and the average superhero film is by the first ten seconds of The Punisher (2004). In the introduction of the film it shows the standard red and yellow Marvel sign in the center of the screen. Within a few seconds the colors fade until the whole thing is gray and black, then bullets rip through the letters. This is a perfect way to visually see the mood of the film. It starts off with something that could be compared to an average superhero film and then immediately turns dark and gruesome. It is certainly aimed towards a more mature audience and isn't exactly kid friendly.Don't get me wrong, there is still a slight superhero feel. There are still a few characters in there just to serve as comic relief, there is still that main character who completely changes from some event and turns into something unique, and there is still the main character with his own signature weapons and uniform. However, instead of wearing bright red white and blue on his uniform like Captain America, The Punisher wears all black and a white skull on his shirt. Sometimes he wears a long coat as well. His uniform slightly resembles the grim reaper. Not to mention the name The Punisher. Also, the event that changes him wasn't some lab experiment, it was watching his entire extended family get slaughtered in front of him. The Punisher doesn't get some super powers from this event, the only thing he turns into is an alcoholic. It's almost like a deranged play at a superhero movie, but it's a nice change from the standard Marvel film.The music in the film was an interesting choice. It was always dramatic and a little suspenseful. A fair amount of the music played was from an orchestra and can be compared to that of an old horror film. The introduction, specifically, has an orchestra playing a particularly dark and mysterious piece and then the music is cut off by the sound of a boat horn. Interruptions like this take place constantly throughout the film. This immediately sets the mood of the film and foreshadows how disruptive the future events will be.The scenery in the film is always a little dark and sketchy. Take his new home for example, it has absolutely no color, it looks old and beat up, and it looks like it's been a crime scene about a dozen times. Perhaps this reflects how empty his life was after the tragedy. At the end of the film, he moves out, so maybe this shows that his life isn't quite as empty now that has overcome some of the horrible memories. In addition to the house, the film as a whole is practically black and white with the exception of the brightly colored cars and dresses. What's odd is that the bright colored objects are usually associated with the criminals rather than the good guys.The fighting that takes place is way more gruesome than the average superhero film. There are scenes where a guy has every one of his facial piercing pulled off with pliers, a man gets a knife through his throat and is visible in his mouth, another guy gets his head split by some sort of paper cutting blade, and another guy gets an arrow through his throat. In all of these scenes there is large amounts of blood and added effects to make the gore seem more realistic. This is very different from the usual comic book style fighting that seems to never cause a drop of blood.The Punisher's signature weapons, although he uses a large number throughout the film, are the two customized 1911's his father owned. The 1911 is arguably one of the most recognizable and patriotic handguns, so it is no surprise that it would have a role in the film as his means of getting justice. However, it surprising that they would have an ex-navy seal use what is in some ways an outdated weapon. However, his father added a compensator to the end of each handgun. This reduces the recoil a little but also makes the gun much louder. Maybe it's because The Punisher wants to make as much noise as possible. This makes sense when comparing it to the fighting style where at one point he stands out in the open with his bullet proof vest and essentially absorbs the shots rather than trying to sneak around and pick people off. The guns have a relatively traditional style in terms of finish and grips, but then after the customizations they look similar to modern competition handguns. They resemble a modern twist to something traditional. I think this reflects well with The Punisher because he is also sort of a traditional hero with a modern twist. The message of this film is helped displayed by the mentioned scenery, music, fighting, and guns as well as Frank Castle's development through the story. His development is significant because he eventually decides not to give up and that he can still do something with his life. Of course his version of doing something with his life is becoming a vigilante and essentially hunting down those who have done wrong. The lesson to move on is an important lesson to learn for anyone who is trying to get past difficult memories or just move on from small things that might bother them.