Punisher Review

In a wave of comic book adaptations there are so few that stay true to the heart of the character. Writer and first time director Jonathan Hensleigh pieces together a nasty little revenge movie, punctuated with over the top action sequences that keep the film outside of the real world.

Frank Castle (Tom Jane, Deep Blue Sea, 61*) is an undercover FBI agent working in Tampa, Florida. On his final mission before taking a desk job in London, Castle is involved with an arms deal that quickly goes bad. The main suspect is killed, and when his rich, criminal kingpin parents Howard and Livia Saint, played by John Travolta and Laura Harring find out that Castle was behind their child’s death, they order hitmen to wipe out Castle’s entire family in one spectacular movement of vengeance. Miraculously surviving the assault, Castle goes into hiding a starts his planning of punishment against the Saints.

Tom Jane’s portrayal of Frank Castle is spot on. He carries the emotion of a man who has lost everything and will do anything to deliver punishment. John Travolta (Be Cool) is in his typical bad guy role as Howard Saint. Ben Foster and John Pinette bring the much needed comedy to this very dark and brutal movie as Castle’s neighbors Dave and Bumpo respectively. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men) is somewhat miscast as Joan the mouse, but she does a good job with the limited role. Will Patton (Armageddon) is fantastic as Saint’s right hand man Quentin Glass. He definitely gives off the creepy vibe.

I can’t say enough about this movie. When it premiered on April 16, 2004, I was at my local theater for the very first showing of the day. I went and seen it again later in the weekend. Since it’s been on DVD, I have seen it 11 times. This is my Lord of the Rings. I have been a fan of the Punisher for almost 20 years and ever since then I have been waiting for a movie to do the character justice. Hensleigh, Jane and Travolta delivered it to me on a silver platter. Finally, we have an action movie where it isn’t wall to wall cgi and rock music. The stuntmen had to earn their pay checks on this production.

I highly recommend The Punisher if you are looking for two hours of solid action, decent story telling and brutal violence.

The Punisher starring Tom Jane, John Travolta