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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The impressively muscular chest of Tom Jane is the focal point of The Punisher, a movie based on a Marvel Comics superhero. Frank Castle (Jane, Deep Blue Sea) retires from the FBI, which means--as any moviegoer expects--that his family is toast. Howard Saint (John Travolta, Face/Off), a shady Florida businessman whose son was killed in Castle's last mission, orders a hit not only on Castle's wife and child, but also on his parents and a whole bunch of aunts, uncles, cousins, and so forth. The killers shoot Castle himself in the chest, but he inexplicably survives and--as any moviegoer expects--sets out to even the score. Implausibly, given his sometimes curious and roundabout methods, he succeeds. Also featuring Will Patton (Armageddon) as an oily thug, Laura Harring (Mulholland Drive) as Saint's fleshpot wife, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men) as a waitress with bad taste in men. --Bret Fetzer
From The New Yorker
Another movie based on a Marvel comic and arguably the worst-although you could make a case for "Daredevil." A buffed-up Tom Jane stars as an F.B.I. agent who's out to avenge his murdered family. The ruthless businessman behind the killings is played by John Travolta, who sneers his way through another bad role that neglects his sexy good humor. The film's countless shootings amount to a series of thrill kills, and the director, Jonathan Hensleigh, handles the violence with a finesse worthy of "Death Wish." Depressing. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 77 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
And someone somewhere calls "The Punisher" a box-office failure, because it does not hit the number 1 spot, both Daredaevil and Hulk were #1 in the Box Office. I paraphrase Thomas Jane when I say that the film industry is in a sorry state if this is how we gauge a successful film...
I have been a Punisher fan since 1986 (thanks to my best friend Morris Koplow. Morris, if you read this, Thank you. I can never repay you for the enjoyment this Comic has brought me.).
After lagging book sales in Marvel's Punisher, Punisher: War Journal and Punisher: War Zone, executives at the comic powerhouse decide to follow a sad trend at the time and "redefine" the Punisher Character. Simply put, Marvel wrote Frank Castle into a depression and left him with no alternative but to end his own life, something DC did with it's own vigilante, creatively titled "Vigilante". The results was a rippling sense of betrayal for the fans, who felt that Castle was never written to be so weak as to suicide.
A few years later, Marvel breathed life into the Punisher through one of the classicly odd returns. Castle was resurrected by angels. This, too, did not fly (imagine a tank with little butterfly wings). Then Garth Ennis took over.
Ennis's work with the Punisher has brought back the grit and out and out nastiness that Frank Castle has always had. It was this work that the movie has been based on.
Yes, there has been "creative liberties" taken with "The Punisher", but they have been, for the most part, all for the better.
In the Comic, Castle loses his wife and two children to a mafia hit crew. While a justifiable reason to enter a world of vengence and punishment in comic books, film-goers wouldn't justify Castle waging a never-ending one man war on crime for that easily. Thus, wiping out his entire family was the key.
The Crime family (Make no mistake, Travolta and company were 100% unadulturated criminals, all businesses were fronts/laundering for their activities) in question certianly never appeared in any issue of the Punisher comic, but when the hero's "Rogue Gallery" is largely the cast of the Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Resevior Dogs, etc, etc..., then a specific villian is not necessary, especially since most Punisher fans cannot name the Mafia Family that called the hit on Castle's family in the original comic. No, I don't remember who it was, either... The inclusion of "The Russian" was certainly a treat for any one who has read Ennis's "Welcome Back, Frank" and I hope that they can find a believable way to bring him back for the sequel (maybe get Nash some lessons in Russian and accents so we can get some of "The Russian's" fantastic dialogue).
Castle's Neighbors were taken DIRECTLY out of the Comic. Bumpo and Spacker Dave were near perfect castings and the only real difference with Joan in the film vs. the comic was that Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is more attractive, less mousey and attempted to be Castle's love interest. Like the comic, they proved that Castle was not completely devoid of humanity, nor unredeemable.
The Hero: Tortured, depressed and he enjoy's his Whiskey... Sounds about right for a man who just witnessed his entire family slaughtered and his wife and son run down by a pick-up truck loaded with "Goomba's". Thomas Jane's portrayal of Frank Castle is everything you expect it to be, if Castle was a real person driven to extremes. Jane captures to essentials of the character, and like Christopher Reeves, Ron Pearlman, Brandon Lee, Tobey Maguire and Hugh Jackman in their respective comic book films, molds the details to himself, making himself a living breathing Frank Castle. Jane is superb. He does what many thought was impossible, that being making himself into a live-action comic book character, without benefit of additional makeup or masks, and makes us believe that Frank Castle roamed the earth.
The Villian: Travolta is always a wonderful villian. Normal he "chews scenery" left and right and the audience is right with him. Not in "The Punisher". Travolta was still excellent and quite a urbane and sophistcated villian, but he was not the madman that most people expect from Travolta (IE: Face/Off and Broken Arrow). Will Patton was the "Mad Dog Villian" in "The Punisher" and while I would have preferred his end go differently, it was still satisfying to watch and his performance was certainly fun.
The action, overall, fed the story, as it should have. I personally would have liked to have seen a little more action from Castle, but I certainly wasn't disappointed in what I received. Many fans of the comics have commented that the violence in the film did not match that of the comic (the comic being more graphic). According to Thomas Jane, the plans for the second Punisher film will take the violence up a notch, almost as if (to my mind), that Frank Castle's morality was slipping away from him during the first film and the second will show the grotesque that Castle has become with the death of his family.
Overall, "The Punisher" 2004 film is as accurate and true to Punisher canon laid down by Marvel and Garth Ennis as Sam Rami's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 films have been to the "Webbed Wall-Crawler's" own canon setup by Stan "The Man" Lee and Steve Ditko. I cannot recommend this film enough, especially to fans of Comics, High-Action films and "The Punisher" himself. It truly is under appreciated and one of the best and most accurate comic films ever.
I have been a Punisher fan since 1986 (thanks to my best friend Morris Koplow. Morris, if you read this, Thank you. I can never repay you for the enjoyment this Comic has brought me.).
After lagging book sales in Marvel's Punisher, Punisher: War Journal and Punisher: War Zone, executives at the comic powerhouse decide to follow a sad trend at the time and "redefine" the Punisher Character. Simply put, Marvel wrote Frank Castle into a depression and left him with no alternative but to end his own life, something DC did with it's own vigilante, creatively titled "Vigilante". The results was a rippling sense of betrayal for the fans, who felt that Castle was never written to be so weak as to suicide.
A few years later, Marvel breathed life into the Punisher through one of the classicly odd returns. Castle was resurrected by angels. This, too, did not fly (imagine a tank with little butterfly wings). Then Garth Ennis took over.
Ennis's work with the Punisher has brought back the grit and out and out nastiness that Frank Castle has always had. It was this work that the movie has been based on.
Yes, there has been "creative liberties" taken with "The Punisher", but they have been, for the most part, all for the better.
In the Comic, Castle loses his wife and two children to a mafia hit crew. While a justifiable reason to enter a world of vengence and punishment in comic books, film-goers wouldn't justify Castle waging a never-ending one man war on crime for that easily. Thus, wiping out his entire family was the key.
The Crime family (Make no mistake, Travolta and company were 100% unadulturated criminals, all businesses were fronts/laundering for their activities) in question certianly never appeared in any issue of the Punisher comic, but when the hero's "Rogue Gallery" is largely the cast of the Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Resevior Dogs, etc, etc..., then a specific villian is not necessary, especially since most Punisher fans cannot name the Mafia Family that called the hit on Castle's family in the original comic. No, I don't remember who it was, either... The inclusion of "The Russian" was certainly a treat for any one who has read Ennis's "Welcome Back, Frank" and I hope that they can find a believable way to bring him back for the sequel (maybe get Nash some lessons in Russian and accents so we can get some of "The Russian's" fantastic dialogue).
Castle's Neighbors were taken DIRECTLY out of the Comic. Bumpo and Spacker Dave were near perfect castings and the only real difference with Joan in the film vs. the comic was that Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is more attractive, less mousey and attempted to be Castle's love interest. Like the comic, they proved that Castle was not completely devoid of humanity, nor unredeemable.
The Hero: Tortured, depressed and he enjoy's his Whiskey... Sounds about right for a man who just witnessed his entire family slaughtered and his wife and son run down by a pick-up truck loaded with "Goomba's". Thomas Jane's portrayal of Frank Castle is everything you expect it to be, if Castle was a real person driven to extremes. Jane captures to essentials of the character, and like Christopher Reeves, Ron Pearlman, Brandon Lee, Tobey Maguire and Hugh Jackman in their respective comic book films, molds the details to himself, making himself a living breathing Frank Castle. Jane is superb. He does what many thought was impossible, that being making himself into a live-action comic book character, without benefit of additional makeup or masks, and makes us believe that Frank Castle roamed the earth.
The Villian: Travolta is always a wonderful villian. Normal he "chews scenery" left and right and the audience is right with him. Not in "The Punisher". Travolta was still excellent and quite a urbane and sophistcated villian, but he was not the madman that most people expect from Travolta (IE: Face/Off and Broken Arrow). Will Patton was the "Mad Dog Villian" in "The Punisher" and while I would have preferred his end go differently, it was still satisfying to watch and his performance was certainly fun.
The action, overall, fed the story, as it should have. I personally would have liked to have seen a little more action from Castle, but I certainly wasn't disappointed in what I received. Many fans of the comics have commented that the violence in the film did not match that of the comic (the comic being more graphic). According to Thomas Jane, the plans for the second Punisher film will take the violence up a notch, almost as if (to my mind), that Frank Castle's morality was slipping away from him during the first film and the second will show the grotesque that Castle has become with the death of his family.
Overall, "The Punisher" 2004 film is as accurate and true to Punisher canon laid down by Marvel and Garth Ennis as Sam Rami's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 films have been to the "Webbed Wall-Crawler's" own canon setup by Stan "The Man" Lee and Steve Ditko. I cannot recommend this film enough, especially to fans of Comics, High-Action films and "The Punisher" himself. It truly is under appreciated and one of the best and most accurate comic films ever.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
I also have this movie both standard and now the blu-ray version I'm sure most people know about the storyline of this movie if not read the Amazon info about it an that is the jist of what the movie is about. I just want to say to people that if you already have the standard dvd version thats all you're going to need. The video and sound quality are not much better than what you got with the standard dvd since this is one of the earlier blu-rays to come out and they haven't fully mastered the video and audio yet you won't see any clearer or sharper details or better sound quality with this blu-ray version. So again if you have the standard dvd Punisher just keep that one and wait until they come out with a remastered blu-ray version or just pass this one up..
62 of 75 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
In the world of super-heroes and evil villains, the Punisher rests squarely in that gray area between the two. He does exhibit a sense of justice akin to that of a hero, but he bears no remorse with regards to killing, as his wraith is only suffered by those who truly deserve, those who the law cannot, or will not touch. Revenge, justice, and retribution are his motivations, and he is judge, jury, and executioner. The Punisher (2004), directed and co-written by Jonathan Hensleigh, who also wrote Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) and Jumanji (1995), stars Thomas Jane, who bears a remarkable resemblance to actor Christopher (Highlander) Lambert, and who I've seen before, but couldn't place until I remembered him from the film Deep Blue Sea (1999), and John Travolta. Also appearing are Laura Herring, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos (does she still carry the Stamos since their divorce?) and Roy Scheider.
The film, based on a Marvel comic book of the same name, tells the story of FBI agent Frank Castle (Jane), an FBI agent, who, during a sting operation that results in the death of a suspect, finds himself at odds with a powerful crime family, lead by Howard Saint (Travolta), as, it turns out, the dead suspect was his son. In retaliation for his son's death, Saint orders a hit on Castle and his entire family, but Castle manages to survive, and, seeing that nothing has been done to apprehend those responsible for the deaths of his family, he decides to take the law into his own hands (something Doug Llewelyn from The People's Court always advised against) and bring his own form of justice to those who sought revenge against him. Do two wrongs make a right? No, but they sure make for a fun movie...
This actually wasn't the first screen adaptation of this comic character. There was a film, of the same name, released way back in 1989, which starred Dolph Lundgren, which was panned by both critics and fans. It wasn't that great, but I did enjoy it somewhat, and didn't think it was as bad as everyone thought. This latest incarnation is certainly better, benefiting from a larger budget, better writing, and a bit more star power, but still has minor flaws. I'd read many a comic book back in my youth, and The Punisher was one of them. At that time, he probably had three of four different titles, being a very popular character, and Marvel Comics had a real penchant for milking any bit of popularity for all they could, often exhausting the potential way too soon in their search for the almighty dollar. I haven't read comics in a long time, and given the nature of comic characters and their constant evolution, I was unsure how the story would be played out. I was unfamiliar with Thomas Jane, but I thought he did a wonderful job, really embodying the essence of the character I knew well way back when. The look, the feel, the attitudes, marked a vast improvement over the last film incarnation of the character. I was a bit apprehensive about John Travolta being cast as the lead bad guy, as of late, when playing similar antagonistic roles, he often ventured into the realm of hamminess, but his performance was really grounded here and lacked the over the top element inherent in some of his past roles, thankfully. The action elements in the film were done very well, bordering between the realistic and unbelievable nicely, and I really enjoyed the use of all different kinds of weaponry from hand guns, machine guns, anti-personnel mines, knives, to the bow and arrow. Jane's character showed adeptness and a proficiency one would expect. Some elements and scenes seemed a bit off...the plot point where Castle basically lets everyone know he didn't die in the massacre seemed illogical, as I would think the advantage of your enemies thinking you were dead would far outweigh whatever could be gained by them knowing you're alive, especially if you were planning to go after them. Also, the complete lack of any police involvement, even after Castle began his war on Howard Saint and his organization seemed unrealistic. And I would have expected Castle to find a secluded place to hole up, one where he could come and go as he pleased, and not a run-down apartment building with a few neighbors, including the character played by Romjin-Stamos. The purpose was to sort of create a surrogate family for Castle, but it just seemed strange that he would choose the location he did from which to wage his war. Finally, I have to mention the scene with the Russian assassin played by pro-wrestler Kevin Nash. I thought the fight scene was very exciting and fun to watch, but why did the Russian show up in a red and white striped shirt, looking like a huge, lumpy candy cane? It really disrupted the dark and gritty feel built up in the movie, as he reminded me of a lacky henchman from the 60's Batman television series. All in all, I thought most of the movie worked well, with a few plot areas that didn't, but the positive points out-weighed the negatives, in my opinion, and I enjoyed the movie as a whole, right up until it's satisfying conclusion.
The widescreen print here looks beautiful, and there's a good helping of useful and informative special features including featurettes on the stunts within the film, origins of the The Punisher character from his first appearance in a Spider-Man comic back in the 70's, a behind the scenes look at the making of the film, an interview influential cover artist for The Punisher comic book, a music video for a song within the film by the group Drowning Pool, a trailer for The Punisher video game (but not a trailer for the film itself?!), a commentary track by the director, two deleted scenes and a mini-comic.
Cookieman108
The film, based on a Marvel comic book of the same name, tells the story of FBI agent Frank Castle (Jane), an FBI agent, who, during a sting operation that results in the death of a suspect, finds himself at odds with a powerful crime family, lead by Howard Saint (Travolta), as, it turns out, the dead suspect was his son. In retaliation for his son's death, Saint orders a hit on Castle and his entire family, but Castle manages to survive, and, seeing that nothing has been done to apprehend those responsible for the deaths of his family, he decides to take the law into his own hands (something Doug Llewelyn from The People's Court always advised against) and bring his own form of justice to those who sought revenge against him. Do two wrongs make a right? No, but they sure make for a fun movie...
This actually wasn't the first screen adaptation of this comic character. There was a film, of the same name, released way back in 1989, which starred Dolph Lundgren, which was panned by both critics and fans. It wasn't that great, but I did enjoy it somewhat, and didn't think it was as bad as everyone thought. This latest incarnation is certainly better, benefiting from a larger budget, better writing, and a bit more star power, but still has minor flaws. I'd read many a comic book back in my youth, and The Punisher was one of them. At that time, he probably had three of four different titles, being a very popular character, and Marvel Comics had a real penchant for milking any bit of popularity for all they could, often exhausting the potential way too soon in their search for the almighty dollar. I haven't read comics in a long time, and given the nature of comic characters and their constant evolution, I was unsure how the story would be played out. I was unfamiliar with Thomas Jane, but I thought he did a wonderful job, really embodying the essence of the character I knew well way back when. The look, the feel, the attitudes, marked a vast improvement over the last film incarnation of the character. I was a bit apprehensive about John Travolta being cast as the lead bad guy, as of late, when playing similar antagonistic roles, he often ventured into the realm of hamminess, but his performance was really grounded here and lacked the over the top element inherent in some of his past roles, thankfully. The action elements in the film were done very well, bordering between the realistic and unbelievable nicely, and I really enjoyed the use of all different kinds of weaponry from hand guns, machine guns, anti-personnel mines, knives, to the bow and arrow. Jane's character showed adeptness and a proficiency one would expect. Some elements and scenes seemed a bit off...the plot point where Castle basically lets everyone know he didn't die in the massacre seemed illogical, as I would think the advantage of your enemies thinking you were dead would far outweigh whatever could be gained by them knowing you're alive, especially if you were planning to go after them. Also, the complete lack of any police involvement, even after Castle began his war on Howard Saint and his organization seemed unrealistic. And I would have expected Castle to find a secluded place to hole up, one where he could come and go as he pleased, and not a run-down apartment building with a few neighbors, including the character played by Romjin-Stamos. The purpose was to sort of create a surrogate family for Castle, but it just seemed strange that he would choose the location he did from which to wage his war. Finally, I have to mention the scene with the Russian assassin played by pro-wrestler Kevin Nash. I thought the fight scene was very exciting and fun to watch, but why did the Russian show up in a red and white striped shirt, looking like a huge, lumpy candy cane? It really disrupted the dark and gritty feel built up in the movie, as he reminded me of a lacky henchman from the 60's Batman television series. All in all, I thought most of the movie worked well, with a few plot areas that didn't, but the positive points out-weighed the negatives, in my opinion, and I enjoyed the movie as a whole, right up until it's satisfying conclusion.
The widescreen print here looks beautiful, and there's a good helping of useful and informative special features including featurettes on the stunts within the film, origins of the The Punisher character from his first appearance in a Spider-Man comic back in the 70's, a behind the scenes look at the making of the film, an interview influential cover artist for The Punisher comic book, a music video for a song within the film by the group Drowning Pool, a trailer for The Punisher video game (but not a trailer for the film itself?!), a commentary track by the director, two deleted scenes and a mini-comic.
Cookieman108
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Awesomeness!!
It's all good! It's all good!It's all good!It's all good!It's all good! It's all good!
.
HEY its all GOOD!!
.
HEY its all GOOD!!
Published 3 months ago by The Great Smooch o Reno!
Where's the 140 minute version of the Bluray?
I have the extended cut of The Punisher and I want to upgrade to the Bluray but not this one so until the extended cut is released I will not upgrade!
Published 3 months ago by Justin A. Stewart
Pretty decent action film
I found The Punisher to be a fairly entertaining action movie. If I can recall correctly John Travolta is only in it at the end of it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Peter J. Miller
Evil Never Wins
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) becomes the Punisher to revenge the death of his family. Read more
Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) becomes the Punisher to revenge the death of his family. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Cornelius G. Kelly
More Like a Time Out
The Punisher comes very close to being camp with silly humor following ridiculous violence. There are moments of actual tension but they are rare and overwhelmed by unconvincing... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Where is my package anyway?
The Punisher, Extended Cut.
Great Movie !!!
The Extended Cut is a much better version. Fills in some blanks.
But the movie locks up a few time while viewing, don't know if it's just this copy or... Read more
The Extended Cut is a much better version. Fills in some blanks.
But the movie locks up a few time while viewing, don't know if it's just this copy or... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Goat
Video Not Great, Good Audio
Please describe the audio/video quality of any Blu-Ray you review.
The video quality was not the greatest, not the worst. Read more
The video quality was not the greatest, not the worst. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Cincinnati Dan
Great Buy
I love the movie and the service was great. The best seller I came across so far. 5 star service will buy again.
Published 13 months ago by Buyfly
DVD recieved is not DVD shown
After placing an order for this DVD in middle of Novermber, i finally recieved it in the start of Feb with an amazed expression after finding this is not what i ordered at all. Read more
Published 14 months ago by markr
Quick Service recieved in 3 days!!
I recieved my order very quick, 3 days from placing it, , I'm very impressed with the speed at which I got my product. Good Job Amazon!!!
Published 15 months ago by Kentucky
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