Just saw The Punisher Movie -- NO SPOILERS

[UnboxingTreasures]

Well, just got out of a special showing of The Punisher, and I was very happy.

 

I didn't think Thomas Jane would make a good Frank Castle, but I was wrong. Anyone who is a fan of the Punisher will be satisfied with this movie, because it is remains true to the comic.

 

If you like the comic, you'll love the movie, period.

[supapimp]

PUNNY REVIEWS, DD's reviews were slightly better.

[UnboxingTreasures]

The reviews are from people with basically ZERO knowledge of the character... so it doesn't surprise me that the critics bashed it.

 

I just don't understand how the reviews can be so negative... it was genuinely a good movie.

[joe_collector]

The reviews are from people with basically ZERO knowledge of the character... so it doesn't surprise me that the critics bashed it.

 

 

I guess you'd like to see a "Reviewed by Fanboy" seal on each critique of the movie?

[supapimp]

so are you going to judge the movie before actually viewing it?

[UnboxingTreasures]

so are you going to judge the movie before actually viewing it?

 

Who are you referring too? I stated I saw the special showing already...

[valiantman]

I just don't understand how the reviews can be so negative... it was genuinely a good movie.

There should be a "reviewer / filmgoer" matchmaker engine that lets you give your ratings

of a bunch of past movies and tells you which official critic is most like you.

That would be sweet and probably would have saved me from

seeing crapola like "Lost in Translation" (...at least it was a rental).

[supapimp]

so are you going to judge the movie before actually viewing it?

 

Who are you referring too? I stated I saw the special showing already...

 

Re: Just saw The Punisher Movie -- NO SPOILERS [Re: joe_collector]

#454261 - 04/16/04 12:06 AM Edit Reply Quote

 

 

 

so are you going to judge the movie before actually viewing it?

 

where the bold highlight is, is who you're responding to.

[FFB]

Mild spoilers below.

 

It was better than the Hulk and wayyyyy better than Daredevil. Not as good as Spider-Man or X-Men/X2, but I wasn't expecting it to be.

 

The theater was 3/4 full, which given the hour and the fact that KB2 was playing across the hall, is a pretty good sign.

 

The movie was very well done, considering the budget. It is what I would call "creatively violent," which is to say that there is a LOT of violence and a lot of it was shocking and surprising. Lots of people died in unexpected ways. Not just a straight shoot-em-up. This movie is not for the faint of heart, however, and kids below the age of 13 should probably not see it.

 

There were a couple of lame parts that could have been cut out (the guitar playing cowboy killer and the scene where Livia thanks Howard for killing Frank's family), but on whole, the story held together. I like to rate movies simply by saying whether or not I was entertained. I definitely was and I'll see this one again in the theater.

 

Tom Jane was GREAT as the Punisher. Top notch choice. John Travolta was awesome. I can't say enough about what a great villain he was. I don't want to give any of the movie away, so I am being vague.

 

On the way out of the theater, some liked it, some thought it was ok, and a few said it was lame. Overall, I think people liked it though. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a solid 7.

 

Well, just got out of a special showing of The Punisher, and I was very happy.

 

I didn't think Thomas Jane would make a good Frank Castle, but I was wrong. Anyone who is a fan of the Punisher will be satisfied with this movie, because it is remains true to the comic.

 

If you like the comic, you'll love the movie, period.

[FFB]

Punisher was so vastly superior to Daredevil that it is not even funny. I HATED Daredevil. Punisher was entertaining. Brutally violent, but entertaining. If you liked the Ennis Punisher storylines, you'll like the movie.

 

PUNNY REVIEWS, DD's reviews were slightly better.

[FFB]

Check this out. Yahoo Users are rating the movie much higher than the critics are.

 

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808472690

 

The reviews are from people with basically ZERO knowledge of the character... so it doesn't surprise me that the critics bashed it.

 

I just don't understand how the reviews can be so negative... it was genuinely a good movie.

[dolphinsrwj]

i cant wait to see the movie and really wanted to take my son who is 6 and loves almost all the marvel guys but probably will not take him because of all the violence.he is going to be pissed . i was kind of surprised they did not rate it pg 13 for the kids

[TwoFace-migration]

I have to say it was great, much much better than I thought. I was one of the insufficiently_thoughtful_persons along time ago who had some peanut gallery like comments based on a silly pic that I saw -- but the casting for this movie was superb....another key for me was seeing the movie with a very active participating crowd....there were truly a large chunk of comic fans in there....when the movie started and the punisher emblem flashed on the screen, the place went nuts, people stood up cheering and screaming....from now on i plan on seeing more movies in this "sneak" preview format -- much better crowd........

 

unlike the Hulk, this movie gets right to it on the plot-- we see who Castle is, etc. -- I do not want to be a spoiler, but probably one of the best action scenes I have seen in years in any movie, is when Travolta sends the Russian knocking on the Punisher's door -- this guy was larger than life......

 

also the way in which Castle "punishes" his victims gets very creative, especially in the end...it was so violent and unique, that people in the crowd were cheering, grimacing, and laughing at the same time...it was an awesome experience....

 

i definitely give it

[Aman619]

I saw it this morning too, and I enjoyed it. A lot of funny scenes. Also a few too many cliche scenes, but..... The Russion was hilarious!

 

okay, heres something thats bugging me tho: in this version, Frank Castle is a top undercover cop. A real straight arrow. And then he loses his family and goes on a revenge streak. Just like in the comic until they retconned his origin, this just doesnt settle right without a sense that he always had the "devil" in him all along. A clean cut cop just doesnt snap into a "Punisher" overnight.

[joe_collector]

Just like in the comic until they retconned his origin, this just doesnt settle right without a sense that he always had the "devil" in him all along. A clean cut cop just doesnt snap into a "Punisher" overnight.

 

While I'm usually not one to stand up for comic origins as "realistic", the truth is, you don't know what you're capable of until the scenario arises.

 

Losing your entire family could snap the hardiest soul, just as the meekest solider could become a killing machine under life-and-death situations.

[blutobc]

Losing your entire family could snap the hardiest soul, just as the meekest solider could become a killing machine under life-and-death situations.

 

Are you referring to the Audie Murphy Syndrome

[Kevin Boyd]

I saw it last night as well, and found it to be fairly enjoyable.

 

Aside from a couple of awkward moments, and a silly final shot, I thought that it was better than adequate, and I was expecting it to be pretty bad based on Harry Knowles' scathing review over at Ain't It Cool News. That may be why I liked it.

 

Audience was pretty positive, and the person who came with me liked it immensely, not having any idea who the character was.

 

Now it was a little odd to see the Punisher actually living up to his name... usually he's just killing people. I was kind of amused at the lengths he goes to just to get that final payoff before he kills them. Some of his plans are....well... awkward, and more than a little convenient.

 

Overall it was a strange combination of the original origin relocated to Tampa and Puerto Rico, combined with a very healthy dose of the "Welcome Back Frank" subplots by Garth Ennis (basically everything in the building with Bumpo, Dave, Joan and the fight with Russian are grafted onto the origin story).

 

Kev

[PovertyRow]

I just don't understand how the reviews can be so negative... it was genuinely a good movie.

 

I used to write movie reviews (print as opposed to internet) and the review really has to be taken from the individual's perspective only. Many films have been panned by the critcs and had lines around the block. Many films have been praised by the critis and had early closings due to bad sales. They don't mean nuthin' at all!

[Zanarkand]

From a guy who seems to know a thing or two about the character no less.

 

(AP) -- The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

The makers of "The Punisher," Hollywood's latest comic-book adaptation, need a basic civics lesson. Even matinee-ticket prices for "The Punisher" conceivably constitute excessive fines, and the sadistic two-hour assault of the movie itself certainly qualifies as cruel and unusual treatment of audiences looking for a good time.

Between "Walking Tall" and "The Punisher," Hollywood has delivered a one-two punch of debased vengeance, where heroes are as bloodthirsty as villains and the two differ only infinitesimally in that the filmmakers have stuck a halo on one and horns on the other.

It's like the old editorial cartoon that used the same illustration of an armed thug for a Salvadoran guerrilla (a bad guy in the U.S. government's opinion) and a Nicaraguan freedom fighter (a good guy from a U.S. stance). Same person, same deadly violence, slightly different interpretation of motive.

Based on the Marvel Comics character introduced in "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 1974, "The Punisher" tries to set up FBI undercover agent Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) as a noble family man so viewers will sympathize when he turns pitiless vigilante.

Yet Castle's a cold fish from the start, hollowly expressing displeasure when his final undercover sting goes awry before he moves on to a peaceful life in the bureau's London office.

The consequences are tragic for shady Tampa businessman Howard Saint (John Travolta), whose son is killed by the feds. Castle whines to his colleagues that no one was supposed to die, but in the leaden scenario co-written by director Jonathan Hensleigh, Castle clearly could not care less that someone else's pride and joy wound up on a slab.

Egged on by his wife (Laura Harring), Saint gets payback with interest, killing Castle's wife, son, parents and dozens of other relatives at a family reunion. Castle himself is left for dead, but he recovers and returns as the Punisher, an avenging demon intent on making Saint and his loved ones suffer in spades.

In the comics, Castle turned executioner of the wicked at large after losing his family in a random act of violence. In giving him a personal target, the filmmakers have turned Castle into the very thing he's hunting, a depraved killer out to spill as much blood as he can.

Jane's inanimate performance doesn't help. His Castle only seems alive when he's butchering people; with his dead eyes and wooden dialogue, he's like a sleepwalker the rest of the time.

The movie provokes unintentional laughs with its excessive violence and especially with its clumsy efforts to capture Castle shirtless as often as possible to show off Jane's chiseled torso.

Travolta makes for a passable weasel of a heavy, and Will Patton has a moment or two as his faithful lieutenant, whom Castle sets up in a nasty ploy involving Saint's wife. Harring and the rest of the cast are generally just moving targets, including Samantha Mathis as Castle's wife and Roy Scheider as his dad.

Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ben Foster and John Pinette are tossed in as kindly neighbors in a run-down tenement where Castle establishes his revenge headquarters. The three are there only to give Castle someone decent to fight for; otherwise, nothing on screen would differentiate him from the bad guys he's battling.

The one loophole on the Eighth Amendment left by the filmmakers is on the "excessive bail" aspect. Thankfully, you can bail on this awful movie any time you like, and you should do it at the ticket counter by choosing another flick.

[PovertyRow]

From a guy who seems to know a thing or two about the character no less.

 

Well, as I said - reviews are just opinions - but that review was, in my opinion, pretty poorly done. The reviewer seemed to have this 8th Amendment idea s/he felt was clever. Well and good but it really didn't tell me a hell of a lot! Much of the prose is colorful when the film is not being talked specifically about. When the film IS talked specifically about the review is often pretty banal.