Just watched the Punisher move and.....

[Jgel]

I know that we have talked about this. I just watched it and......I thought it was OK. Total waste to have Stamos and Jonny-Boy in the flick. Anyone could have done those roles. I thought that the story was ok. Where did they get it from. Not a great film, but OK. I wish it had more of the Punisher feel to it. I think that the Punisher would be a great fit in the Spider-Man movies, but on it's own I think it tends to lose something. Not sure why. What do you guys think would be needed to bring the Punisher his justice on screen. This is the second time out and although better the the 1st I still thinks it lacks something. Oh well. Has there been talk of another yet. They need a more Super Hero backing to make it work. Just my $0.02

[Deathlok]

Where did the Punisher move to? I hope not here in Los Angeles, we have enough problems. When you watched him move, did he use help or did he lift everything by himself? How long did it take him? So many questions. Did he take any breaks? Did he shoot anything during the move?

 

Please let us know.

[Aman619]

The second half of th estory was taken from the MAX relaunch of a few years ago. It had Spacker Dave and th efat guy and the girl next door who get to kno wthis 'guy' living with them in a dump during the storyline. It also introduced the Russian! The first half with the origin was all "new" as was the Travolta character and Florida(?) locale. Travolta's wifes name was lifted from those same comics I think, but the wife was the mob boss in the comics.

 

I enjoyed it pretty much. Not nearly as bad as many assumed or felt. But at the same time, not a very great film. My issues were with Travolta and Jane. Travolta was just a cynical 'name' pick for international sales.... Jane had a lot of the character down...but he was written too sensitive and moony. I dont think I would have like a robot killer like Lundgren was any better... but THIS was the challenge--- to bring a cartoon like Punisher to to screen wasnt it? And I dont think they really pulled it off as to be palatable or believable or even interesting to that blockbuster ticket-buying audience, who, lets face it, will watch any genre if approached correctly with a great film.

 

 

This wasnt that film. But it had a buch of nice touches along the way...

[Mister_Comics]

A lot of it is taken from PUNISHER WAR ZONE.

Spatter Dave, Buffo, (excuse mispelling) the girl next door, Russan, even the guy Punisher ties up-side-down, all from WAR ZONE. But parts in the movie were changed for the film.

 

The extras on the DVD say they wanted to stick to the true character. I think they did a fine job with the film. I just wish they would of used a different story line. I think it could of been better.

 

Best part... Punisher shooting the two guards after he throws the money out the 40th floor window. AWESOME scene.

[Mr. Zipper]

I watched it the other day on DVD.

 

It was okay, but not great or even very good. Just ok.

 

My issue with the movie is that it was a watered down Hollywood-ization replete with the romantic subplot and goofy comedic supporting characters.

 

Castle himself was somewhat bland and I never got the "gritty engine of destruction" that the Punisher should be. The movie told us that he was an expert in arms, combat, etc, but they never SHOWED it... his character was more of a punching bag than anything else. He wasn't as mentally tough as I thought the Punisher should be.

 

I didn't like the drinking in the film. I thought that was untrue to who the Punisher would be. The "real" Punisher probably would only drink as a cover and never let himself lose mental focus by drinking to excess to "escape."

 

The use of weaponry was pedestrian and could have been a lot more imaginative. The only cool thing was the car with the roll down metal windows, but they didn't even use that to full effect.

 

In all, it was a decent 2004 take on Deathwish, but the film ignored various key character traits that make the Punisher unique.

[supapimp]

i still got to rent the DVD, maybe today.

[Darthdiesel]

Castle himself was somewhat bland and I never got the "gritty engine of destruction" that the Punisher should be. The movie told us that he was an expert in arms, combat, etc, but they never SHOWED it... his character was more of a punching bag than anything else. He wasn't as mentally tough as I thought the Punisher should be.

 

 

They should have picked Steven Segal for the role of Punisher and then he could bring along a hip hop side kick like DMX, Ludacris, Method Man, etc and have them be the Falcon or something ...

 

I have the DVD from netflix sitting at home. I also tried watching Hellboy last night with my wife and I fell asleep about half hour into it...lines were terrible and so was the premise and the acting... can this be any worse..

[Kevin Boyd]

A lot of it is taken from PUNISHER WAR ZONE.

Spatter Dave, Buffo, (excuse mispelling) the girl next door, Russan, even the guy Punisher ties up-side-down, all from WAR ZONE. But parts in the movie were changed for the film.

 

 

Um, no. They were all in Ennis & Dillion's 12-issue Marvel Knights Punisher mini-series reprinted as "Welcome Back, Frank" (tpb and hardcover).

 

War Zone was Romita Jr. followed by Mike McKone art. No Spacker Dave, no Mr. Bumpo, no Joan the Mouse.

[Jgel]

It was strange for me. As I watched I kept thinking that this is a Crow like story. It just flet...well.....Crow Like to me?

[ArnoldTBlumberg]

I reviewed it at cinejunkie.com and thought the movie did the job it basically set out to do.

 

Arnold

[Mr. Zipper]

I have the DVD from netflix sitting at home. I also tried watching Hellboy last night with my wife and I fell asleep about half hour into it...lines were terrible and so was the premise and the acting... can this be any worse..

 

Hey, I'm a Netflix guy too. I've had it for two and a half years now...

 

I felt the same about Hellboy. I'm just glad I didn't fork over $9 to see it in the theaters. Nowadays, it takes a REALLY good flick to get me into the theater. 95% of the time, the DVD on the home theater system is just as good or better, and the couch is much more comfortable.

[supapimp]

hellboy wasn't that bad, but me and my non fan boy friends thought LXG was way better.

[BradleyX2]

It was strange for me. As I watched I kept thinking that this is a Crow like story.

 

 

Hey, now that would be interesting casting. Crow T. Robot as the Punisher and Tom Servo as Micro...

 

[Mr. Zipper]

They should have picked Steven Segal for the role of Punisher

 

Michael Madsen would have been a better fit IMO.

[supapimp]

just rented the DVD and will post my review later.

[Mister_Comics]

Um, no. They were all in Ennis & Dillion's 12-issue Marvel Knights Punisher mini-series reprinted as "Welcome Back, Frank" (tpb and hardcover).

 

War Zone was Romita Jr. followed by Mike McKone art. No Spacker Dave, no Mr. Bumpo, no Joan the Mouse.

 

I checked um out. Your right on the characters. I got confused because there is MICROCHIPS who is in WAR ZONE.

I was mistaken him for the Dave in the movie. I did see that the movie takes parts from a variety of PUNISHER comics including WAR ZONE.

[Jeffreykli]

I checked them out. You're right on the characters. I got confused because there is MICROCHIPS who is in WAR ZONE.

I mistook him for the Dave in the movie. I did see that the movie takes parts from a variety of PUNISHER comics including WAR ZONE.

 

Here are a few pages from Punisher War Zone that's also a scene from the movie:

 

 

 

[supapimp]

OK i just saw and i liked it better than the hulk and DD. i thought the seen with the russian was good, the comedic moments were good too. thomas jane played punny pretty good, and his neighbors were a riot. much better than the dolph lungren version. i hope they make a sequel. my only gripe is...why wild turkey!?!

[FFB]

OK i just saw and i liked it better than the hulk and DD. i thought the seen with the russian was good, the comedic moments were good too. thomas jane played punny pretty good, and his neighbors were a riot. much better than the dolph lungren version. i hope they make a sequel. my only gripe is...why wild turkey!?!

 

 

MANY SPOILERS FOLLOW.

 

My thoughts exactly, except on the Wild Turkey (which never occurred to me). My only complaints about the movie are the same ones I have whenever the director and writer are the same -- when the director is the writer, there is no one to cut out the goofy stuff that may have sounded good on paper but comes across as lame in the film itself.

 

For example, I could have done without the scene where the kid gives him the skull shirt. Just totally lame dialogue and a contrived story idea to boot. It would have been better if they just had him get the shirt himself and maybe explain that he paints a big skull on his chest so that people will focus on it and aim their bullets there (where the body armor is) instead of his unarmored head. Just like Frank Miller did in the Dark Knight story.

 

I also think that Mrs. Saint overacted a few of her moments (like the "His whole fam-ih-lee" scene in the limo and some other stuff). I liked her overall, but her delivery was unnecessarily dramatic in a few spots. Micky the henchman was a little too whiney for me in a few spots, but he was good in others. He was a mixed bag, but not a disaster.

 

I also thought the country music song scene with Harry Heck was a little too much. There had to be a better way to introduce the guy than that.

 

I also could have done without the weird introduction scene where Spacker Dave is playing his video game. Just made me uncomfortable to watch it. A little too over the top. But other than that one scene, I loved Spacker Dave.

 

Bumpo was superb. Just great. Rebecca R-S was awesome as Joan, too. Between this movie and X2, I find myself surprised at the fact that she is actually a pretty good actress.

 

Thomas Jane was a very good choice as the Punisher and I liked Travolta as Howard Saint and Will Patton as Quentin Glass. Say what you want about this being a formulaic action movie, but how many formulaic action movies can actually get you to feel sorry for the bad guys the way you did when Saint stabbed Glass to death and then chucked his own wife into the path of an oncoming train?

 

The few lame parts aside, I thought the movie had some really powerful scenes. The scene where Saint's men chase down his wife and his son was very well done. His wife had me totally convinced that she feared for the life of her and her child, and the action and direction were gripping.

 

The scene with the Russian was a great fight scene with a lot of nice touches (like the grenade), and I really liked the dichotomy between the violent and the absurd that Hensleigh created by interweaving the fight sequences with the Russian and the scenes of the neighbors making dessert and dancing to "La Donna E Mobile." It was a great way of making what could have been a brutal, hard-to-watch, violent fight scene into something that was appropriately comical and entertaining. That was the high point of the film on a lot of levels for me.

 

Overall, I'd give this movie a solid "B" grade, with room for improvement. It wasn't a "great" film, but for what it was, it was more than adequate. I really enjoyed it and will look forward to the sequel. The brisk sales and rentals of the DVD will almost certainly lead LGF to give the sequel the green light.

[Kevin Boyd]

Bumpo was superb. Just great. Rebecca R-S was awesome as Joan, too. Between this movie and X2, I find myself surprised at the fact that she is actually a pretty good actress.

 

If you ever get a chance, check her out in a film directed by Brian De Palma that came out last year called FEMME FATALE (also starring Antonia Banderas). The film relies on some wacky coincidences and an odd scenario, but if you don't take it to seriously it's great cinema (not to mention she's smoking hot in it).