Film Review: The Punisher (2004)

The success of X-Men and Spider-Man in the early 2000s proved that comic book adaptations could be lucrative and led to Hollywood's eagerness to mine Marvel Comics for big-budget film ideas. Some of those were big successes, some of them were failures. The Punisher, directed by Jonathan Hensleigh in 2004, falls somewhere in between.

Unlike other Marvel adaptations, it's not a superhero film but a gritty, violent vigilante story based on Frank Castle, a character first introduced in 1974 as a Spider-Man adversary and later given his own comic book series. The 1989 film adaptation starring Dolph Lundgren was obscure but has since gained a cult following. The plot of new film starts with Castle (played by Thomas Jane) as FBI agent in a successful sting operation against money launderers in Florida, after which Castle is about to retire and enjoy good life with wife Maria (played by Samantha Mathis) and young son. The bust, however, also resulted in death of Bobby Saint (played by Johnny Carpinello), son of a powerful mobster who swears revenge and, using bribes and connections, locates Castle and orders hit on him and his loved ones during family reunion in Puerto Rico. Saint’s assassins massacre everyone, but fail to finish Castle off. Presumed dead, tortured by unimaginable grief and disappointed in the system that failed to protect him, Castle decides to take matters into his own hands and plot not only killing Saint, but slowly destroying his organisation from within, by manipulating Saint’s wife Livia (played by Laura Harring) and henchman Quentin Glass (played by Will Patton).

The major problem with The Punisher is that it is out of step with the times. The character of Frank Castle as a vigilante taking care of problems the system would not have belonged more to the 1970s or 1980s, when America was infested by street crime. The early 2000s were a much more different and cynical time, with audiences caring much more about terrorists than ordinary criminals represented by the chief villain. The script could have nevertheless adapted to this situation, but constant cuts in budgets led Hensleigh and the production crew to shoot in sunny Florida, which, in turn, made the general look of the film different from the dark streets of New York City where the original comic book took place. It also compromised Hensleigh's stated intention to resurrect the look and atmosphere of the grimy and gritty action thrillers of the 1970s.

The film nevertheless delivers the goods for fans of action cinema. Unburdened by the limitations of PG-13, The Punisher features plenty of violence and inventive action scenes, including an epic battle between the protagonist and the Russian, a henchman of the villain played by Kevin Nash.

Thomas Jane, who initially rejected the role of Frank Castle twice, prepared very seriously for the part, reading all the comic books and spending weeks training with former Navy SEALs to get into shape. He plays Castle convincingly, especially in the first half, when he is a happy family man, only to transform into a tortured shell of his former self kept alive only by a desire for revenge.

Jane's performance easily overshadows everyone else, including John Travolta, who plays a one-note villain, and Laura Harring, whose Lady Macbeth-like villainess lacks depth. The late stand-up comedian John Pinette, together with X-Men cast veterans Ben Foster and Rebecca Romijn, provide good comic relief as tenants in a rundown apartment building who serve as the protagonist's surrogate family.

Unfortunately, all these efforts are often compromised by a script that features poor and forgettable dialogue and descends into too much silliness, especially in the end scene that spectacularly brings the iconic skull image that was so sorely missed by Punisher fans in the 1989 version.

While critics weren't enthusiastic, the audience was, enough for producers to contemplate a sequel. However, creative differences between Hensleigh, the producers, and Jane ultimately led to the whole project being scrapped. Instead, in 2008, a reboot titled Punisher: War Zone, starring Ray Stevenson, was made. In 2017, Netflix brought Frank Castle as the protagonist of a TV series starring Jon Bernthal, which remained on air for two seasons.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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