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Title: The Punisher |
In my opinion “The Punisher” is one of Marvel Comics darkest and most interesting characters. Like Batman, Punisher does not have any superhero powers. He did not get bitten by a radioactive spider, and he wasn’t infused with a bunch of gamma rays, he has to rely on his own skills and hand made weapons to get him through the day. Another thing that Punisher has in common with Batman is the fact that Punisher is basically on a revenge romp like Batman (Except Punisher calls his revenge punishment, hence why he’s called The Punisher). However Punisher and Batman split differences here, as they both have VERY different idea’s on how to pull off their revenge! While Batman goes out of his way to make sure that villains go to jail where the law can decide what to do with them, Punisher goes out of his way to make sure that his victims die. Sometimes he kills them fast and quick, sometimes he tortures them before he brutally kills them. Heck, sometimes he dish’s out punishment far worse then the actual crime that was commited, but in the end he ALWAYS makes sure the bad guys get their due!
When I first heard that someone was going to make a Punisher movie, I got a little worried. I had fears that we would get a sanitized Punisher that would be played by a good looking stud, and that the film would aim for a PG-13 rating that would drag the story down in an attempt to make sure all the kids were in the theater to see this movie. When pretty boy Tom Jane was announced to play the Punisher, I got even more worried that the project was going in the wrong direction. However then John Travolta got involved with the project and I started to settle down a little. Then the movie got an R rating, which gave me a little more hope that the movie would do justice to the dark character that the Punisher was. Now that I’ve seen the movie I can safely say that this movie got the Punisher character right. The story for this movie is very simple (Like most comic book movies are). It is about Frank Castle (Tome Jane), an ex-FBI agent who has just gone on his very last case ever. After he helps bring down a gang of gun/drug dealers he decides to retire and live the rest of his life in London with his family.
However there is a problem, and that problem comes in the form of Howard Saint (John Travolta), who’s son got caught in the line of fire and cost him his life (Granted, since his son was one of the gun/drug dealers we feel no sympathy for Saint, but you know how these crime lords look at things). Saint decides that he will avenge his son by killing Castle, but his wife tells him to take it a step further by killing the rest of his family too. Well, as it just so happens the entire Castle family is having a family reunion right about this time, so Saints men go to the reunion, and manage to gun down everyone at the reunion...except for Castle of course, who somehow manages to survive the attack on him. Struck with grief, Castle grabs his guns, checks into a small run down apartment, and spends his nights drinking and training, planning to take revenge on Saint and his family. While he is training and making weapons a trio of kooky neighbors befriend him (Whether he wants to be befriended or not).
They are Joan, a troubled girl who gets into bad relationships all the time (I applaud the film makers for deliberately avoiding a cliche love story between her and Castle). Mickey is the guy who loves piercing, and Bumpo looks like the his name (That will make perfect sense once you see the movie). These guys provide comic relief in the film that actually works. The rest of the story is simple: Bad guys blow up, Castle drinks himself to death, and lots and lots of explosions. Like the comic books, this is a dark and sometimes unsettling film to watch. Castle shows no mercy to his victims, killing them in very brutal ways sometimes even. The action is also dark and relentless, as Castle piles explosion on top of explosion to make sure everyone knows he means business. And while the story itself doesn’t get much deeper then what I’ve just described, the characters are deep, and they turn this revenge story into something more then what it otherwise would have been.
As silly and out of place as Castles neighbors may seem sometimes, they actually do provide some genuine humor, lots of heart, and they help open his eye’s to remind him that there is always something worth living for, even when it doesn’t seem like there is! Travolta’s character is also very deep. Instead of making Saint out to be this mindless villain, we get a character who loves his family deeply, who has a great relationship with his best friend and business partner, and Saint is relentless to kill Castle not because he’s hell bent on avenging his son’s death (Because Saint seems like the kind of guy who would admit that keeping Castle alive and killing his family would be worse torture on Castle then out right killing him), but because he fears him, he fears what he can do to his friends, and he fears that he’ll eventually come after his other son and wife! What makes this movie great is the characters, as they are deep and complex! Even the predictable neighbors add some of their own personality in an otherwise “by the numbers” story.
And then you have the action. I’ve been describing the action little by little as this review has gone on, but it really is hard to describe how good the action really is. Let’s just say that the action is dark, it’s fast, and it’s totally out there. If you’re an action fan you won’t be disappointing by the action in this movie! When it all comes down to it, “The Punisher” is a movie that does the character justice. This is not a kind movie, it is not a light movie like “Spider-Man” was, it is a dark yet deep tale of revenge. Action fans will love it, people who like movies with deep characters will also love it, but if you don’t like your movies extra crispy you might not like it. I don’t know if there will be a sequel to this movie, and if there is I don’t know whether or not we’ll get a Punisher in spandex like the other superhero’s out there, but either way I don’t care. They got the character right the first time through, and that’s more then what I was expecting. So comic book fans rejoice, as we have another winner on our hands!
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -