THE PUNISHER (Theatrical Release USA 2004)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.7|5.0 Starsììì

The Punisher—good Marvel Comics flick—has an overall good plotline with well-done, amped up explosive action. The audience can sit up and take notice of Thomas Jane who, although not a strong actor in this film, has good potential to perform and to carry his weight in a variety of roles. John Travolta presses on in his attempt to break out of love and cool guy genres to play action/tough/bad guy characters. He manages that role to good effect in this film, but not as good as in The Taking of Pelham 123.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Mafia boss Howard Saint (John Travolta) orders the elimination of Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) and his entire family due to belief that Frank Castle is responsible for the death of son, Bobby Saint (James Carpinello). Frank Castle survives the slaughter and becomes the Punisher, a self-proclaimed vigilante for the establishment of justice.

Additional Thanks

Thank You to Director Jonathan Hensleigh for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Christopher Eberts, Kevin Feige, Stan Lee, Chris Roberts, Andreas Schmid, John H. Starke, Andrew Golov, Patrick Gunn, Amir Jacob Malin, and Richard Saperstein for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Jimmy Weeks (A. Russell Andrews), Joe Toro (Omar Avila), John Saint (James Carpinello), Harry Heck (Mark Collie), Tattooed Mike (Russell Durham Comegys), T.J. (Antoni Corone), Bay News 9 Newscaster (Rick Elmhurst), Spacker Dave (Ben Foster), and Toro Croupier (Michael Reardon).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. It’s based on Marvel Comics entertainment and serves up enough gore to wake almost anyone up from late Saturday afternoon slumber.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers