[img]http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/117134-punisher_2004.jpg[/img]
The Punisher seems to be a doomed franchise/character for Marvel, as far as movie options go. They've tried to restart 3 times now and each has fell below the mark. The first Punisher was filmed in the 80s, well before the advent of blockbusting "superhero flicks". The movie didn't do well, and wasn't that great overall, but had some clever scenes and Dolph Lundgren was a suitably physically imposing presence. The second attempt was in 2004 starring Thomas Jane and received mixed reviews and a mediocre box office, but found a measure of success on DVD.
Personally however, I loved the 2004 film. It has it's weaknesses, many of them actually, but it also is just a fucking cool film. As one critic said, it definitely has elements of a "throwback to the angry urban revenge movies of the 70s".
Let's get the weaknesses out of the way first. For starters, it feels like John Travolta couldnt have been bothered putting in any effort or flair into his Villain, infact his performance is hammy and almost scenery chewing. The rest of the antagonists are pretty lame as well. The supporting characters of the tight knit Apartment group as mild to weak characters with a comedic relief that goes down like chalk water.
However, I feel the film definitely has it's strong points that outweigh the weaknesses. Firstly, Thomas Jane nails a realistic version of the Punisher. He's physically developed (gaining 15-20lbs of muscle on top of an already decent physique) for the role), he had firearms and tactical training to look the part of an ex-special forces and FBI operator, and he nails the depressed but driven look throughout the film, there are fleeting moments when he looks ready to give up on everything. Rebecca Romijn does a great job, not only at looking damn fine in downplayed hotness, but also as the down on her luck, love-trodden but supportive waitress.
While the film pathetically has to cater for a more friendly audience, it does however have scenes of measured intensity. The scene where Dapper Dave is tortured is one of those.
My favorite aspect of this movie however, is the somewhat more realistic take on the Punisher. In the comics, he's a force of nature par none, an entity, a ridiculous one man killing machine. In this movie, he is driven and skilled, but he is still only one [B]man[/B], and the director reflects this in the pacing of the action scenes. Rather than be a balls out kill fest all the time, Frank Castle/The Punisher slowly and strategically destroys his family's killers by employing deception and injecting mistrust among the group. The action is more human in that he is entirely vulnerable, take for example the short car chase sequence, where he almost ends up dead, or the melee with the big russian. Even the final Assault sequence (which is my favorite scene in the movie), it doesn't go smoothly for him.
[B]EDIT: Point in case, this scene. The monologue is awesome[/B]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVhCi-Sdc3k[/media]
Anyways, I'm not in anyway saying it's a great movie, but it's definitely deserving of more praise than it gets.
TL;DR: Underrated movie with some great scenes.
The game was alot better and more fun. But this is still a good movie, especially to pop on on saturday nights.
Vastly underrated film.
One of my favorite comic books movies.
unbelievably good game it was.......
the movie on the other hand........would've rather it be similar to the game's character and storyline
It's rated perfectly fine. It's just pretty bad.
Warzone killed it
A comic to movie transition done right.
my favorite comic to movie ever
I didn't like it. Reminded me of old 70's movies for some reason.
I was starting to lose hope that someone was going to make a thread for this
Here are the 2 best scenes imo
[media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=qomFNSJh1S8[/media]
[media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=RdVrFrhj2hg[/media]
I would not call it amazing, it is a very good comic to movie conversion though.
Punisher Warzone was pretty awful, and I can quite easily very bad choice of actors, they were all fairly boring to watch with their under or over acted characters. At some points it felt like I was watching a recut version of Batman Forever, you know, the one with jim Carrey, need I say more?
I actually liked this movie. And to be honest I somehow didn't find anything bad about it. At least nothing too bad. Maybe something about John Travolta's performance.
I found out about this movie thanks to the trailer in the Punisher game (DAMN GOOD GAME!), and I actually thought the movie would be like the game. It dissapointed me bigtime :/
Anyhow, I actually have a Punisher shirt, just like this one :D
[IMG]http://www.superherostuff.com/characters/Punisher/images/punisher_movie_symbol_t_shirt_2.jpg[/IMG]
Amazingly cool shirt!
Thomas Jane was by far the best Punisher...
The punisher needs a "Dark Knight" Same cast, but everyone loves it.
reminded me of a porn clip i saw.
Yeah, Thomas Jane was my favorite Punisher. They should have just continued with him because it was probably the best one by far.
I'm not sure why (from what I've heard) Punisher fans didn't like Thomas Jane. I feel like he portrayed the character very well, had an awesome voice for it, and intelligently and strategically made his moves.
In my opinion, the 2004 Punisher film is the best to date.
[QUOTE=-Ben_Wolfe-;21998894]I'm not sure why (from what I've heard) Punisher fans didn't like Thomas Jane. I feel like he portrayed the character very well, had an awesome voice for it, and intelligently and strategically made his moves.
In my opinion, the 2004 Punisher film is the best to date.[/QUOTE]
I think many were expecting the Unabashed pyschopath from the comics, but I liked Jane's realistic portrayal. However it can be argued that Jane's portrayal may as well be called the Revenge-r because that basically what he's doing.
My brother loved "War-Zone" >:(
I remember this film! I loved the part where he interrogates Mickey (I think that's his name) with an ice lolly. I laughed so fucking hard at that.
[QUOTE=ThePunisher1;21990490]I would not call it amazing, it is a very good comic to movie conversion though.
Punisher Warzone was pretty awful, and I can quite easily very bad choice of actors, they were all fairly boring to watch with their under or over acted characters. At some points it felt like I was watching a recut version of Batman Forever, you know, the one with jim Carrey, need I say more?[/QUOTE]
I actually liked Batman forever, I liked this film too.
[QUOTE=JaegerMonster;22002689]I think many were expecting the Unabashed pyschopath from the comics, but I liked Jane's realistic portrayal. However it can be argued that Jane's portrayal may as well be called the Revenge-r because that basically what he's doing.[/QUOTE]
To me the end made it like now that his personal business is done, he will punish the wicked, those like Howard Saint.
[QUOTE=Drsalvador;21983310]The game was alot better and more fun. But this is still a good movie, especially to pop on on saturday nights.[/QUOTE]
It had an HL reference.
Ive always loved the punisher films, i think he is one of marvels greatest charcters, purely because he is cool without having to have any powers
Thomas Jane was great as Frank Castle but Ray Stevenson looked and acted alot like the Max Comics Punisher.
I saw a movie bit of this movie, needless to say I want to see it, looks awesome.
I've been listening to the soundtrack, love the bit where he's gearing up for the assault and then the track after that, when he starts shooting the militaristic drum beat and percussion is awesome.
Listen to Edgewater - Eyes Wired Shut
Epic song
Good film. War Zone is more like the game in its grittiness, over the top feel, but it's awful. Watch the first film, then play the game instead.
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