“Out of all three live-action films, this is the only one that feels like an actual movie. It feels cinematic. It feels big. It has a narrative that is straightforward, with performances that are grounded, relatable, and realistic.”
The Punisher is a film that was released in 2004, directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and starring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, alongside John Travolta as Howard Saint. It is ultimately about an undercover FBI agent whose final sting operation accidentally results in the death of a ruthless crime lord’s son, triggering a devastating retaliatory strike that wipes out the agent’s entire extended family during a reunion. Miraculously surviving the slaughter, the grieving lawman relocates to a gritty apartment building where he drops his badge and transforms himself into a heavily armed, cold-blooded vigilante. Refusing to rely on a broken justice system, he meticulously executes a brilliant, multi-layered psychological war to destabilize the kingpin’s criminal empire from the inside out and punish those responsible for his loss.
So, I watched these movies a little bit out of order due to a podcast schedule conflict. I watched the ‘89 version first with Dolph Lundgren, went to War Zone with Ray Stevenson next, and finally finished them out with the movie I personally wanted to see the most, featuring Thomas Jane in the lead. I guess saving the best for last was the right move. The nice thing about watching these out of order is that they are all solo films that are not connected to each other at all. It would be like watching the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movie before Tobey Maguire’s.
It’s crazy watching this movie after seeing the other two because out of all three films, this is the only one, in my opinion, that feels like an actual movie. It feels cinematic. It feels big. It has a narrative that is straightforward, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. It has performances that are more grounded, relatable, and realistic, whereas the other two have either completely monotone acting (Lundgren) or way over-the-top acting (Stevenson). This version is much more grounded.
I realize that when we’re talking about how well the film operates as an actual adaptation of a comic book, Thomas Jane is most likely the least similar to the source material. However, he’s easily one of my favorites because I’m more of a film fan than a comic fan, and I want movies to be put together in a traditional fashion... and this was put together really well.
Each one of these stories basically shares the same foundation for the Punisher: his wife and child are killed, and he turns into a weapon of revenge. The setup is the same here, but this is the only movie out of the three where I felt it in my soul. That’s because it wasn’t just his wife and child; the attack occurs during a massive family reunion barbecue, and his entire family is wiped out. Dozens of people are killed, the last of which are his wife and child. I felt that in my soul, and I wanted vengeance for him. That was wild.
I will say, however, that out of all three movies, this film seems to have the least amount of action, especially brutal violence. It was rated R, but it honestly feels PG-13 at times because you don’t see a ton of blood like you do in the other movies, and there’s a lot more character development here compared to the other two. I mean, heck, look at the interrogation scene towards the beginning of the second act where he says he’s going to burn the flesh off of a victim and all they’re going to feel is cold. That was a very tense, “oh crap” moment for Frank Castle... something I could see him actually doing. But then he pokes the dude with a popsicle while burning a raw steak... for comedic reasons, I found that scene memorable and funny, but yeah, it’s not fully traditional Punisher stuff. It does have some good moments of violence, action, and all of that, but it doesn’t really compare to the others if we’re strictly speaking about action alone. That said, it is the only live-action Punisher film that made me care about certain characters, like Frank’s family and even his neighbors in the rundown apartment building. They were honestly great.
I feel like we need to talk about Travolta. John Travolta is the main villain in this film, and I so want to say Nic Cage, because he’s so over-the-top that it would be easier to say it’s Nic Cage in disguise for a sequel to Face/Off... it’s a little bit silly. I honestly forgot that he was in the movie. He does fine, though, but I almost feel like his role should have been taken over by some other actor.
Overall, like I said, this is the most “movie-esque” version of The Punisher. By a clear mile, this film is more cinematic; it looks great, and it sounds great. It has a better, smoother narrative, and it has the most heart. I really liked the performances here. I don’t care how little it connects to the comics... that means literally nothing to me. Thomas Jane is a great actor, and obviously this is a fan favorite since he reprised his role as Frank Castle in the 2012 short film Dirty Laundry. I re-watched that as well, and it’s so good. If you want to see him in a more violent representation of the character, that’s definitely the go-to.
But yeah, a solid movie all around.
Unbiased/Technical Score: 39/50 (78%)
Biased/Entertainment Score: 40/50 (80%)
Total Combined Score: 79/100 (79%) | 4/5 on Letterboxd