Punisher, The

Dir: Jonathon Hensleigh

Str: Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Will Patton

Yet another Marvel comic book makes it to the screen, and much like Blade this is a character which is not so well known in this country. Indeed, much like Blade, it is only through the Spiderman cartoon, and a truly terrible Dolph Ludgren film, that most non comic-book readers know of the character. This is an advantage and also a disadvantage. Lack of knowledge means you can market the film towards a general audience, however memories of the Dolph Ludgren film serve to hinder! 

That all aside, the story begins with Frank Castle, an ex-special forces operative who is now working undercover for the FBI, finally completing his last job, and ready to live a new life with his family. However, his final job caused the death of a wealthy (and corrupt) industrialist’s son. Revenge is dealt, and Castle sees his whole family killed in front of his eyes. Left for dead, he regains his strength, and vows vengeance and retribution on all involved, becoming The Punisher.

Not the most original of stories, having been done in one form or another so many times, but the overall effect is one heck of a fun film. Thomas Jane IS Frank Castle, which fans of the comic series will be pleased with. He really conveys the emotions of a man with nothing left to live for but violent revenge. Along with his acting skills, Jane has beefed up his physique to match the role, and gives a level of believability to the role. The hardware on offer is also faithful to the comic, with a souped up car, various items of artillery, and THAT T-shirt, the fans have a lot to look for within (including knowing references to Year One and War Journal graphic novels). Yup, this is definitely a fan-boy film….but not to the detriment of an enjoyable film for everyone else. Like Hellboy, the extra bits for the fans don’t get in the way of the story.

The action is well presented with some fantastic direction from Hensleigh. There is a torture scene about 2/3 of the way in which is presented so well that you feel uncomfortable watching. Not gruesome, but just pure tension and atmosphere. With this and the rest of the subject matter, it could have been such a bleak film. Indeed, many of the best comic books of Punisher have been very dark and moody. The film avoids this with a liberal scattering of humour to break the tension, and well done it is too.

There are a few weak points to the film. The first is Travolta, who is just pulling his usual bad-guy schtick once more. When he was told that he was playing a comic book villain, I think he took it too literally! Secondly the story gets a bit cliché at one point with a “send in the Mexican” and “send in the Russian” moment when some typical mexican and russian characters enter the fray. These are minor quibbles, and the overall film is one which moves at a good momentum, entertains, and thrills as an actioner should. It also bodes well for the sequels which are being planned. The Punisher is here….you can forget Lundgren now.