Punisher Review

Aaron #425 Tue, Apr 20th 2004 26 [ Read: First / Last ]

Yes. I've seen a lot of movies lately. No, I can't afford it. This last one though was a freebie: a cow-orker and I were given some movie passes, and we decided to go see Punisher.

This movie, statistically speaking, sucks. That doesn't really mean that it does. Comic book movies historically do poorly in the reviews. The Hulk, for instance, was hated by the reviewers. I actually remember reading one complaining about the Hulk's color, "What's up with green? What was Ang Lee thinking?"

Punisher didn't suck. I know very little about the Punisher comic compared to some, but from what I do know, this movie couldn't have been made any other way. The guy they have playing him seemed completely inappropriate for the part, but he managed to pull it off really well. John Travolta does an excellent job as the bad guy. The movie is violent - really violent. But you have to expect that. If you appreciated Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando, you'd probably like Punisher. It's a B movie, no doubt, but I'd say it's at least a B+.

Comments: 26

	Steve - #1 Tue, Apr 20th 2004 @ 1:11 PM 8 words
	Try and find Punisher: War Journal. Excellent comic!

	Aaron - #2 Tue, Apr 20th 2004 @ 1:13 PM 20 words
	Will do. My interest is piqued. Man, I love all of these comic book movies that are coming out now.

	Steve - #3 Tue, Apr 20th 2004 @ 1:17 PM 11 words
	Cool.

Rob - #4 Tue, Apr 20th 2004 @ 3:17 PM 97 words

What strikes me as "eh" about this movie is its lack of creatures and or humanoid monsters. I like my comic book movies with people that, via either mad science or a freak "--ium" (radium, uranium, cadmium) accident end up turning into things, thank you very much. What's this guy got, sculpted eyebrows and a t-shirt with a skull on it? A compound bow? Shoot, the frigging Wonder Twins could at least turn into an ice bow, and get a monkey to fire it as a bonus. And at least Arnold had a cool accent.

	Jim - #5 Tue, Apr 20th 2004 @ 9:17 PM 42 words
	Hmmm, Batman didn't have more than a cool suit, great training and ALOT of gadgets, but that movie did pretty well. Admittedly, the Joker was a "monster." Speaking of compound bow, I wonder what a Green Arrow movie would be like.

	Rob - #6 Tue, Apr 20th 2004 @ 10:06 PM 27 words
	I guess, but at least he looked like a bat somewhat, and the villains were more than mere gangsters. This is a guy in a t-shirt.

	Steve - #7 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 7:32 AM 17 words
	Have you even read a Punisher or Batman comic Rob? That wasn't some cheap knock off.

	Aaron - #8 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 7:41 AM 43 words
	Yeah. He is who he is. If you go see, try not to think of it as a comic book movie, but a regular action movie. (The T-Shirt has a reason behind it too, but it's not a critical plot element.)

	Rob - #9 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 12:07 PM 71 words
	No, I am presently readin Moby Dick. The one without the pictures. Not saying Punisher is a knock-off (and I actually do want to see the movie). I just think it is cooler when comics think outside the universe of possibilities and invent creatures and humanoids that don't exist and/or that shoot lightning from their fingers.

	Wayne - #10 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 12:09 PM 19 words
	I think that when most people think comics are mostli Sci-fi and they are not always that way.

Jim - #11 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 12:19 PM 102 words

My Favorite Comic Character is the Inhuman leader Black Bolt. His powers are so devistating that he can't even whisper without causing wreckage.

"Because his electron-harnessing ability is linked to the speech center of his brain, any attempt to use his vocal cords – from the merest whisper to a full scream – triggers an uncontrollable disturbance of the particle / electron interaction field. This result in a shock wave equivalent, at maximum force, to that caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon."

	Troy - #12 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 12:21 PM 34 words
	"The Mafia slaughtered my family and all I got was this stupid T-shirt." -- Scott Weinberg, EFILMCRITIC.COM My favorite review.

	Rob - #13 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 7:18 PM 24 words
	I didn't say all comics were sci-fi. I just said I like the ones where the people and creatures have special powers.

	Aaron - #14 Wed, Apr 21st 2004 @ 11:34 PM 13 words
	Does special mental ability count as a power? Because he sure is mental.

	Rob - #15 Thu, Apr 22nd 2004 @ 7:09 AM 19 words
	Only if his mind can pick up a bottle of beer and open it without him using his hands.

	Aaron - #16 Thu, Apr 22nd 2004 @ 8:11 AM 2 words
	shockin' Rob

	Rob - #17 Thu, Apr 22nd 2004 @ 9:04 AM 1 words
	SWEEEEEEETTT!!!!!!

	Rob - #18 Sun, Apr 25th 2004 @ 10:10 PM 39 words
	I just saw The Punisher and I liked it. It has been a long time since I saw a revenge movie that made me laugh at how each bad guy dies. Loses points for kids dying unnecessarily. Three stars.

	Rob - #19 Mon, Apr 26th 2004 @ 7:36 AM 56 words
	Let me modify that. His son, of course, was a necessary death. But all those people at the beach house, the kids and the grandparents - not necessary. Even in comics, it seems way too unrealistic that the mob would be so heartless as to slaughter completely innocent people as they run screaming. The Sopranos wouldn't.

	Steve - #20 Mon, Apr 26th 2004 @ 10:03 AM 11 words
	You don't read comics, how the hell would even know.

Aaron - #21 Mon, Apr 26th 2004 @ 11:10 AM 84 words

I don't think there is very much quality entertainment out there that could be called Realistic. And that's the point, isn't it? Our lives are realistic. Would you want to go see a movie about your neighbor two doors down? No, that would be painfully boring.

I say, hooray for un-realistic entertainment! I am going to start complaining when a movie starts getting too realistic. (Man, did you see Saving Private Ryan? That was so realistic it sucked!)

	Rob - #22 Mon, Apr 26th 2004 @ 4:34 PM 93 words
	I see your point, but that's not what I mean. I like fantasy too. But The Punisher is grounded in some reality, so should play a little by the rules. Not all the way, but I find bad guys a lot more believable and well-written when they are not simply written as akin to the devil. Somehow, Steve, I don't feel as ashamed as I guess I am supposed to when you accuse me of "not reading comics".

Aaron - #23 Mon, Apr 26th 2004 @ 6:11 PM 134 words

It's not about "not reading comics", it's about not knowing the subject matter. Imagine hearing someone ragging on your favorite novel, and then finding out that they never read it...

That's where a lot of angry defense of comic book movies is coming from, and I'd say it's pretty well justified. Your ignorance of the comic, plus negative opinions, simply invalidates those opinions to someone more educated than you on the subject.

Dogs don't feel ashamed when they fart, because they don't know anything about the social stigma surrounding the act of farting. Go ahead and be proud of yourself for not knowing as much about a topic as someone else, but be aware of how you will be perceived when doing so.

Rob - #24 Tue, Apr 27th 2004 @ 5:46 PM 157 words

And Aaron, relax man. I gave an opinion that I enjoy "human" fiction - WHATEVER THE MEDIA (comics, movies, television, broadway plays, etc) - when it doesn't go overboard to the point where you just roll your eyes. Monsters can do whatever they want. They're monsters. But a pack of gangsters mowing down screaming children and their parents as they try to run away, that just makes me roll my eyes. Personally, I think the impact would have been greater if the bad guys just focused on snuffing Frank Castle's wife and kid while he has his back turned for a few minutes - or making him see it happen. That would have been more realistic and had a greater emotional impact. As an audience member I personally would have wanted to destroy them. But it is hard to relate to the guy when all 50 family members get offed just for the sake of additional violence.

	Aaron - #25 Tue, Apr 27th 2004 @ 9:19 PM 54 words
	I can see how that might be considered over the top. Still, I think that might actually be the way the story goes in the comic. Anyway, it makes the rest of the story a lot more believable. His motivation for for the level of Punishment he delivers is quite appropriate for the circumstances.

Crazy - #26 Wed, Jul 18th 2007 @ 1:20 PM 252 words

hi i made an account for this topic specifically i would like to know if in the punisher comics did the mafia guys actually slaughter his entire family or just his wife and kid. i loved this movie but ive never read a punisher comic. i think i liked the change from crazy psycopaths attacking human spiders and other mutated people, to a normal guy who has a dangerous job who becomes a MORTAL (key word here) "superhero" he doesnt have any powers besides his will to defeat evil with his FBI skills. seeing as he was shot and stabbed, strangled and beaten alot in the movie i think the writers of the comic and the movie were trying to give the message that his desire to punish the evil in the world is his "superpower" because he gets in an mode (i guess u could say) that he cant be killed. think about it on the peir at the beginning of the movie he was shot how many times? hit, kicked and slapped how many times? exploded how many times?!
i hope someone agrees with me...by the way i just say that the last post was in 2004 when the movie came out and i posted this in 2007 so i dont even know if someone will respond. anyway i got all that off my chest and i cant wait to get a response (if i even do) cya smile

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