Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Released in 1989, The Punisher was a pretty radical departure from what I was used to in a Comic based movie. While I had seen a few Dolph movie's previously, but this was far and away the most violent and gritty, and in some ways shocked me in ways that even the same year's Batman, often praised for it's grit and violence, failed to.
The movie is based on the less than well-known Marvel Comic series The Punisher. This year, there was a new Punisher movie released, which I haven't seen, due to it not being out in the UK yet, and I doubt I will see it, I think it looks pretty terrible. Granted it has to good lead actors in Thomas Jane and John Travolta, but it looks far too...I don't know, but just not 'real' enough. While that sounds silly when talking about a comic movie, but the Punisher isn't a fantastic hero like Spiderman or Superman, he is a human, he has no mask, no disguise. In the comics he wears a skull insignia on his chest, something that many fans complain this movie lacks, but when I see it in execution in pictures from the new movie, it just looks dumb.
The movie follows Frank Castle (Dolph Lundgren), an ex-cop whose family was slaughtered by the mob in a car bomb intended for him. Since that day, he has lived in the New York sewers, he has given up life, he is now the Punisher. A vigilante killer who will stop at nothing to destroy crime, using any means possible.
The only person who believes the Punisher and Castle are one is his ex-partner Jake (Louis Gossett Jr. - Cover-Up), Frank saved him from a life of alcoholsim, and Jake wants to find and help Frank. He is assissted by a new partner in the form of new graduate Samantha Leary (Nancy Everhard - Deepstar Six), who is willing to listen to his theory.
When a mob boss is released from prison and celebrating his freedom, he gets a visit from the Punisher, his last visit. With the mob needing a boss, the man's son, Gianna Franco (Jeroen Krabbe - No Mercy), returns from abroad to take charge. This is made more meaningful by the fact it was a bomb planted under Gianni's orders that killed Frank's family.
Gianni aims to unite all the warring mafia families, and does so via a huge cocaine deal coming into the city docks. But that night, as the Punisher attacks, so does someone else. A group of Japanese Yakuza hitmen also dish out damage to the mafia men.
Pondering what to do, the mob recieves a visit from Yakuza head Lady Tanaka (Kim Miyori - Body Shot), who proposes that they all work for her, or face the consequences. Telling her where to go, this sparks a war, but the Yakuza are ready for war, and arrange the kidnapping of all of the mobster's children, using them as ransom, serve if you want your children back. But when those willing to meet the terms meet Tanaka, she has them killed anyway, and plans to sell the kids as slaves.
The news of the children being kidnapped reaches the ears of Frank via his homeless informant Shake (Barry Otto - The Howling 3:The Marsupials), and he decides to intervene. Frank manages to rescue all the children apart from Tommy Franco (Brian Rooney - The Phantom Horseman), but is caught by the police as he takes the children out of the Yakuza base.
Facing the death penalty, Jake tries to talk some sense into Frank, but he is too far gone and refects his help. With all looking dark, he recieves help from the most unlikely of sources. Gianni busts him loose, using Jake as ransom, he will help Gianni take down the Yakuza and rescue his son, or Jake gets it.
When New York's biggest mafia man teams up with crime's worst enemy, you know there will be hell to pay...
If there is one thing that I think is undisputable about the movie, I believe it is the acting, which is actually far better than I expected, or anyone should in an action movie. Lundgren puts in what may actually be his best performance to date. While an emotionless killer may conjure up plenty of "lol emotionless is all that he can do", it isn't like that. I love how he brings the character to life, Frank doesn't care anymore, he doesn't care about risks, because in his own eyes, he is already dead, but Dolph doesn't bring it to life in the usual way these characters are often done, in a cocky caution to the wind sense, he just portrays Frank as a man with nothing left to lose, and only hatred keeping him alive. Dolph is imposing in this role, very imposing. That is probably what really puts me off the new movie. As good an actor as Thomas Jane is, he looks stupid in the Punisher, he looks like I could kick him in. Dolph is terrifying here. from the battered clothes to the steel-toecapped boots and motorbike, Dolph's Punisher is every inch a vigilante that would strike fear into the hearts of hardened criminals.
I really did like this portrayal of the character, it's when he realises why the Yakuza could so easily gain the upper hand on the Mafia, he had killed so many of their men, they couldn't protect their own children, that you realise that there is still a glimmer of emotion left within him, as he wants to save the children, regardless of whom their parents are. Despite what he appears, Frank is still in there.
Dolph also suits the role, in that we see him as he was as a clean cut cop, and as the unshaven, gritty anti hero. Dolph can pull off a clean cut, good looking blonde guy in a suit, and a leather clad dark haired bad-a** toting a machinegun, finding many other actors that can do both is tough.
While he has memorable lines, apart from one, they don't often strike you as being overly cheesy. The one in question is the 'batman' one, for those who have seen the movie. But personally, I loved the line where Jake says to him "you don't need help, what the f**k do you call 125 murders in 5 years?" to which Frank replies "Work in Progress".
Gossett Jr. is also as reliable as always in his role, slightly cliched as it is, but I feel he works it very well, and he probably deserved to be in bigger roles in better movies than he was.
Krabbe is also pretty good as Franco, who, while undoubtedly villainous, isn't at the level of Tanaka. I especially liked the line where he tells Frank he didn't mean to kill his family. While a lot of the time, this would have been a throwaway line, Krabbe pulls it off in a way where you really do feel he means it.
Music in the movie is largely pretty good, with the movie having a pretty memorable theme, which isn't your average superhero theme, it's much darker, downbeat, like the entire movie. This isn't music for flying and saving the world to, its music for machine-gunning up mobsters to.
The special effects aren't many, and are mostly comprised of explosions and injuries, all of which are realised very well.
The action in the movie, of which there is much, is also of a very high standard. We have some excellent shootouts, and Gianni and the Punisher's siege on the dojo like top level of the building, negotioating through the paper walls is great. Usually, I would complain about Dolph not getting to show off his martial arts skills, however it wouldn't suit the movie, and the hand to hand fighting he does here is more realistic scrapping.
The movie has two major memorable action sequences, first of all there is Frank's swoop on a Yakuza run casino, where he shoots the hell out of the place, and the aforementioned paper walled dojo base shootout, I loved both of them, and they stuck with me from the first time I saw the movie as a child to last year when I saw it again.
It should be noted that the action sequences are very violent, and uncut versions of the movie are few and far between.
While I am aware that not many people even like this movie, I personally think it is awesome, and without a doubt the best attempt at a Marvel Comics movie up until X-Men, which was what 2000?2001?. As I mentioned, many people seem overly critical about the fact that Frank doesn't wear the skull insignia, do these people even apply thought before they say these things? when I saw the pictures of Thomas Jane in the 'faithfull' Punisher costume, I thought he looked like the kids who try to act 'alternative'. Not a dangerous vigilante. Having him wear all black gear, stuff that may be actually practical for fighting, was a lot better in my eyes. You don't here many people complaining that Hugh Jackman didn't wear yellow and blue lycra in X-Men, so why the criticism here? my only guess is that the movie stars Lundgren, who, like most action stars, carries a stigma that seems to make the majority of people feel like movies starring them can't be good, and no one who has anything to do with them can be good. It's often fun to shut these people up by pointing out that Quentin Tarantino started in film working on Dolph's workout tape.
On the subject of Tarantino, I was looking at this movie on the IMDB, and someone brought up an interesting point about several things in it being very similar to things in Kill Bill, I found this fairly amusing, because they had actually crossed my mind when I watched this again recently.
I can't really say how close the movie is to the comics, because even in my comic geek days, I never read the Punisher, maybe it doesn't reflect them much at all, and that is why people dislike it, but as someone with only basic knowledge of the character, I thought the Punisher was superb.
While ultimately still 'just an action movie', I personally view the Punisher as one of the best action movies I have ever seen. It has a solid story, with a good cast and is full of superb action. If you aren't a fan of action movies, this isn't going to win you over, but as a fan of action, I feel it's right that I give the movie full marks. As a movie with another lead, it has good enough supporting cast, music, story and superb action to warrant 4 stars in my eyes, and Lundgren's performance, which is without a doubt one of his best, and a good performance by anyone's standards, elevates it up to 5.
If you like action movies, I would without a doubt recommend the Punisher, the same goes for Dolph fans, it's a first class action picture, and without a doubt one of the Swede's best pictures. If you aren't, this isn't exactly going to convert you to the cause, but it is still a good viewing if it's on TV at a time with nothing else on.
Like I say, I have no idea if fans of the comic will like it, but providing they enjoy action movies, I don't see why they shouldn't. The Punisher is violent, gritty and generally unlike the majority of comic book movies.
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