PUNISHER

[junkie christ]

<disclaimer> no spoilers, and i am one of the biggest punisher fans known to man, its story arc is covering my favorite punisher storyline. proving this to me and fans like was is 1/2 test for is this a good flick. the other 1/2 was my co-reviewer, a nonfan who doesnt care for action movies or comics. we both came out saying FUCK YEA. thats what movies are missing. </disclaimer>
first off:Nonfans will probably enjoy this movie the most.. seriously.
for the rest of us:
if you havent read the garth ennis 12 issue mini series "welcome back frank", better known as the marvel knights miniseries, some the characters (ESP THE RUSSIAN) wont make dick all sense. it doesnt detract from the story,but older punisher fans who didnt read it will scream micro chip!!! trust me, him not being in it is a GOOD THING.
best achievement: alot of the comic movies capture the essence of what the main character became what they became. spiderman did an amazing job with that, but the punisher really nails it dead on.
WHAT THE MOVE IS:
a DAMN good depiction of the punisher
this movie needed to be dark, gritty, desolate
theres alot of liberty taken to the plot (mixing his origin with the Ennis arc and making new villians) but fucking outstanding results came of it
you get to see alot of moral questions placed on the punisher that Ennis hammered on him like "does this make you any better than the rest" and the answers are in true punisher style
you get to see how methodical he really is, something thats constantly forgot by alot of writers.
the explanation it gives for the skull is also really cool. it drives the punisher home if you think about it thru the movie.
the casting is also DEAD ON. Jane really is the punisher.
WHAT THE MOVIE IS NOT:
an action movie, fast paced, or a big budget action movie
not set in new york, the punishers obsession. but when you see the movie, you wont bitch about that at all.
they changed around frank castle ALOT. no nam, ect ect
BUT they really updated the time frame for pun and it payed off in spades.

i refuse to ruin any of this movie, all i will say for a review is this:
expect the punisher. know what you just paid 7 bucks for. if you want a happy feel good action movie or comic hero dont go.
the punisher is not that type of guy.
but the casting for the punisher is PERFECT and this is the punisher movie fans and nonfans can really enjoy.
my buddy that went with me had never read a stitch of punisher and loved it.

the punisher was the definitive revenge/payback storyline for the modern era. so many copycats have been made of the punisher story, its nice to see it done in a way that shows you why those movies suck. sure, other people had done it in the past, but the punisher is a transformed machine plagued by the memory of his family. there is no depth. just that.other comics (spidey with all his levels of shit with family friends and spidey/uncle ben, ect the xmen's million plots ect ect ect) have alot going on, but that would really ruin the punisher. hes methodical, calcuating, intellegent, and worst of all patient. a much more fitting anti-hero than the standard film-noir types. this is why the punisher got fans. it was a leg up for an old forumla.the movie captures it great. too much time was spent with the mafia family and some people with bitch about all the family footage, but it ll illustates a bigger picture.
plus the extra cast showed Ennis' answer to what would happen if the punisher did try to make friends outside the warzone..... that was the most cited coolness factor about that miniseries..
theres a few scenes that drag on, so i gotta mark it down some... but if your the moody type that can relate to this character or your tired of overbudget cgi hollywood backwash, GO NOW.
4.5 outta 5 stars.
i also consider the last 30 minutes of this flick revenge for saturday night fever and john travoltas singing career.
oh yea, and they have green lighted a sequel to illustrate the war zone years, so if you are unhappy with year one movies, you will be happy to know next year the sequel will be made.. this movie only cost 30 mil to make and they were slotted 100. expect a bigass sequel.

[Aerick Ravenheart]

It's refreshing to see a movie made well below the intended big budget and still be able to pull it off. Studios spend WAY too much on movies these days, and I am one of those people who tend to enjoy a movie better if there is lack of CGI, UNLESS it is absolutely needed to get a scene just right. As far as the Punisher goes, I am surprised the actor pulled off the job as a convincing Punisher. Dolph Lundgren actually LOOKED like the character, yet the old movie sucked ass. The previews looked pretty promising though, and I trust Junkie's opinion of this film. So, as a Punisher fan, I will be seeing it. And war zone was my favorite series, so I am already excited about the sequel. Thanks for the review, Junkie. Can't wait to see this,(over Kill Bill Vol.2).later.

[iblis]

Sings *Guns and blades and hand grenades, now these are man's best friends!*

Must. See. This. Movie.

Ung.

[junkie christ]

im going again this weekend. :evilgrin:
sneaking in some vodka and making a drinking game out of this.. lol

[snarfcat]

while looking for movie themed shot glasses to add to my collection, I saw this, thought you might be interested

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 65999&rd=1

[junkie christ]

while looking for movie themed shot glasses to add to my collection, I saw this, thought you might be interested

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 65999&rd=1

wow
thanks

[snarfcat]

You're welcome! It might have been over by the time you saw it but hopefully they're selling others, if you're interested

[Black Metallic]

Actually the original Punisher was borderline psychopath. I remember him gunning down a Jaywalker

Course every hero/antihero changes every 5-10 years. The Punisher is no different.

I'll just wait for the DVD