The Punisher Film Review

The Punisher - "God's gonna sit this one out"

Jonathan Hensleigh writes and directs the second installment & reboot of "The Punisher" franchise 15 years after the 1989 Dolph Lundgren version which failed commercially and critically to bring this iconic character to life. Thomas Jane however with the aid of a very experienced filmmaker successfully brought this very dark, gritty vigilante hero to life. Frank Castle was the best undercover operative the FBI had, but he had baggage, a family a wife & son which meant they constantly had to move so when ops finished his family weren't targeted and his cover never blown. He completes his last ever undercover op for the FBI but the son of Howard Saint played by John Travolta, a local Mob boss get's killed in the process so Howard Saint orders the death of every member of Franks family. Frank Castle get's shot 3 times and blown off a pier in a gas explosion during the massacre but staying true to the comics gets brought back to life by the "Witch Doctor" and becomes "The Punisher"

"This is not vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it's an emotional response. No, not vengeance. Punishment" Frank Castle returns to punish those who slaughtered his family & in a very yet brutal fashion plans the demise of those who took everything from him. It's written in such a way that you couldn't associate it with any other type of vigilante justice film like Batman. The way the character is written in this iteration is different, in the way he operates, in how he thinks. I have to tip my hat to Jonathan Hensleigh as he has not only been faithful to the comics & fan base but modernized it in such a way that doesn't come off cheesy or over the top.

John Travolta is as usual is a terrific villain, he's a sadist, completely disregards morality and is most definitely NOT in it for the money. His coveted wife, his faithful henchmen, his empire is above the law, untouchable and not a single one of them go to jail for the death of Frank's family. This only drives our protagonist into a frenzied rage and it really shows in Thomas Jane's portrayal. The way the film twists itself in and out of genres has the audience one minute roaring for the success of Frank and then makes us empathetic to his victims. There are times when the audience itself feels like it has a personal stake in the outcome. Do we really want him to succeed in delivering natural justice amongst all the carnage?

The director does a terrific job of blurring the moral lines of the films plot and where Frank has gone too far in delivering punishment and where he is held reserved by the memories of his dead family. Throughout the film he is slowly drinking himself to death & it's really depressing, but I suppose that was the point it's no puppies & rainbows comic book character, he's a bad man with questionable motives and this film does an excellent job of adapting Frank Castle to the screen. Highly recommendable 7.5/10