The Punisher was one of my favorite comic book heroes (or anti-hero) of the 80s. I’ve seen all of the Punisher movies so far, so I was definitely going to see this movie. I did wait until it came out on DVD before renting it, instead of watching it in the theater.
As with the last three Punisher movies, Frank Castle is played by a different actor. Our favorite vigilante was played by Dolph Lundgren (The Punisher, 1989), then Thomas Jane (The Punisher, 2004), and finally Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone, 2008).
As far as acting goes, I’d rate this movie along the same level as the 2004 movie. On one hand, I was glad that they included Microchip in this movie, but I was disappointed in the choice of actor – Wayne Knight. I know it’s wrong to typecast actors, but throughout the entire movie, I just kept thinking “Hello, Newman” in Jerry Seinfeld’s voice.
Frank Castle goes up against Jigsaw and his brother, Looney Bin Jim. I had never heard about Looney Bin Jim, but I was familiar with Jigsaw. I believe that Jigsaw was a good villain for the movie, but I think the character was a bit too much over done.
The overall movie was okay and felt a bit like The Boondock Saints especially when Frank was suspended by a spinning chandelier while firing two different pistols killing a room full of mobsters.
The movie was quite violent, much more than the previous movies. I would have enjoyed a bit more story and a little less gore. I just hope Marvel doesn’t throw in the towel for the Punisher with this movie. I still think Marvel might be able to figure out how to make a decent Punisher movie, if they keep trying.
Resources:
- Punisher (Marvel Wiki)
