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The Punisher
You ever see an ad for a movie and just know that you're going to hate the movie? I had that feeling about The Punisher. First of all The Punisher as character, to me anyway, is quite dark. His family has been murdered and he seeks revenge or as he says, punishment, for those that committed the crime. I see this story is dark and moir, almost an even angrier and even more brutal Batman. but when I saw the ads I saw something that looked campy and that didn't take the subject matter very seriously.
So, we didn't check the movie out opening weekend we spent that whole weekend drooling over Kill Bill Volume II. After we came down from Tarantino's homage to 70's action we realized that we hadn't taken a look at that weekends other big release. So on the very next weekend we headed to the theater for a little punishment.
The film stars Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, featuring one of the worst hair dye jobs since Shannana, as an agent tracking arms dealers. During his last bust the son of a crime lord, Howard Saint, played by John Travolta, is murdered. Saint sets out to take revenge on those responsible for his son's death.
Saint's thugs eventually discover the identity of the agent responsible for the bust and track The Frank Castle to a family reunion. Saint's wife orders not only Castle's termination but the termination of his entire family. So predictably, they succeed in murdering Castle's family and they think, Castle too. He survives and returns to Florida to punish those who killed his family.
Castle moves into a run down apartment complex where he meets a new group of unwanted friends that consider him one of them, one of the misfits, outcasts. He helps Joan, played by Rebecca Romijn Stamos, get rid of an abusive boyfriend so in turn this comedic group look after Castle as well. They also provide a substantial of comedic relief in the film.
Rather than do the film in the dark noir way that I thought the film should be done in, the filmmakers choose to present the film in an 80's action movie sort of way. This film isn't an homage to 80's action films as Kill Bill is to 70's Kung Fu flicks, The Punisher is truly a film out of time as it feels like an 80's action film. This was surprising and fun. The villains, especially the assassins sent to kill Castle, were hilarious and weird and entertaining. Almost no CGI was used in The Punisher so the shoot outs, the car chases, and the explosions also felt very retro.
The only problem with The Punisher is how it tries to sit on the fence between the dark noir film I wanted and a tongue in cheek comic book movie. There aremany funny and campy scenes throughout the film and then in the next minute there are scenes of intense violence and even a scene of torture. The jump back and forth in stylistic choice is a problem and keeps the movie from being at the top of its genre such as films like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. Instead this film is more reminiscent of older Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone films that suffered from the same problems such as Raw Deal and the Rambo sequels. we even get a Rambo sequence of a long pan of weapons with Castle standing above them. I like those old 80's flawed action movies and because of that, I like this one. If you hated Commando, you'll probably hate this one too.
One intersting choice and in a way a problem with the film is that there is no hope at all in the movie. His family is dead, he has no love left in his heart and he is alone. This level of angry depression is necessary for The Punisher to "continue his work" after he has finished punishing those who murdered his family but it makes for a heavy down beat throughout the film all the way to the end. In movies like Raw Deal and Commando there was lways a hope of something better by the end of the movie. At the end of Commando Arnold had his kid back and had Rae Dawn Chong waiting for him. No glimmer of hope in this film like that. I actually appreciate that choice but from a stylistic perspective it makes the film feel uneven.
I was pleasantly surprised by The Punisher. The film featured great retro action, funny comic book villains and supporting characters, and a unexpectedly great performance by Thomas Jane as the man himself. I went in expecting to hate this movie and came out hoping for a franchise. It's imperfect but it's refreshing to see an 80's influence on an action film in a market saturated with 70's retor such as of course the Kill Bill flicks, Starsky and Hutch and others.
7/10
-Stephen Lackey |
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The Punisher Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh Starring: Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Rebecca Romijn Stamos Review: 7/10
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