Release Date: April 16, 2004
Starring: Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Will Patton, Rebecca Romijin-Stamos, Ben Foster, Roy Scheider
Directed by: Jonathan Hensleigh
Written by: Michael France, Jonathan Hensleigh
Distributed by: Lions Gate Films
MPAA Rating: R (pervasive brutal violence, language, brief nudity)
The Punisher belongs to that rare breed of comic book movie -- the kind that are rated R, a group that, in recent years, includes only the Blade and Crow franchises. But instead of allowing that to open creative possiblities for its over-the-top revenge story, it actually does more harm than good. This is an empty, excessively violent, poorly assembled, unoriginal action film, inadequate even allowing for the occasional stretch of comic book-inspired imagination.
In the film, Thomas Jane portrays Frank Castle, a man who begins as an undercover special agent for the FBI and turns to vigilantism and into the hard-bodied title character once his entire family is murdered. This unfortunate scenario comes about as payback of sorts, once he’s involved in the death of the son of a major crime boss named Howard Saint (John Travolta); and Saint’s revenge is not only brutally extreme, it’s senseless and downright disturbing.
At Frank’s family reunion in Puerto Rico, an army of Saint’s goons massacre the crowd with machine guns, and though Frank’s wife and son manage to escape, they’re run over by a truck soon after. Why this was taken to such gruesome length isn’t clear, unless we’re to assume a bit too much about Saint’s underdeveloped viciousness. But at least now our hero, who somehow survived a gunshot to the chest (with no scar) and an explosion, can use his military training and unusually large weapons collection to get sweet revenge, right?
If only there was an ounce of sympathy to give him, his revenge just might have been all that we’re hoping for -- but since Frank Castle has the personality of an armored tank, there isn’t much room for emotion. He trudges along like most other lone-wolf action heroes, worrying exclusively about himself and his mission, but he shows absolutely no depth as a person. Some of his techniques are rather entertaining -- he booby-traps his apartment with hidden guns and explosives, rigs his car with armor, and kills with weapons even the military wouldn’t use (that bow and arrow sure is cool) -- but the only reason to cheer for him is because, for a movie like this, it’s the rules. There’s no actual satisfaction in watching him do what he does.
What The Punisher lacks is personality and a sense of purpose, because the movie is just a group of one-dimensional characters wasting studio dollars with meaningless stunts and action set pieces. Things simply happen, often with no explanation. What, for instance, is the Punisher doing in the five months after his family’s death -- is he honing his killing skills or what? And what, for example, is Howard Saint in charge of, and why is he so bent on getting revenge himself (is he just an angry millionaire or does he work for a rogue agency seeking world domination?).
The screenplay is filled with other information, though none of it meaningful or interesting. There’s an issue with Frank’s alcoholism and a pseudo-romance between him and his attractive new neighbor (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), both of which are completely worthless to the plot. There a pair of comedic characters, who also live in his building, and they add a bit of relief and almost muster a few humanistic qualities out of Frank. But if his own family members can’t break his shell, those two goofs certainly won’t have much luck.
The title character is just as much of a weapon as any of his knives or semi-automatic firearms, and he might as well have been mechanical himself. Even shallow action characters like James Bond or the guys once played by Bruce Willis and Steven Seagal at least had enough charm to keep the audience caring. The Punisher doesn’t have that in any of its characters, least of all its protagonist.
-- Andy Zientek (zfilm@earthlink.net)