Punisher

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In recent years, Marvel Comics and the major Hollywood studios have had a very successful symbiotic relationship. While Marvel is eager to move into a fresh medium that its huge stable of superhero characters might thrive, Hollywood too is taking full advantage of this relationship by picking up ready-made well known comic book characters and bringing them to life on the big screen. As a result, Marvel has had several of its famous comic book series turned into very successful motion pictures that are major box-office hits all over the world. On top of this short list are of course the Spider-Man, X-Men and Blade movies, which are beginning to turn into legitimate movie franchises all by themselves; courtesy of great scripts, directors who know what fans want out of a comic-based movie and actors who fit perfectly into their superhero roles.

While we talk about the recent big successes of comic-based movies, there are also the less successful Marvel-inspired ones like "The Hulk" and "Daredevil". Fortunately, the recent motion picture incarnation of Marvel´s comic book "The Punisher" falls into a category that is between great ("Spider-Man") and mediocre ("Daredevil"). "The Punisher", to my pleasant surprise, is able to carry a story that more or less succeeds in capturing the spirit and tone of the comic book. It is certainly not on the same level as "Spider-Man" but it succeeds in resurrecting the character from the ashes of movie graveyards after the abomination of the first movie effort in 1989.

Without a doubt, even before the premiere of this new film, "The Punisher" already faces an uphill task in attracting a large enough audience due to some bad history. First, there is the problem with name recognition--both with its lead actor and also the "Punisher" name itself. Unlike "The Hulk" and "Daredevil", which had big-name actors like Eric Bana and Ben Affleck at the helm, Lions Gate´s "The Punisher" only has the lesser-known Thomas Jane ("Deep Blue Sea") as the lead character, Frank Castle aka The Punisher. Jane has the right physique to match the character that he is playing but still lacks that stirring emotional punch needed to portray a raging man out for blood. There is rage but just not enough of it. Then there is that horrendous 1989 Dolph Lundgren take on the Punisher character, which kind of obliterated the general movie-going public´s perception of any movie that is unfortunate enough to carry the same title. Once bitten, twice shy.

Second, even with the recent success of movies like "Hellboy", audiences (apart from the real fans) are still wary of stepping into the cinema for comic-based films, where they might find themselves watching a live action movie with no soul and just mindless violence, all saran-wrapped with a script full of clichés and acting that borders on tackiness. However, surprising as it might sound, 2004´s "The Punisher" rises above all that and delivers an enjoyable popcorn flick that tries its best to stay true to the underlying dark motivations of the comic book character.

Although there are some cosmetic changes done to the basic background story of the character in this movie, I don´t think any of them are drastic enough to warrant hate mails to Marvel Comics or enrage the comic´s fan base. Frank Castle (Tom Jane) is an ex-military man who is now working as an undercover FBI agent. On his final sting operation before his retirement, Castle is involved in the accidental shooting death of Bobby Saint (James Carpinello), the son of the local mob boss, Howard Saint (John Travolta). Thinking nothing more of the younger Saint´s death, Castle and his family--wife Maria (Samantha Mathis) and son Will (Marcus Johns)--join the rest of the Castle clan for a vacation and family reunion in Puerto Rico. Here, Roy Scheider (looking trim, tanned and ready to do battle with a Great White) makes a brief but memorable appearance as Castle´s father, Frank Sr.

Back in Florida, the Saints are taking the death of Bobby very hard and Howard orders his henchmen to exact revenge on Castle and his family. An eye for an eye. This is where things deviate a little from the comic book. Instead of only killing off Castle´s wife and son as in the comic book, this movie version seeks to deepen Frank Castle´s agony and broaden his lust for revenge as the goons sent by Saint wipe out the entire extended Castle family, including his parents and all his relatives, women and children included. Castle, as expected, barely survives the attack and spends the next few months recovering from his wounds and plotting his revenge against Howard Saint and his organization.

Revenge is an ugly and scar-filled emotion and it is also the most basic motivation for Marvel´s Punisher character. Instead of a mindless and ultra-violent romp racking up body counts by the hundreds, director Jonathan Hensleigh opts to look into the soul of the character to reveal the constant internal conflict between Castle´s previous role as a law enforcement officer and his dark desire to become judge, jury and executioner. In this respect but to a certain extent, Hensleigh succeeds in bringing out a version of "The Punisher" that would please fans and casual moviegoers alike. Some parts of the plot could have been developed further to enrich the overall story but given the time constraints (the movie comes in at approximately 124 minutes), it is only prudent for Hensleigh to keep the movie from dragging on any much longer than it needs to. Fortunately for the audience, the use of clichéd lines (common in action flicks, especially in comic-inspired ones) is kept to a minimum and unneeded superficial humor is not allowed to take over the tone of the movie.

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