"The Punisher" does exactly what the title promises. It punishes absolutely everyone -- the villains, the good guy, the good guy's family, his friends and, most of all, the audience. This movie, based on the comic book of the same name, is just horrible, from beginning to end.
There are no moments of relief or joy when the good guy, Frank Castle a.k.a. "The Punisher" (Thomas Jane), succeeds or knocks off another baddie or when he finally achieves his overall goal. And if you think I am blowing the movie by telling you he succeeds in the end, then you are a moron.
The only time the movie works is when it takes itself lightly and understands its role as a B-movie, which happens a grand total of one time. There is a scene in which Castle fights the Russian, played by Kevin Nash, which is really entertaining and even a little exciting. It was the only time that walking out of the theater was not in the back of my mind.
Other scenes were so pointless. And the one-liners, oh, the one-liners. Leave the one-liners to Schwarzenegger, Thomas Jane. You can't pull them off. No one really can, so skip them for the sake of all of us.
The movie wants to be so dark, depressing and dreary in the road to revenge that we get no enjoyment out of what is happening on screen. It completely lacks smart, witty action and humor, as it just wants to blow things up, drudge through the monotony of brutal revenge and expose the audience to a film ripped of fun, excitement and involvement.
I never read the comic book, but I would like to think that this movie entirely misses the heart of the Marvel comic book. So few of these comic book movies capture what makes comic books so awesome to read for adolescent boys and young men. Their characters are larger than life, super-powerful and not held back by any of society's rules. It gives the reader a free card to experience whatever they want. But who cares about experiencing the ride if the experience is as depressing, boring, and dark as the one in "The Punisher."
Although his lines are horribly cliché, John Travolta does a respectable job as the head villain. He is driven by his obsession with his wife and odd love for his two sons. He is an interesting character caught in a film that won't serve him justice.
The scariest part of "The Punisher" came when I was watching the movie with my jaw dropped in utter shock of the terribleness of one particular scene. I look over at my column partner Jeff Miller only to see him smiling and then leaning toward me excitedly whispering, "Oh man, that was so cool." Needless to say, I almost walked out the movie theater never to speak to Jeff Miller again after the respect I had permanently lost for him.
Frank Castle had been told in this scene to "go with God" as he started his mission of retaliation. He responds, "God's going to sit this one out." I wish to God I had too.
Questions, comments should be sent to grumpy@cavalierdaily.com
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