The Punisher (2004)

"What makes you any different from them?"
"They have something to lose."

Frank Castle (Jane) is an undercover FBI agent with one final mission before he retires.  The mission doesn't go as planned, and ends with the death of Bobby Saint (Carpinello).  Bobby's father is Howard Saint (Travolta), a powerful crime boss who wants revenge.  He sends his men to Puerto Rico to kill Castle and his entire family, at the request of his wife Livia (Harring).  Castle's wife Maria (Mathis) and young song Will (Johns), along with the rest of his extended family are executed and Castle is severely injured, but is rescued by a family friend.

Several months later, Castle moves to Tampa to get vengeance for his family.  He moves into an old tenement building with three young outcasts, Joan (Romjin), Spacker Dave (Foster), and Bumpo (Pinette), and begins setting his plan into motion.  He recruits demoted Saint stooge Micky Duka (Jemison) to be his spy / ally, and sets out to destroy Howard Saint and his entire organization.  Can he stay one step ahead of Saint and Quentin Glass (Patton)?


In 1974, Gerry Conway created the character of the Punisher.  He initially appeared as an antagonist in the Spider-Man comics, and proved to be a popular character for Marvel.  The character received his own series in the 1980s.  In 1989 Dolph Lundgren brought the character to life on the big screen in The Punisher was is not well-liked.  In the 2000s Marvel Studios made a deal with Artisan Entertainment to bring the Punisher back to the big screen and hired Jonathan Hensleigh to write and direct the film.

One of my roommates loves this film (it's her favorite), so I decided to give it a try.  I knew the character was based on a comic book, but that was it.  It is a bloody, violent film that more than earns its R rating.  It is interesting, and I enjoyed it overall, but there is strong language and violence throughout the film.  Most characters show no remorse for their actions, and then meet grisly ends.  Thomas Jane is good in the title role, and John Travolta was a good choice for the villain.  The cast as a whole is good and the action / explosions, etc are good.

After the success of this film, Marvel wanted to move forward with another Punisher film.  The sequel, Punisher: War Zone, premiered in 2008 with a new director and a different actor as Frank Castle / The Punisher.

The Punisher (2004) 124 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive brutal violence, language and brief nudity
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Starring: Thomas Jane as Frank Castle / The Punisher
John Travolta as Howard Saint
Will Patton as Quentin Glass
Roy Scheider as Frank Castle, Sr.
Laura Harring as Livia Saint
Ben Foster as Spacker Dave
Rebecca Romijn as Joan
John Pinette as Bumpo
Samantha Mathis as Maria Elizabeth Castle
Marcus Johns as Will Castle
Russell Andrews as Agent Jimmy Weeks
James Carpinello as Bobby Saint / John Saint
Eddie Jemison as Micky Duka