I was one of the few people — judging by its box office performance — who went to see Punisher: War Zone this weekend. I went, primarily, because I like seeing things blow up. (On screen. Important distinction there, Mr. Parole Officer.) But I was also curious to see if, indeed, the third time was the charm. Because I can’t quite understand why, of all the characters in the pop-culture firmament, Frank Castle — better known as the Punisher — is worth so many attempts at getting right. (And, ironically, of all the movie Punishers — Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane, and the new model, Ray Stevenson, all pictured — Dolph’s movie is the best.)
It’s not like the Punisher is James Bond, or Sherlock Holmes, or even Tarzan…he’s just a dude who kills criminals while wearing a skull on his chest. I get why he works in the comics — in a medium where, more often than not, the "hero" doesn’t actually kill the bad guy, the Punisher is a change of pace. He keeps the morgue as busy as Batman keeps Arkham Asylum. But to movie audiences, the Punisher is no different than any other vigilante we’ve seen a thousand times before. How do you keep them down on the farm once they’ve seen Death Wish?
I can see why they made the 2004 Thomas Jane flick. Flushed with visions of Spider-Man money dancing in their heads, it seemed like a no-brainer. It wasn’t good, not by a long shot, but I get it. Punisher: War Zone is the big mystery: Why make it, unless you’re going to make it, you know, better? And in case you’re wonder how War Zone might have been better — and not the cheeseball flick it was — here are three easy steps:
1) Remember, the Punisher is a crazy man. There is no straight line between one’s family getting gunned down by mobsters and becoming a monomaniacal killing machine. Frank Castle is mentally ill. Treat him as such. Go watch Henry: Portait of a Serial Killer. That’s how you do it.
2) Leave some cliches unturned. Between the marinara-stained Italian mob, the cap-popping gangbangers, the vodka-swilling Russians, the Doc Martened Irish punks, and the fu manchu’d Asians, everyone on-screen conspired to make a joke of everything that transpired. Thereby sapping it of any dramatic tension. Or realism.
3) The Punisher’s story should not be one of redemption. He is a monster on a never-ending mission. He should not be rehabilitated. He should never been seen almost crying while looking at someone else’s daughter. And he should never be on the verge of hanging up his guns. He’s the shark in Jaws. He’s the Terminator. He’s a man who voluntarily gave up his humanity. Period. Granted, that makes for a difficult protagonist. But you treat the Punisher the way Christopher Nolan treated the Joker — as a force of nature, with no whys to explain his actions. And you still get to blow up lots of stuff.
More Punisher:
Review: Puinisher: War Zone
Comic-Con 2008: Punisher: War Zone looks lackluster
Review: The Punisher (1989)
Review: The Punisher (2004)
I’ve been saying this for years! The Punisher simply will NEVER work as a movie. He’s cool in the comics because it’s like someone took an action movie hero and put them in a comic book (a different flavor next to the swishy bat and spider men types). But once you put him on the movie screen… that’s it… he loses everything special about him and becomes just another pissed off cop bent on revenge for the death of his family. Please Hollywood… leave Frank to the comics… that’s where he’s special and where he belongs.
That begs the question – did we even need one? No. No we did not.
I was quite surprised at the question of whether we needed 3. I didn’t know there had been one 3. popculturecurmudgeon.blogspot.com
they can make a good punisher movie. it was called man on fire. they also made a good fantastic 4 movie. it was called incredibles
In the comics, he actually started out as a villain for Spider-man and I always found it intriguing – the idea of a normal man with guns chasing down supervillains. That could’ve been a new twist to the genre. The Punisher, in the movies, could use a dose of the fantastic or at least John Woo style shootouts (if ever there was an excuse for that, a superhero who uses guns is it!).
How can I email whomever wrote this? They apparently need a good history lesson about the Punisher. Tom Janes turn as the Punisher nailed it. To say Dolph was better is completely moronic. This is the worst article I have ever read on EW. Worst. Article. EVER.
i have yet to see this film, and i am quite sure it will bomb, but the reason it will is because people like Mr. Bernardin, who don’t understand the material they are working with. Frank Castle is vastly different from theJoker, and anyone who has ever put the most minute of attention toward the source material would know this. Castle is a virtuos man who is sickened by the horrible things he has been put through and continues to see on the street and lashes out in the only way he knowns how, which stems from his severe PTSD. Although the character gets lost in the excitement of carnage he is always aware of his actions and would gladly hang up his guns at any time, yet he sees that he is needed. It is the same, with great power comes great responcibility draw which forces Spiderman to continue when all he wants to do is be normal. Castle is a complex character, and in this respect he deserves the attention given to the Joker, however he is not as famous and gets shafted repeatedly.
To Jacob:
So because you disagree with Marc, you think he’s moronic? Look up the word irony and your photo should be right beside it. I hate elitist fans that yap on and on about being self-labeled experts, yet are unwilling to be open minded about what other comic book fans think. Try telling that to the mass of Punisher fans you overlooked. A good number of them thought the 1989 version, despite its flaws and corniness, was the superior adaption. Are they all stupid too for feeling this way?
As for Punisher: Warzone, the commercials made the film look as dumb as the average videogame plot, with the tawdry action scenes to prove it. I’m not surprised it only made 4 mil.
I think the reason for three movies is because, every Punisher fan knew that Marvel did not get it right the last two times. I am disappointed that the movie had done poorly in the box office. But I blame it on it’s release day. I think it should have come out on Holloween day. Now for the movie I think it’s the best of the three. My reason is it was dark , bloody, gore, and a whole lot of guns. I was amazed that a woman director Lexi Alexander would have even think to let the Punisher be Unleashed in some ruthless killings.If anyone has read the books , they know the Punisher is this ruthless.In the other movies , Lundgren is mostly sitting with no emotion, and Thomas Jane is just too pretty and short.Ray Stevenson has the height, and made me believe that he was a scary guy. A true Punisher Fan like myself is finally satisfied to see a movie that I had envision for many year reading his books. A Punisher that Marvel would look the other way , And let him be Unleashed in a blood bath.
I really don’t understand why the Punisher is so hard to do. He’s really the most straightforward comics character out there: guy’s family gets slaughtered, guy goes crazy, kills bad guys like there’s no tomorrow. Tada. It’s not like he’s a master’s thesis. They need to stop trying to make him more complicated than he is, take him on his own terms, and make a freakin’ movie.
Dolph was the best and it should have stopped there. What’s next, two more daredevils?
omg this Punisher movie was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen and I think EW’s letter grade (C+) was ridiculously generous – especially considering Australia warranted a LOWER grade (C-). I rolled my eyes precisely 2 minutes into The Punisher: War Zone and it did not stop until the final, cheesy line after the screen went black to credit. I’d love my $10 back please.
…and he looka, alooka real real scared…he all ah, hunched ovah…
I understand wanting to give The Punisher the big-screen treatment it deserves. But this was too soon. (And just a bad movie- can’t they even tell anymore?)
Marvel’s mantra is “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Like Spiderman before it, Iron Man has them seeing $$ in their eyes. (They think) The new Hulk re-boot was a success. So they are sort of making the same mistakes. Let’s hope opening in 8th (8th!) place kills this horrible “do-over” trend right in it’s tracks.
Fox movie studios owns the rights on a few Marvel characters till 2012 and with the popularity of comic book movies being at its zenith why not try and cash in now. That is the simple reason for this cheap ass looking and feeling film. When the right revert back to Marvel in 2012, Marvel will do the Punisher right and all will be forgiven.