This is not the first time Marvel Comics character, "The Punisher," has been in a feature length film. Dolph Lundren of "Rocky IV" fame was once the gun-toting vigilante, Frank Castle, in a wretched mutilation of the comic directed by Mark Goldblatt in 1989 - an age when no one took comic book movies seriously.
Now that true believers have worthy adaptations of their favorite superheroes in films such as Bryan Singer's "X-Men" series and Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man," prominent action screenplay writer and first-time director Jonathan Hensleigh brings "The Punisher" to the big screen again.
The origins of Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) are far less fantastical than the more famous spandex-clad heroes of yesteryear.
A recently retired undercover FBI counter-terrorism operative, Castle is targeted by underworld businessman Howard Saint (John Travolta) after Saint's son was killed in Castle's last undercover weapons bust. Saint has the entire Castle family murdered, but fails to erase the FBI agent himself. When Castle reemerges, his solitary goal in life is to avenge the death of his family and wipe out the Saint legacy.
Hensleigh's vision of "The Punisher" is unsettlingly dark and brooding, as it is the first R-rated film in the Marvel Enterprises series of comic book movies. He tries to use this newfound liberty to keep the film as far away from the campy nature of Goldblatt's version as humanly possible. Hensleigh bests the '80s version, but only marginally.
The action scenes hold their ground and will please viewers who crave a bit of mindless violence. Castle has a wide array of weapons, from standard pistols to a compound bow and arrow set, but none of these feel necessary when in the end, it is clear that Hensleigh's Punisher has a fetish for messy explosives.
The more impressive scenes are also the most shocking and masochistic. The slow insertion of a knife into Castle's chest by one of Saint's strongmen, simply called The Russian (played by hulking WWE star Kevin Nash), is painful to watch, and Castle's threats of blow-torching the flesh off the back of Saint's lackey, Mickey Duka (Eddie Jemison), is torturously arousing.
However, when the bodies aren't flying, though, "The Punisher" is simply a bore to watch. Hensleigh's direction is clearly unrefined, as much of the film's visuals are stale and uninspired, with few, if any, signs of creativity in his shots.
Though it may be fun to view the action in the film, Castle himself is downright unbearable. Jane's poor acting skills and inability to convincingly portray a gruff and vengeful man leaves the audience in a state of awkward confusion. It's much like seeing Jane's bizarrely hairy chest and baby smooth abs for the first time - the viewer simply doesn't know what to think of it.
Travolta needs to land himself another part that requires a bit of dancing, because his acting prowess is totally untapped. All he does is whine and moan throughout the film, though it does have the audience feel for all of the torture Saint endures. He is more likable than Castle, and it is never a good sign when the troubled villain evokes more pity than the troubled hero.
Rebecca Romjin-Stamos ("X-Men") is also strangely displaced in "The Punisher." Part of a trio of Castle's floor mates, her soul-saving character Joan is teamed with Goth nerd Cutter (Hank Stone) and obese chef Bumpo (John Pinette). Everything this trio does, including Joan's inspiring speech about memories to Castle, is the result of poor, generic Hollywood writing that is, to quote "The Simpsons'" Comic Book Guy, "so hackneyed, it would make Stan Lee blush."
Perhaps that was the reason why the man who single-handedly revolutionized comics opted not to make his traditional cameo in Hensleigh's movie like he did in all the other Marvel films.
"The Punisher" unfortunately follows in the footsteps of "Daredevil" and "Hulk," falling into the growing pit of bad comic book movies. Churning out films based on classic fan-favorite characters without a good plot or writing will only bring punishment to the moviegoers and the legacy of the comic figure.
But hey, at least Marvel will undoubtedly make a killing with the next "Spider-Man."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
