THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Marvel Comics has had their fair share of heroes that do things by the book. And then there’s a few that get dirty to succeed. When it comes to the latter, I don’t think there is any that does it like The Punisher.
PLOT
The 2004 film follows Frank Castle begin his retirement as FBI agent after his last undercover operation busted a smuggling operation. It is he who goes to Puerto Rico with his wife Maria (Samantha Mathis) and son Will (Marcus Johns) to go to a family reunion hosted by his parents. His time for peace is ruined when his entire family is slaughtered by Quentin Glass, right hand man of mafia boss Howard Saint. This happened as a result for the death of one of his twin sons, Bobby (James Carpinello), that occurred in Frank's last operation. Quentin Glass (Will Patton) and Bobby's twin brother John (Carpinello) attempt to leave Frank for dead, but he ends up surviving thanks to nursed back to health by a local fisherman. As months go by, the FBI find themselves unwilling to pursue Howard due to his corrupt influence. Knowing this, Frank tends to take matters into his own hands. As he takes his steps to exact revenge, he takes residence at an abandoned apartment and befriends his tenants: Joan, Spacker Dave and Nathaniel Bumpo. His first step ends up convincing one of Howard's henchman Mickey Duka (Eddie Jemison) to reveal how to take down Howard. Since he acts the least malevolent, he shares that the boss relies on his connection to two Cuban brothers involved in the criminal underworld as well. Frank would then spend the next couple of days studying the schedules of Howard, his wife Livia (Laura Harring) and Quentin. He takes notice while Howard golfs daily and Livia goes to the movies every other night, Quentin is secretly gay. Although Frank first reveals to his former friends on the force that he survived the massacre, he makes his return known to Howard by displaying his tombstone on a golf course. He then chooses to torment him by stealing his money (throwing a majority of it outside a window while keeping some for himself in a briefcase), which would ruin his connection with his Cuban partners. He then further stirs up the pot by making his rival believe that Livia and Quentin are having an affair. Howard tries again with having him killed by sending assassins after him. Frank kills a man named Harry Heck on a bridge, while later taking a tall Russian (Kevin Nash). When the latter is dealt with, Quentin chooses to look for him personally. When the tenants refuse to give him up, the right hand man retaliates by torturing Dave, using pilers to pluck his piercings. Frank continues to get even by posing as an anonymous blackmailer, arranging Quentin to be at certain locations in order to place Livia's car in the same location(s). He places the final nail in the coffin by putting one of her earrings in Quentin's bed. When Howard finds the false evidence, he takes matters in his own hands by killing both of who he thinks betrayed him. On the brink of losing everything, Frank takes his final act of vengeance by killing Johnny and every henchman in sight of the boss' club. Having Howard to himself, he admits to his schemes of manipulating the deaths of Livia and Quentin before killing him, by tying his body to a car and crashing it into a parking lot that explodes thanks to his own rigged explosives. Completing his act of vengeance, he considers taking his life, but stops himself and decides to continue his vigilant fight against crime. After leaving behind the remaining of Howard's money to his friendly tenants, the film ends with Frank vowing to kill every criminal in his new vigilante life.
THOUGHTS
Because I didn't read the comic books of this character at the time of its release, I had no idea what I was in for other than the fact that it looked crazy. Afterwards, I was honestly pretty impressed with what was given. Director Jonathan Hensleigh puts viewers in a crazy trip of revenge filled with very well crafted fights and shootouts shown throughout. If you're picking between the fight against the Russian or the final shootout at the club, you know you're enjoying yourself. While moments like make this movie feel awesome, I'm clicked because we're given a protagonist that oddly and arguably feels the most human. Thomas Jane accurately portrays Frank as a man who is barely hanging on to his will to live after the loss he went through. He became a man with nothing to lose and with that in mind, he doesn't hesitate creating such carnage. He believes that he has to fight the way he does because others won't. He is willing to make the decisions that they're afraid to make. When you see Mark Collie's Harry Heck sing 'In Time', it is a perfect way to reflect that he is way past going back on his actions. Even though he acts as merciless as he sounds, it's a surprise that he still has a heart within. Aside from honoring his son with the last shirt he picked out for him, he still chooses to tolerate those that act friendly towards him. While Ben Foster's Dave and John Pinette's Bumpo don't act like the brightest, they're clearly about as innocent as any standard citizen out there. They may be slightly afraid of the Punisher, but they know he deserves to get even. And as for Joanie, Rebecca Romjin portrays her as one who is lost in her own way because she is usually in the worst of luck due to her taste in men. That all changed when Frank entered her life because she was reminded by him not every guy is cruel. She then returns the favor by reminding him that there is still good out there. Being given such an important reminder will only make him more focused in his vigilant path to peace. Of course with a protagonist so vile, you're gonna need a villain that can be just as such. Howard Saint may not be as vile as the infamous Billy Russo/Jigsaw, but John Travolta gives a memorable performance by being just as cruel as you'd expect from a mob boss. But like prior mobster characters, they have their own personal affection when it comes to family, so it's not a surprise that he chose to retaliate when his son died. But his decision to overkill it as his requested proved how remorseless he is, and a villain like that is one to always be afraid of. Frank may have a long way to go with his plan to cleanse the world in his way, but at least the world feels a little safe without Howard. Since he obviously wasn't the only mobster out there, you already know he'll be ready for his next trail of mob blood. While I think this movie is better than it should be, there were still a fair share of moments that hold it back from being better. Now I’m surprised that Frank pulled a big ruse in the opening, but I’m even more surprised that he didn’t oversell it with extra fake blood. I say this because he’s gambling when no one comments on how clean his suit looked after getting shot. That’s weirder than when the henchman Howard kills didn’t bleed. I really don’t blame Maria making a break for it because she’s that confident in Frank holding his own long enough to be a distraction, but I gotta admit it was still a bad move because she didn’t exactly have cover. If she knew what she was in for when marrying a cop, she should’ve been packing the whole time for the sake of defending herself. I even thought it was pretty wild on how Frank was able to shoot at the perpetrator right when they’re charging at him with a car, yet no one in the car dies. I know we want to see Frank to go over the top when he gets even, but it’s insane no one took a hit at that point. And of course, they mess up by trying to kill him with fire rather than shooting him point blank. And am I the only one wondering how Mickey doesn’t get caught with the double cross? Yeah Frank does manipulate Howard’s downfall, but it’s not like he needed Mickey after his plan worked out. Considering that Frank hardly trusts anyone, it surprises me that he didn’t tie up that loose end. Even Quentin messes up on not killing Dave when he knew the guy was withholding information. I did say I like Mark Collie’s cameo as Harry Heck for the sake of his song, but I’m thrown off on how the guy didn’t kill Frank immediately when he left diner. He could’ve shot him right out the door and he likely would’ve not been caught. On top of that, all of Howard’s henchmen make the cliche mistake of going after Frank one at a time, rather than all at once. I don’t want to sound like I’m rooting for the bad guys, but they should be smarter than this. Also, why did Frank decide to build a secret elevator? You could say he prepared for the worst, but if that’s true, he should’ve known that an assassin like the Russian would’ve been coming for him. Other than that, you’re still in for something cool. In short, The Punisher is a cool superhero movie for amping it up with Marvel’s most unlikely protagonist. If either superheroes or general action are up your alley, don’t take too long to check this out.
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