Johann
04-25-2004, 09:35 PM
The Punisher is true to the comics, the costume is right, the movie is right.
The whole point of Frank Castle's story is that he has no reason to live. He just exists. Everything he cared about in life was ripped away from him. What do you do when your world is ransacked by injustice?
You punish. With extreme prejudice.
Tom Jane is perfect for the character. Frank Castle is not shredded like Mr. Universe. He's in great physical shape, like Batman, but he has no super powers (also like Batman). Jane looks and acts like the Punisher. I had no trouble believing him.
Because he has no reason to live, he just doles out serious speed & violence to all who do wrong in the world. (Remind you of Rambo? It should)
He says "You can't kill me. I'm already dead"- a line that sums up his constitution. He's an angry, lonely, empty soul. If you understand this going into Punisher then you'll be able to see the film for what it is: a tragic story punctuated with cathartic "taking it into your own hands" justice. (Cathartic for me at least: if the same thing happened to me I'd have the same rage as Frank).
Ebert thought it was saturated with pointless violence and gave it a thumbs down, but he's wrong. Every weapon used was used for a single point: you kill the family of a good man, you turn him into a raging vigilante who will show you the same mercy you showed the victims.
The whole point of Frank Castle's story is that he has no reason to live. He just exists. Everything he cared about in life was ripped away from him. What do you do when your world is ransacked by injustice?
You punish. With extreme prejudice.
Tom Jane is perfect for the character. Frank Castle is not shredded like Mr. Universe. He's in great physical shape, like Batman, but he has no super powers (also like Batman). Jane looks and acts like the Punisher. I had no trouble believing him.
Because he has no reason to live, he just doles out serious speed & violence to all who do wrong in the world. (Remind you of Rambo? It should)
He says "You can't kill me. I'm already dead"- a line that sums up his constitution. He's an angry, lonely, empty soul. If you understand this going into Punisher then you'll be able to see the film for what it is: a tragic story punctuated with cathartic "taking it into your own hands" justice. (Cathartic for me at least: if the same thing happened to me I'd have the same rage as Frank).
Ebert thought it was saturated with pointless violence and gave it a thumbs down, but he's wrong. Every weapon used was used for a single point: you kill the family of a good man, you turn him into a raging vigilante who will show you the same mercy you showed the victims.