The Punisher (Review)

Citizen's Grade: O.K.

I liked this movie a lot.....until I saw Punisher War Zone. Ray Stevenson makes a better Punisher than Thomas Jane, though Jane does a good job.

Frank Castle (Jane) is a FBI agent that "stings" an arms deal of mobster Howard Saint(John Travolta). During the deal, Howard's son is killed. After retiring, Frank and his family travel to Puerto Rico to attend a family reunion. Saint sends his hired guns and kills the entire family, believing that Castle is dead as well.


A mysterious man rescues Frank and helps him recover physically. Frank returns to Tampa, and moves into an apartment building where his three neighbors try to figure out who he is and what he's doing.

Frank Castle then goes about an ingenious plan to destroy Saint's empire in all facets. Destroying his money laundering schemes, setting up his right hand man and wife....both of whom Saint murders believing they were having an affair. Castle then kills all his henchmen.....and finally Saint is "Punished".

The coolest line of the movie from Frank Castle:
"Those who do evil to others -killers and rapists, psychos and sadists- will come to know me well. Frank Castle is dead. Call me... The Punisher."

A good movie that received a lot of acclaim, but the sequel was cancelled after Jane left because of creative differences with others. The action sequences are good (especially the Punisher's fight scene with the assassin know as "The Russian"), the story stays true to the character's comic book origins, and the supporting actors/actresses are great. This movie's other stars include Rebecca Romijn, Will Patton, Ben Foster, Laura Harring, Roy Scheider, & professional wrestler Kevin Nash (as "The Russian").