Review of The Punisher (2004) by Tomass P — 26 Dec 2012

When he crosses a high powered crime lord, ex FBI agent Frank Castle pays the ultimate price, and as an act of revenge he goes outside the law and takes on a new persona.

This Marvel character was an odd choice to bring to the big screen, as he is not your normal comic book hero, and as a result the finished movie is a mixed bag. The movie starts off quite solidly, but as things progress the story loses it's way with the addition of humorous side characters and ends with a pretty run of the mill lacklustre "ready for a sequel" ending. The eclectic mix of actors all pay their roles with a range of zeal to woodenness, but it always good to see the late, great Roy Scheider. The production values are all very good and there are enough fights, bullets and blood to keep anyone happy. All in all this is isn't a bad movie, it tries to be big, but ends feeling like a failed pilot episode for a proposed TV series.