Review of The Punisher (2004) by Thequietgamer — 28 Apr 2017

Before the MCU came into being and saved the day, a lot of Marvel characters were having a rough time finding success on the big-screen during the 2000s. Spider-Man and the X-Men were doing fine, and even Blade did well enough to get himself a trilogy. The rest of the Marvel heroes though? Not so much. They were met with poor reviews and disappointed fans. Even The Punisher was met with critical backlash, although for the life of me I can't see why.

It's an awesome origin story that plays out as a superhero revenge story. It's dark, brutal, and Thomas Jane absolutely nails it as Frank Castle. There are even some nice bits of dark humor, scenes pulled straight from the comics, and is just as violent as one would expect a Punisher movie to be. Unlike Daredevil it actually manages to nail the mature, gritty tone. Something a lot of superhero movies have struggled with over the years and even still do.

It's interesting to see how many familiar faces were pulled from Punisher comics to fill out the supporting cast. The movie offers quite a bit of fan-service for those who are clued in. The mob family Castle sees himself fighting against feels a little generic, and Travolta is surprisingly flat as the main villain, but none of that gets in the way of how satisfying the violence is. It's also got an old-school feel. Revenge has never been quite so satisfying.

Yes, the early 2000s weren't the kindest to a lot of Marvel's characters. The critics took shots at The Punisher that honestly feel undeserved. During a time when Daredevil, The Fantastic Four, and even Hulk were failing to do those classic characters justice (they really tried though, I'll give them that), The Punisher stood tall and delivered. It's one heck of a satisfying revenge flick, a bleak vigilante tale, a throwback to the gritty action movies of the 70's and 80's, and something truly different from every other superhero movie out there. It's a treat for fans of the comics and a great action movie for everyone else.