The Punisher: Dirty Laundry

I think what happened to the "Punisher" franchise over the past decade has been a shame. I personally thought that 2004's "The Punisher" (starring Thomas Jane) was a fantastic adaptation of the comic, boasting a great tone and a wonderful interpretation of the character. Evidently, the studios didn't like it so much. After teasing a sequel for some time, the series was rebooted with "Punisher: War Zone"- a weird, hyper-stylized, low-budget freak-show of a film that had a lot of nice moments, but was just too silly and weird and questionably constructed for its own good.

And it was a shame for fans like myself, who yearned to see a follow up to the 2004 film. The reboot came (and subsequently under-performed at the box office), and it seemed we'd never get to see more of Jane's take on the character.

Cut to 2012, with "The Punisher: Dirty Laundry." A fantastic short film from director Phil Joanou, in which Jane is finally able to reprise his role from his previous outing. (Although it's never specifically made clear that this is the same "Punisher", I believe the implication is that this is indeed set in the same "universe" as the 2004 film) We follow Frank Castle, aka "The Punisher" as he observes the dark events in the city around him, and contemplates whether or not to take action and punish the corruption and crime around him.

Everything in this short works quite well. Jane and the other performers present (including a small role from Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman) give awesome, evocative performances that hit the material home. Direction by Joanou is very strong and slick for such a small production. The script by Chad St. John hits just the right tone, and is suitably claustrophobic and oppressive. The setting and look is perfect for the script and character. Everything gels fairly well.

That being said, there are a few detractors here. The film's direction, while quite good, does fall into the annoying "shaky cam" style a few times too many. (I wish we could be rid of shaky-cam style camera-work for a few years, honestly) And the music... is very... distracting! It fits the mood perfectly, but the fact is the score for this short was taken from Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight", and it can't help but pull you out at times. I honestly thought Heath Ledger's Joker character was going to pop up at some point, because once you hear his iconic theme in the background, he's almost all you can think about. It's a shame, because the tone and style of the music is just perfect for this film, but because it's already well-known and notable music, it does more harm than good.

Those complaints being said (and that complaint about the music is actually a pretty big issue, even though it seems like it should be inconsequential), this is still a great short film. And a great follow- up for fans who wanted to see more of Jane in the role of The Punisher. It re-invigorated my hopes for future "Punisher" projects in a way that I hadn't experienced since I first saw the 2004 film. And I hope the strong fan reception of the short leads to more "Punisher" projects (whether they be shorts or perhaps another film) with Jane.

I give "The Punisher: Dirty Laundry" a very strong 8 out of 10. Fans of the character (and 2004 film) should definitely check it out. As should anyone looking for a fast, dark ride.

This is one of those "I've just had enough" films where the guy finally gets out there and takes care of business. The Punisher wants to mind his own business, sleeping in his van, doing his laundry at a coin laundry. People are raped and attacked behind him. But finally he has to act. I don't know the character, so I can't speak with any true knowledge of him. Just that he is silent and sort of depressed. Well done for what it is.

I happened to stumble across this while checking out the recent stories from Comic Con 12. Wow! Am I glad that I did. This 10 minute short is absolutely superb!

It's dark, gritty, dramatic and has a sense of realism to it that makes it that much more enthralling. I always loved Thomas Jane as the punisher character Frank Castle but felt that the rest of the movie wasn't done as well as it could have been.

This short has the atmospheric tension and drama that the movie was missing, as the street thugs continue to run rampant the suspense and tension continuously builds until it gets to the stage where we know what must be done. Punishment.

Also some of the shots used were just sublime, the slow motion shot of Frank Castle crossing the street while throwing the Jack Daniels bottle in the air is awesome! You forgive the poor blood effects given it was made by Thomas Jane as a fan/tribute video but by god, did they do a fantastic job!

Have to give a nod to the acting in general, Thomas Jane is the punisher and performed greatly as expected but the surprise appearance by Ron Pearlman was terrific and his acting as nothing but a store clerk was amazing and very convincing.

If you are yet to see it, do yourselves a favor and get onto YouTube to watch it! I hope that this ends up being seen by the right people and Thomas Jane gets picked up to reprise his role as the most bad-ass vigilante to grace the silver screen.

"What's the difference between justice and punishment?"

Excellent to see Frank Castle return, especially with Thomas Jane at the helm. I wasn't expecting too much when I stumbled on this short, however after seeing it, well, I want another Punisher movie with him in it! Part of Warzone's failure was that it just didn't carry off the dark and brooding atmosphere that Tom Jane projects. Aside from that, the atmosphere of the short itself is really nicely put together, from the exterior street shots to the dreary interiors.

10/10 from me, cant see how this could've been better and let's just hope the studios realise that Tom Jane can be put to better use than bit parts in TV Shows and convince him to reprise his role in another big budget Punisher!

The Punisher: Dirty Laundry, is a short film that is nothing but awesome fan service. Seriously, I've been waiting for the day that Thomas Jane embodies Frank Castle again. This right here is that sequel we always wanted. Unfortunately, it is only a 10 minute long short. But, we get some nice stuff here.

The Good: Tom Jane is the perfect Punisher. He is so dang good in the role! His performance is out of this world! Also, nice Ron Perlman cameo! Very cool. The story here is very Punisher-esque, along with the ideals of punishment and justice that Frank speaks of at the end and with Perlman's character. Nice photography as well. I love the new Punisher logo too!

The Bad: Since this is a short film, the blood and gun effects are pretty lousy. We also get some over the top violence that I think even Garth Ennis would not write into his books. It's violent alright, but not the violence I enjoyed from the 2004 film. It's bloody and gory, but too more gore and they lose me. Also, the score is the Dark Knight score. It pulls me right out of the story when I hear it used here. Wish they used something else, oh well.

Overall, this is Thomas Jane as The Punisher again. Need I say more?