The Punisher: Vengador

The Punisher was made in 1990 but it remains my best comic-book adaption on screen ever. The film has captured the dark atmosphere of the comic-book like no other movie I've ever seen. Dolph plays Frank Castle, an ex-cop who retired after his wife was murdered (by the Mafia) to become a heavily-armed vigilante who lives in the sewers, called The Punisher. The story is about the Japanese Yakuza trying to take over the Mafia's business in America, causing a gang war on the streets. When the Mafia refuse to make an agreement, the Yakuza kidnap all the children of of the mob bosses to hold them for ransom. This is where Dolph has to save the day, rescue the children and put an end to the war. Louis Gosset Jr. is excellent as Dolph's ex-partner, Jake, who is now determined to find him. As The Punisher, I couldn't have thought of a better choice than Dolph. He fits the role perfecttly, and is unrelentingly cold throughout the movie. The plot is pure hokum, no doubt, but the movie looks and feels just like the Marvel comic. But this is no children's comic book movie, as the movie is packed with graphic violence that gave it a lot of negative publicity. It's a shame this movie bombed at the US box office, because it really is a great movie. If you haven't seen this gem, go rent it or buy it now!

No, this is not CITIZEN KANE. But it is an entertaining film that did make a somewhat unbelievable Marvel "hero" to celluloid.

Lundgren plays Frank Castle, a former NYPD detective (originally a military special ops expert in the comic) who loses his family to a mob hit. This pushes his already unstable personality over the edge, and he becomes a one-man judge, jury, and executioner. The VERY underrated Louis Gossett Jr. plays his former partner, determined to find him and keep him out of the gas chamber.

This movie is quite a decent action film. It actually delves quite deeply into the characters' motivations, their histories, their personalities. I agree with earlier comments that, out of the lot of action stars, Lundgren does bring at least some dramatic chops to the role. I really couldn't imagine Schwarzenegger playing this part, though Stallone or Willis might have been better choices.

The action sequences are done quite well for a low-budget film. The director, Mark Goldblatt, served as editor on films such as TERMINATOR 1 & 2, the underrated PREDATOR 2, TRUE LIES, STARSHIP TROOPERS, ARMAGEDDON, and PEARL HARBOR, so he definitely has knowledge of how to properly compose an action sequence. He also served as Paul Verhoeven's 2nd Unit Director on the original ROBOCOP.

The movie is rather tough to find, and though it strays away a bit from the source material, it does manage to flesh out a rather one-dimensional character.

A new version of THE PUNISHER is now being prepped, starring DREAMCATCHER's Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh.

I really liked this film, it´s true to the comic, and in some parts is better. For example in the comic Frank Castel has a truck full of weapons (most of them hi tech weapons) but were he gets the cash to pays for them. It´s a better adaptation than most flicks from those years (captain America for example) and it´s full with a lot of action and blood, its like a predecesor for Kill Bill. I give the movie a 7 out of 10.

The Punisher was one of the better Marvel films adapted from a comic-thanks mainly to the casting.

Dolph Lungdren was an excellent choice as The Punisher and I cannot imagine anyone else being able to play it as well as he did. His facial expressions were so convincing throughout the movie;you really could believe that he was Frank Castle, a man whose family had been butchered. It was probably one of Dolph's best roles since playing He-Man in Masters of the Universe. The Punisher is a dangerous and pessimistic character and Dolph played it great.

Louis Gossett Jr. played Jake Berkowitz who had been chasing The Punisher for years and the lovely Nancy Everhard played his sidekick.

Jeroen Krabbe played crime boss Gianni Franco and he too did a brilliant job. He wasn't the stereotypical gangster. He made Gianni Franco into an intriguing character.

The casting for this film was brilliant so all that was needed after that was lots of action. And lots of action is exactly what we got. It was very vicious at times and I found myself flinching at times but it was great action.

I do wish there had been a sequel to this film.

"The Punisher" (1990) starring Dolph Lundgren and Louis Gossett, Jr. is a movie adaptation of the Marvel Comics character about a presumed dead police officer who wages a one man war on crime. In this big screen adaptation, The Punisher (Lundgren) rises from the sewers to battle the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) who have come to America to try to force the current reigning Franco crime family, headed by Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbe) out of business. To do this, the Yakuza headed by Lady Tanaka (Kim Miyori) have kidnapped the children of all the crime bosses. The Punisher reluctantly enters into this complex triangle to try to rescue the children.

I must say that "The Punisher" is a rather solid adaptation of the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Dolph Lundgren proves that he can carry a movie. He can really kick some a** in this film. The action scenes may prove to be the best parts of this movie. Probably the best action sequence is the scene where The Punisher drops through a glass window and begins shooting up a casino.

"The Punisher" get 2 ½ stars out of 5.