The Punisher: Dirty Laundry

I'm watching this fresh off a(nother) disappointing viewing of 2004's "The Punisher", so there's really nowhere to go but up, right? Especially when it's only a 10-minute running time. Either way, "The Punisher: Dirty Laundry", lean, mean and minimalist, finally lets Frank Castle get down to the business of kicking some ass. All of the necessary brooding and none of the lame villains, no milquetoast sadism - hell, the real fun here is watching Thomas Jane take a whiskey bottle to the heads of a street gang (with the requisite blood sprays). It's quick, to the point, and violently satisfying.

It's a sad state of affairs when Hollywood can't do (in three movies!) what a YouTube video can.

7/10

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.

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!

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?"

It never occurred to me that I could review this on here given that it is a ten minute film but once I discovered it was on here I had to sings it praises. This film may be low budget and borrow music from The Dark Knight but it manages to capture the essence and tone of The Punisher in a way no movie or show ever has. It's also a glaring reminder that I would like to see Jane in this role one more time in the definitive Punisher movie but that will never happen so we'll have to accept this as the preview of something great which will never be. Hands down THE BEST PUNISHER EVER PUT TO FILM!