O Justiceiro

The Punisher put my faith back into revenge movies. The action in this film is unbelievable and grim. I found myself not wanting the story to end. Many of the movies based on superheroes in a comic book tend not to sticks gritty and real. This one was and then some. The movie has surpassed my expectation and I certainly look forward Punisher 2.

The next film sets itself up for a kick butt start. They should take a page from X2 or the Lethal Weapon series and just open the next film with a wild battle. You can grab the viewer right away and still tell your full story right after. I hope the entire cast as well as the director returns because they crafted one quality origin story here. In summary, I enjoyed everything about this dark tale.

This movie came onto the scene with very little fanfare. It isn't a CGI powerhouse. There's no Matrix/Kill Bill style fight scenes. But what it lacks in modern trends it more than makes up for in a good old fashioned revenge plot. Touting a story that would have been fit for a Clint Eastwood flick like Outlaw Josey Wales or Hang 'em High, the Punisher takes the viewer on journey into the soul of a gritty vigilante. Thomas Jane plays the lead role to perfection, his voice acting is incredible. Although this isn't your daddy's (or Dolph's) emotionless Punisher. He is much more cerebral here than in most of the other media he has popped up in, and more human, but not any more humane. Using the tried and true style of fist fights and pyrotechnics this movie keeps the character rooted in his all too mortal persona. The supporting characters turn in equally descent roles, the likes of John Travolta worked well, although nothing outstanding. No doubt about it, Thomas Jane ran away with this one. He's just a normal guy doing super-normal things, with a lot of gunfire and explosions to boot. If you are in the target demographic (Male aged 17-30) you will definitely enjoy this film. If not, proceed at your own risk.

I can't call this a bad movie but its also hard to consider it good. Thomas Jane was a great choice for Frank Castle but he isn't given a chance to show his Punisher off. The story is slow and tries to be a Character study but misses the mark even on that. A little more action and a higher body count would really have helped this film. Travolta gets to ham it up and does a good job as the main Villian but even he wasn't given enough time to really develop the Character. I dont hate the movie.

"The Punisher" is a shining example of revenge and vigilante-style justice done right. It's also yet another comic book adaptation done properly. I thought this movie was one of the best I have seen in a long time. In the compendium of comic movies, this falls just shy of the two X-Men movies and Spider-Man but easily surpasses Batman, Batman Begins, Superman and The Hulk. The fact that it is an R-rated movie will kill any possible chance of decent box-office numbers, but it was a necessary step to take, and the quality of the movie just makes up for it. Hopefully this was Thomas Jane's breakout role, as he was outstanding and has the potential to be a contender to Ben Affleck, Hugh Jackman, Colin Farrell, and Matt Damon as the next big action star. If you like action movies, check out this movie. If you like comic book adaptations, check out this movie. Heck, if you just like movies in general, The Punisher is two hours well-spent. Like Thomas Jane himself says, "Frank Castle is dead. Long live The Punisher."

I was surprised how good this movie was, not stupid as I figured. It's another one of those based-on-a-comic book hero films that seem to be popular nowadays (Hellboy, Batman, Sin City, Spiderman, Superman, etc.)

However, this was the not the cartoon-like film I expected. It was more of a pretty brutal revenge-crime movie. It's a rough movie, pure and simple.

Believable? Of course not. Some of the action is ludicrous but the most ridiculous of all - the fight against the huge Russian, is actually the most fun of the action scenes. The rest is just plain mean as the hero's entire family gets wiped out by gunman and "The Punisher" (Thomas Jane) goes after them after almost being killed himself.

A smart aspect of this film was inserting a bit of humor in it, such as the two nerds down the hallway who befriend "The Punisher."

The sometimes-juvenile but interesting action scenes, the diverse characters in here and the humor all combine to make this better than anticipated.

No, it's anything but a thinking man's movie, but it IS entertaining and harmless if you look at everything tongue-in-cheek.