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The Punisher [Blu-ray] by Jonathan Hensleigh
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Blu-ray detailsActor: A. Russell Andrews, John Travolta, Laura Harring, Samantha Mathis, Thomas Jane Director: Jonathan Hensleigh Brand: Lions Gate Writer: Jonathan Hensleigh Producer: Amir Jacob Malin Producer: Andreas Grosch Producer: Andreas Schmid Producer: Andrew Golov Producer: Anson Downes Writer: Michael France Blu-ray: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language) Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.35:1 Running Time: 124 minutes Blu-ray Release Date: 2006-06-27 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Lions Gate
Blu-ray Reviews of The Punisher [Blu-ray]Blu-ray Review: A so-so MARVEL movie Summary: 3 Stars
I suppose spring 2004 was a time really not meant for revenge flicks. I remember 2 revenge flicks released during April/May. The first one was The Punisher, second was Man on Fire. I managed to catch the Punisher in Theaters but missed Man on Fire. But of course I eventually saw that one too and did not think it was that great. The Punisher, I believe was the better of the two. I will admit that when I saw this movie in theaters 2 years ago, I loved it. I wrote a review right away and gave it 5 stars. I even waited eagerly for its DVD release that year and purchased it almost right away. However now being 2006, I have realized that I lost the enthusiasm for this film that I once had. And its not like I watched it so many times that I got bored of it, I rarely ever watched it. I think I only watched all the way through maybe one or twice since I got it. I guess perhaps that I was so hyped up back then about there being a Punisher film. Who would not be excited that MARVEL's famous Skull T-Shirt would finally be on the big screen and that it would be worn by Thomas Jane (Deep Blue Sea) and his enemy would be played by John Travolta (who was a terrific villain in Face/Off and Swordfish) I guess all that excitement had me look past at all the bad elements. I am not saying at all that this is a bad movie, I just realized it is not a very good one. It is just ok, but when I look back now and remember myself raving about this movie, I say, "what was I thinking?" Anyway here is the story.
The movie starts off in Florida where FBI agent Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) in a sting operation taking down suspects (mainly 2 kids) for buying illegal guns. However in the process, one of the kids is killed. That being Frank's last mission, he can now retire from the FBI and live a peaceful life with his family. However it turns out the kid who got killed was the son of a very powerful crime boss, Howard Saint (John Trovalta). Saint then orders his men to not only kill Frank Castle, but also his family. On his family reunion, Saints men crash the party and create a massacre, shooting everybody in sight, and ending it by killing Castle's wife and son last and leaving Frank for dead. But Frank actually survives the massacre. Now after losing everything he had going for him, and realizing the law may do nothing to help Frank decided to settle the score himself. He becomes reborn into something else, a vigilante who will stop at nothing to take down Howard Saint. Loaded with deadly arsenals and a skull T-Shirt, he becomes the Punisher. What he is doing is not revenge, its punishment.
Let me explain first why I have changed my opinion about this movie. (WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD) First off, let me state that the action scenes in this movie were very well. One reason could be that Director Jonathan Hensleigh chose not to use any CGI for the action sequences. He wanted to do everything old school. I respect that very much because it made the action sequences more enjoyable because they looked real. However, they are few and far apart and short. I would guess that the longest action sequence in this movie was when the Castle family was being killed, that is if you categorize a defensless family being shot as "action". Another reason was that this film had too many plot holes. How does Frank Castle all of sudden return to Florida with out having anything. Also, how do the bad guy all of a sudden just find out where he lives. And even if they do know where he lives, why does not Howard send every man he has o kill Castle. Also I had a problem with Frank's revenge plan. The film was interesting up until after Frank becomes the Punisher. He then devises a plan to make it seem like Saint's wife having an affair with his best friend, making Saint kill them both. Why do that, when he can just kill all of them very easily. One last thing could be that John Travolta plays one pf the worst villains ever. He hardly does anything. All he does is order his men do stuff. Sure he kills his friend and his wife, but who could blame him. When the Punisher attacks, he runs away. It was only till the end when he and the Punisher are actually face to face
In conclusion, I am gonna say that this film did not become what it could have been. I thought this would be Thomas Jane's star making roll, sadley it was not meant to be. If you want to see really good action movie with Tom Jane, see Dee Blue Sea. I can totally understand why this movie did not do so well in the box office or why it did not get much positive feedback. I know I was once crazy about this, but I now plan to get rid of it sometime soon.
More The Punisher [Blu-ray] reviews: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Description of The Punisher [Blu-ray]The Punisher walks through the world we all know, a world darkened by war, crime, cruelty and injustice. He has no superpowers to battle the evil he sees--only his fierce intelligence, his years of combat experience and, above all, his iron determination to avenge those wronged by society's villains. The impressively muscular chest of Tom Jane is the focal point of The Punisher, a movie based on a Marvel Comics superhero. Frank Castle (Jane, Deep Blue Sea) retires from the FBI, which means--as any moviegoer expects--that his family is toast. Howard Saint (John Travolta, Face/Off), a shady Florida businessman whose son was killed in Castle's last mission, orders a hit not only on Castle's wife and child, but also on his parents and a whole bunch of aunts, uncles, cousins, and so forth. The killers shoot Castle himself in the chest, but he inexplicably survives and--as any moviegoer expects--sets out to even the score. Implausibly, given his sometimes curious and roundabout methods, he succeeds. Also featuring Will Patton (Armageddon) as an oily thug, Laura Harring (Mulholland Drive) as Saint's fleshpot wife, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men) as a waitress with bad taste in men. --Bret Fetzer
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