Nancy Kim2
Member
43 messages
joined Jun 2004
THE PUNISHER IS A TOTAL FUCKER!!!!
Gosh, I was just about to start a thread on this! I went to see him yesterday—solo, obviously—at AMC Theatres. Look, the movie is just a movie; we could sit here all day debating the technicalities, the directing, the acting, blah blah blah, but I want to talk about the core theme. Like Brian Gonzalez7 said above, The Punisher is such an unconventional hero. When he first hit the scene, he broke the mold. Today, even in the US, most "non-superhero" gritty characters feel different, but back then, he paved the way.
The Punisher was the first real badass who decided to take down criminals using strictly non-superhero tools—you know, guns, bombs, and sheer grit. There’s none of that romanticized nonsense where he's "the chosen one" because a radioactive spider bit him, or he was born on Krypton, or he happens to surf through space on a silver surfboard—whatever you want to throw at it. He’s just an ultra-capable military powerhouse whose entire family gets brutally wiped out by some lowlife gangsters for no reason at all. (I think the movie stays pretty true to the comics on this—some kid caught in the crossfire of a mob hit leads to his whole extended family being silenced, and things just go south fast, much like the vibe in a gritty hip-hop track.)
It wasn't until I was actually watching the film that I realized how much The Punisher influenced me as a kid. It's his vision of "natural justice"—violent, uncompromising, and in a way that is almost inhumanly impressive to me. No remorse.
That whole line: 'in certain extreme situations, common law is faulty and inapplicable. To redeem itself in this respect, common law must be countervened in order for natural justice to be effected. It is not about revenge, revenge is an emotional response to personal loss. It is about PUNISHMENT.'
Basically, The Punisher is a fucker among fuckers. By the way, in the film, he’s still relatively "fresh," and it’s only at the very end that we get that montage where the voiceover says, 'The violent, the criminal, the murderers, rapist, sadist and perverts will come to know me well. I am the Punisher'. He doesn't really pull his weight with that hot girl trying to get with him, but in the comics, he’s more or less decent with women—though always without emotion, without promises, and without any expectation of a connection. He's The Punisher, for fuck's sake. So, we've established that. Let's talk about the movie.
As for the film itself... it's unremarkable, but for a fanatic like me, it was absolutely killer. It does have its moments of quality—the casting choices actually impressed me, especially since there aren't any massive A-list superstars, yet the cast is solid (aside from Travolta). Travolta as the main villain is... fantastic. The guy truly knows how to play a disgusting creep; I saw that clearly when he was in Face Off. Here, his hubris reeks from him until the very end, to the point where you can practically feel the catharsis when he gets "masterfully" taken down due to his own massive ego and gun-ho attitude. As for The Punisher himself—I don't even know what his name is—he's solidly acted, though that's not hard to do. He doesn't say much; he mostly delivers icy, cold-steel stares and walks around with a heavy, purposeful stride and a painfully clenched jaw. I also loved the decision regarding the "costume." Unlike the comics, which sort of gave in to genre tropes, he isn't wearing spandex-rubber galore; he's just wearing a simple, faded, beat-up T-shirt. Honestly, that T-shirt fits him perfectly because the guy is just built like a tank. It's not that plastic, "Masters of the Universe" look where you can see every single vein and the muscles look like water balloons; he has some body fat, sure, but the overall impression is "killing machine."
It's great how the film is peppered with these semi-comedic little tone-setters, like The Punisher's shootout with a Latino assassin who acts like he's straight out of a Robert Rodriguez flick (is the director paying homage?), or that encounter with the Russian (who, in a way that feels totally unconvincing compared to Marvel comics, just breezes through shootouts like it's nothing and doesn't even have a name, just goes by "The Russian" 😁The Punisher's neighbors actually give him a much-needed touch of humanity, providing a slight lift from what is, by definition, his pure sociopathy. The plot is brilliantly crafted; The Punisher isn't some Rambo type who just storms the enemy base surrounded by a ridiculous, hyper-buffed army of killers. There aren't any exhausting thirty-minute sequences dominated by yellow muzzle flashes only to have the theater speakers blast you with bass at the end. No, instead, he executes his plan with cold, calculating precision—using a natural knack for the psychology of destruction—moving slowly, patiently, and with an inhuman dedication toward wiping out his target. When the director finally sets the tone, the scenery, and the props for the final showdown, he just matter-of-factly dispatches the rest of the crew and completes his revenge. Respect!
All in all, it’s a solid 7/10 from the perspective of someone who isn't even a massive fan of The Punisher. Die-hard fans will probably only care about seeing the guy decked out with enough weaponry to arm the entire US Army back in the day and that iconic long skull on his chest!!! Booya ka'sha!
I just hope the movie is good enough to get "some new kids" interested in the actual comic books, which are honestly top-tier.
Oh, and one more thing:
Si vis pacem, para bellum
... putting that in my sig! 😈
